IHRA buys Heartland Park Topeka!

[Curiousyellow71]

Great news..hope it works this time. Loved racing at Topeka!
IHRA Acquires Heartland Motorsports Park | IHRA

 

[Curiousyellow71]

Picture of me puting a dragster on the trailer at Topeka!

 

[66ChargerHI-PO]

I see they also bought Memphis raceway too

IHRA Announces Acquisition Of Memphis International Raceway

 

[turbine68rt]

I see they also bought Memphis raceway too

IHRA Announces Acquisition Of Memphis International Raceway

And Maple Grove

 

[Curiousyellow71]

Topeka track is/was a mess. The City taxed the track to death so the owner had a auction and sold everything to pay the bill. Bleachers, timing stuff are all gone! The property evaluation then dropped like a rock. Dumb politicians! ...and I'm being kind.
I bought some things on the auction...
I had 10 picnic tables on a 20' car trailer and 98 chairs in the back of my 1/2 ton truck. I really wanted the tree! As auction's go...someone else wanted it a lot worse!!!

 

[Pecos Bill]

Been there plenty o times in the 90's. Hope it gets back to it 's former glory

 

[Dodge 330]

We really enjoyed it. We've attended the big NHRA event and the WoO winged sprint events along with doing some test and tune nights. Glad to see it back!

Pic of my car there a few years ago:

 

[mmissile]

IHRA is gonna crush NHRA. Not soon enough....

 

[Budnicks]

Good news great facility to sit unused...

a couple tracks have been acquired by IHRA now

Help bring back more great sportsman racing & racers

 

[Rick62]

I think NHRA, NASCAR and IHRA are all in trouble. Interest in auto racing isn't what it once was. I've been an auto racing fan for more than fifty years. I've attended NASCAR, NHRA and IHRA races many times. Over the years the number of spectators has declined. At Daytona and Charlotte they removed more than 40,000 back stretch seats and they still can't fill those places up. When watching NASCAR or NHRA races on TV in most cases you can see a LOT of empty seats.
Sponsorship in races has definitely declined. Budweiser. Miller, McDonalds, Winston and many others were active race car sponsors. But, based on declining TV viewers most of those companies have left racing. When I watch NHRA or NASCAR races now the sponsors are companies I've never heard of. Time will tell but if it were me I wouldn't be putting a lot of money in race tracks.

 

[440 PHIXX]

I think the problem is attendance. Although Atco before it closed did good on Wednesday nights with the 4 cylinder turbo crowd.

 

[Curiousyellow71]

We used to race IHRA at Scribner, NE but that track closed 2 decades ago. I really don't know how IHRA run things now? I'm not sure they know? It is concerning of how much they now are trying to figure out!

Maybe someone can give us their experience w the modern day IHRA? I'm a WDRA member which IHRA now owns.

One challenge is racing is so affected by the weather. All that planning for a big event only to get canceled. I have been to tracks that have done very well with attendance for special events. Small tire usually puts on a show as well as memorial type events and anything Nitro. Problems with nitro is long breaks with track cleanup seems to be common w the semi professional teams. One of the challenges is keeping things moving for spectators.
Not all racing events are shrinking. Some venues have really gotten big. The Ice Cream cruise packs the stands put on by 1320 video at I29. They sell out..you have to buy tickets in advance. Picture is blurry but good luck finding a empty seat.

 

[3sloppydogs]

IHRA recently bought Rockingham raceway also

 

[Budnicks]

IHRA went bankrupt, or reorganization at a min.,
don't remember all of it
Mike Dunn former F/C racer (big Jim Dunn's son) was the Pres.
when 'it folded'
for a lack of a better term, to describe it,
a bad business plan, at no fault of Mike Dunn's

Just insurance was eating all the profits,
& payouts were all down

Many private tracks/owners were wanting a bigger share of the gate & concessions
& no 'tee shirt/sponsors 'swag sales' allowed in the pits,
only at the concession stands, run by the tracks
(greed)
that rule was a killer for many teams, & their sponsors too
(it's their fuel money in many cases, for them to afford to get there & race)
&
IIRC they were only doing 'sportsman racing' stuff, at the time too
no Pro's, (or very few occasionally) to draw a crowd

the 'No Prep' crap, brings some crowds,
but they are Fairweather fans
don't really stay for the finishes, finals & not real loyal either IMHFO
the posting no times, is a bogus way, to not keep the fans informed
or to run a race too, is just stupid

the same goes for the F.A.S.T. fans/crowds, very clicky bunch
not really ever 'full seats' in the bleachers
mean lil' to no swag/tee shirt or concession sales too

makes it 'very hard' to even pay the insurance
& have an ambulance on hand, at all race-days, that way

now If they could have all 3 events at any venue

& Maybe 8 of each below, to do a Chicago style match races
throw in the Nostalgia F/Cs,
maybe even Nostalgia FE Dragsters
Fuel Altered stuff, always a crowd pleaser
& maybe mountain Motor Pro-stock
or maybe Outlaw Pro-stock or boosted or N20 stuff
or maybe drag radial or DOT class stuff too
Just to help keep fans interest, there's something for everyone
between rounds of the door-slammers stuff,
that's their bread & butter

Fox Hunts & Wet Tee-shirt contests in summertime
get the other 1/2 of the population (women) into it
$1 or $2 Ice cream, on hot days etc.

my $1.25

 

[Dodge 330]

We used to race IHRA at Scribner, NE but that track closed 2 decades ago. I really don't know how IHRA run things now? I'm not sure they know? It is concerning of how much they now are trying to figure out!

Maybe someone can give us their experience w the modern day IHRA? I'm a WDRA member which IHRA now owns.

One challenge is racing is so affected by the weather. All that planning for a big event only to get canceled. I have been to tracks that have done very well with attendance for special events. Small tire usually puts on a show as well as memorial type events and anything Nitro. Problems with nitro is long breaks with track cleanup seems to be common w the semi professional teams. One of the challenges is keeping things moving for spectators.
Not all racing events are shrinking. Some venues have really gotten big. The Ice Cream cruise packs the stands put on by 1320 video at I29. They sell out..you have to buy tickets in advance. Picture is blurry but good luck finding a empty seat.

View attachment 1973827

I think more tracks should have a look at Mo-Kan Dragway's schedule.

It has a full season and usually 3 days of racing every weekend!

It's a small track but stays very busy.

 

[guy gadbois]

I think NHRA, NASCAR and IHRA are all in trouble. Interest in auto racing isn't what it once was. I've been an auto racing fan for more than fifty years. I've attended NASCAR, NHRA and IHRA races many times. Over the years the number of spectators has declined. At Daytona and Charlotte they removed more than 40,000 back stretch seats and they still can't fill those places up. When watching NASCAR or NHRA races on TV in most cases you can see a LOT of empty seats.
Sponsorship in races has definitely declined. Budweiser. Miller, McDonalds, Winston and many others were active race car sponsors. But, based on declining TV viewers most of those companies have left racing. When I watch NHRA or NASCAR races now the sponsors are companies I've never heard of. Time will tell but if it were me I wouldn't be putting a lot of money in race tracks.

nascar and NHRA have done it to themselves. Won't get into a thesis worthy of an MS in Pol Sci here - plus it would get bounced to the political forum at best - but both have alienated their 'base'. Both have driven costs thru the ceiling and both have so worshipped the god of television to the exclusion of everything else that real people just stay away. Lets face it - nascar is just a motorised high school football game crossed with "reality" television. It is irrelevant and quite frankly, boring. NHRA has so 'dumped' on their base chasing TV and personality cults in the 'pro' category so as to chase off the guys who were paying the bills every month. Seriously, who wants to go race someplace when you are made to feel unwelcome and 'taxed to death' just to do it? hence the emergence of all these localised little sanctioning bodies w/o pro/nitro programs.
Yes, interest in automobiles and competition is waning; this is by design and again, a wholly political subject. Hard to have 15 minute cities with a mobile population...

Quite frankly - and many will consider it sacrilege - but I think its hilarious that nascar is tanking and I applaud it. Go woke go broke.