In an article published in the on May 12, it appears the Shawnee County appraiser and Heartland Park owner Chris Payne are at odds. Heartland Park is hosting the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by Pet Armor, Aug. 11-13.

Payne states in the article, he might close the track after Shawnee County rejected an offer, he made to try to settle a property tax legal battle.

The Topeka Capital-Journal’s Tim Hrenchir reports that as of April 26, county records showed Payne’s company, Shelby Development, owed the county $2,622,996.56 in delinquent property taxes.

If Payne closes the park, the community might lose out on the events it hosts, including Country Stampede and Menards NHRA Nationals.

"When the facility goes away because it gets taxed out of business, I don't want people to say, ‘I didn't know that,’” Payne said in the article. "At least they'll know now."

This issue isn’t new.

According to Payne, he hasn’t paid property taxes for the track since 2016 as he disputes the county's appraisal value of the site.

He told The Capital-Journal in January 2019 that he was considering razing the site and relocating the racing facility to the Kansas City area. At the time, he owed nearly $522,000 in back taxes to the county. Attempts to settle the issue earlier this year stalled.

Hrenchir reports Shelby Development had expressed a willingness to dismiss all claims and appeals against the county if the county reduced the amount the company owes in property taxes to $877,822.95 from the $2,589,784.98 it owed as of March 10.

"I don't do this for the money," Payne told The Capital-Journal last week. "I've never taken a paycheck out of this. Never will. It doesn't render one. I write a check to work here, ironically. Every year, I've written a check. I'm fine with that."

There’s no question Heartland Park is crucial to Shawnee County, especially from an economic impact standpoint.

Heartland Motorsports Park originally opened in 1989. The track went through a $15 million renovation in 2003. After being closed in 2015, the track was purchased at the beginning of 2016 revitalized to its former glory.

However, if there isn’t a comprise with the parties involved Heartland Park may crash and burn, which doesn’t bode well for anybody.