Heartland Motorsports Park auction closes as mystery buyer purchases all parcels

TOPEKA (KSNT) - The auction for Heartland Motorsports Park has ended ahead of the expected deadline Wednesday due to an undisclosed offer for the race track and surrounding land.

27 News confirms with Shawn Terrel, a representative of United Country | Heritage Brokers & Auctioneers, the auction for Heartland Motorsports Park has closed ahead of the 6 p.m. July 24 deadline. An email sent out by the auction company states the seller of the park, Chris Payne with Shelby Development LLC, has chosen to cut the auction short due to numerous offers to purchase the park and all surrounding parcels of land.

The offer accepted by Payne was made prior to the auction's start last month. The amount accepted by Payne and the buyer was not made public in this email.

27 News reached out to the City of Topeka to see if it purchased the property. City spokesman Dan Garrett confirms the City of Topeka did not buy Heartland Motorsports Park.

Public bids on the park had reached above $3.5 million on July 24. This would have covered the more than $3.3 million in taxes owed by Payne to Shawnee County.

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