Bids hit $2 million for Heartland Motorsports Park as auction nears end

SHAWNEE COUNTY (KSNT) - The final hours of the auction for Heartland Motorsports Park are here with bids on the race track now reaching into the millions of dollars.

Heartland Motorsports Park is currently up for auction in Topeka from the owner Chris Payne with Shelby Development LLC. The property, which has an appraisal value of $3,715,100, went up for auction this summer. The auction was initially set to end on July 17 but was extended to July 24.

Information listed on the online-only auction's website shows larger bids are being put down for the park along with several other vacant lots being sold at no reserve. While bids on the undeveloped properties range from $5,000 to $20,000, bids on Heartland Motorsports Park have now reached $2 million with a total of 15 bids placed for the race track.

A spokesperson for Shawnee County told 27 News last week Payne currently owes more than $3.3 million in taxes as of July 18. This amount increases daily and includes taxes owed for the race track and its surrounding properties.

Payne told 27 News in a written statement in April he intends to use the auction to "produce enough revenue to pay all outstanding property taxes." In 2023, Shawnee County  commissioners said Payne hadn’t paid any taxes since 2017.

People can place bids for individual tracts of land surrounding Heartland Motorsports Park, all of which is vacant land with no structures or development, or bid for the park itself until the new auction deadline of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24 arrives. Tracts 1-12 and 23-29 are on no reserve while tracts 13-22, consisting of the park itself, will be sold upon seller confirmation.

• Tracts 1-12 (No reserve)
  • Vacant land for sale individually.
• Tracts 13-22 (Seller confirmation)
  • Heartland Motorsports Park including buildings, the race track and facilities. Being sold as one piece of land.
• Tracts 23-29 (No reserve)
  • Vacant land for sale individually.

27 News has reached out to Payne and United Country | Heritage Brokers & Auctioneers for updates on the auction along with Shawnee County with questions on how the tax debt will be paid. To learn more about the auction and its progress, click here.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf