NHRA drag racers have seen a little bit of everything at Heartland Park Topeka
From sleeping in a truck outside to nearly catching on fire inside its grounds, Heartland Park Topeka holds a special place in the hearts of NHRA drag racers Robert Hight and John Force.
The two will race there again this weekend in the NHRA Mello Yello Series’ Kansas Nationals. It will be the latest chapter in a long relationship between the drivers and the storied venue.
The memories have been sweet, and they’ve been scary.
“The biggest crash I had was in Topeka,” said Hight, who has 37 career victories in the NHRA Funny Car division. “It was going 317 miles an hour and the thing exploded. All the windshields are burning. It was so hot and my legs were getting burned. I had to get out. The car was still going 60 miles an hour, but I thought it was stopped because I could not see a thing.”
That was in 2007, and Hight eventually bailed out of the burning vehicle quickly enough to avoid serious injury — or worse.
Now, after surviving that incident, Hight says Topeka is one of his favorite venues. The track has the kind of silky smoothness that promotes the fastest performances. And the fans who come to Heartland Park are some of Hight’s favorites, too.
“The fans are down to earth,” he said. “The race track, for some reason — a lot of performance. A lot of records have been set here over the years. It’s a great surface. And the fans are just awesome. I love coming here.”
For Force, Topeka represents new beginnings. Decades ago, when he was first getting started with NHRA racing, Force says he slept in his truck outside the gate all night.
“Didn’t have no money,” he said.
A hotel wasn’t an option, so the 18-wheeler Force traveled in would have to do.
Of course, the money would come. Force would become the most successful NHRA driver in history, accumulating 143 wins and 16 Funny Car championships.
In 2007, Force (Hight’s former father-in-law) had his own vicious crash in Texas. He suffered a broken wrist, broken ankle, broken fingers and multiple gashes.
But it was in Topeka that Force got back to his winning ways. In 2008, Force won at Heartland Park for the first time since his injuries. Force, then 59 years old, promptly climbed a fence to celebrate.
“I was so excited I jumped the fence, about broke my leg again,” he said. “The fans had to carry me back to the car. … I had won finally, and jumped over the fence, and all that energy – and then I couldn’t get back. They carried me.”
“But it was (among) the best days of my life.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "NHRA drag racers have seen a little bit of everything at Heartland Park Topeka."