Topeka racing complex changes life, perceptions
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By JEAN ORTIZ / Lincoln Journal Star
TOPEKA, Kan. — Nearly two decades ago, Topekans didn’t know what to think about the development south of town.
But they worried about how their lives would change as crews began building Heartland Park Topeka — a public-private venture that barely got the green light from voters with the approval of a bond issue.
Would it be like the noisy auto races at the fair in the ’40s and ’50s?
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Would crowds flock to Topeka as predicted?
And what kind of visitors would the sport attract?
“They just didn’t have anything to relate to,” said Marsha Sheahan, vice president of public relations for the Topeka Chamber of Commerce.
Today, it’s different, she said.
Somewhere along the line, Kansas morphed into something of a motor sports mecca, she said, pointing to the Kansas Speedway 50 miles down the road in Kansas City.
And somewhere, Kansans have grown to understand the potential of motor sports.
“We can see peaks in our sales tax revenue,” she said. “People understand that now.”
What the complex lacks has played an important role in its evolution.
It’s just south of Forbes Field — an old air base home to the Air National Guard and a smattering of industrial tenants. Among them is the Sports Car Club of America, a national group that uprooted its Denver headquarters and moved to the Kansas capital city in 2002.
There’s also a handful of homes — some old, some new.
But the land is mostly open and absent of a major residential development.
“That’s one of the real beauties of the site,” Sheahan said.
That’s not to say life hasn’t changed since the first races in 1989.
The roar of top-fuel dragsters can carry. Sherry Lundry, the complex’s spokeswoman, can hear them from her home 10 miles away. At that distance, though, they’re distinctive, not disturbing.
The dragsters are loud, no question about it, but it’s all relative, said Neil Dobler, who worked for the city for several years, including serving time as public works director and a temporary stint as city manager.
“We have refueling tankers landing every day at the air base,” he said.
The view of the complex is clear from Jerry Baker’s driveway. Also noticeable is the faint hum of the souped-up Camaros, Firebirds and other cars rolling down nearby Gary Ormsby Drive and into the complex for a night of street legal drag racing.
But once inside, as they spin their tires and speed down the quarter-mile strip, the sounds are no louder than the chirping birds passing through the area.
Baker moved into the home in 1989, the same year the complex opened.
He’s had concerns along the way, but wouldn’t count noise among them, he said.
“I would say the spectators parking over here probably bothers me more than any noise they could ever do over there,” he said, pointing out the ditches that line his street immediately east of the complex.
That’s where they park, likely skipping the lots inside the complex for an easy way out after a crowded event.
They leave ruts in the grassy slopes. He’s also spotted less-than-modest visitors using the open area as a bathroom.
The disruption to rural life is what residents of northern Lancaster County say they’d like to avoid.
Traffic, noise, safety and environmental pollution are among the concerns of residents who live off U.S. 77 north of Lincoln — the site of a proposed drag strip.
But Baker says he’s happy. Over the years he’s even found himself participating in drag races on occasion.
And his concerns haven’t fallen on deaf ears. The operator of Heartland Park Topeka has heard Baker out about his parking frustrations and promised to remedy them immediately, Baker said with a hint of optimism.
So would he ever consider moving?
Baker doesn’t have to think but a second.
Not a chance.
Reach Jean Ortiz at 473-7107 or jortiz@journalstar.com.
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