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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Heartland Motorsports Park has been on the NHRA national drag racing schedule since the facility opened in 1989, hosting at least one national event every season except 2020 when Topeka's largest sporting event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But the facility that bills itself as the "House of Speed'' will be back in business Friday through Sunday when the stars of the Camping World Drag Racing Series return to Topeka for the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
Gearing up for race week, here’s a look back at 10 of the great moments in Topeka drag racing history from the perspective of someone who's had the honor of attending every national since '89:
1. John Force called his Funny Car win at Heartland in 2008 the biggest of his career. That’s saying a lot for a driver who has won 16 championships and an NHRA-record 153 national events as a driver and 21 world championships as an owner with John Force Racing.
What made the 2008 victory stand out was that it was Force’s first victory after a serious crash at Dallas in '07 that ended his season and put his career in jeopardy.
![The legendary John Force holds a track-record nine Funny Car victories at Heartland Motorsports Park, where he will race Friday through next Sunday in the Menards NHRA Nationals. {Photo by NHRA]](/images/aa-images/2021_John_Force_Action.jpg)
The legendary John Force holds a track-record nine Funny Car victories at Heartland Motorsports Park, where he will race Friday through next Sunday in the Menards NHRA Nationals. {Photo by NHRA]
“Coming back from that wreck, that race was key,” Force told The Topeka Capital-Journal in an interview. “It showed that I could still drive, that I could still cut it.
"I knew even then my legs were still weak. I struggled just getting in and out of the car, but to get that win after a year of rehab was huge — to be there and hear those fans scream the way they did.”
The ’08 win was Force’s ninth Funny Car national-event win in Topeka, still a track record.
2. In 1990 Gary Ormsby put Topeka on the national racing map, becoming the first driver in NHRA history to break the 4.9-second and 295 mile-per-hour barriers in his Top Fuel dragster, clicking off a pass of 4.881 seconds at 296.06 mph.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
By her own admission, cross country was never Trisa Nickoley's favorite sport, with the Shawnee Heights legend always more fond of the shorter distances in track and field, particularly the 800 meters.
But Nickoley, a member of the Topeka Shawnee County and Kansas State High School Activities Association halls of fame, still became one of the state's best-ever, becoming one of just six cross country runners in state history to capture four straight individual titles.
That title legacy earned the former T-Bird and Missouri Tiger the No. 1 spot on TopSports.news' Shawnee County Best of the Best Top 25 list for women's cross country.
Trisa Nickoley [Submitted]
Avery Clifton [Submitted]
Nickoley, who continues to hold the state record in the 800 and never lost an individual race in state cross country or track competition en route to earning 17 state gold medals, took the No. 1 position in the TSN Top 25 over former Washburn Rural two-time state champ Avery Clifton while a pair of former Seaman state champs, Sydney Messick and Shauna Burrell, hold down the No. 3 and 4 spots and four-year state medalist Cate Holston rounds out the top five.
Clifton, also a multi-event 6A state champ in track, was the Readers Choice champion, topping Nickoley for that honor, while another former Rural star, Jaybe Shufelberger, ranked No. 3 in reader balloting. Shufelberger, currently running for Kansas State is No. 6 on the Top 25.
The TSN Top 25 includes seven Shawnee County athletes who won at least one individual state title and nine who helped their schools win at least one state team championship.
Here's a look at the Top 25 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 25 BEST OF THE BEST WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Chris Barnes has accomplished about everything one can accomplish in bowling.
He is a Professional Bowling Association Hall of Famer, has won 19 PBA Tour titles, including three majors, and also has a win to his credit in the PBA50 Tour while topping the $2 million mark in career earnings.
So it should come as no surprise that the Topeka High product, a state champion in basketball as a Trojan, earned the No. 1 spot in the TopSports.news Best of the Best Top 25 list for men's bowling while also running away with the most votes in the Readers Choice Awards, garnering just under 700 votes.
Chris Barnes [Twitter]
Bob Benoit [Pinterest.com]
Bob Benoit, a successful touring pro in his own right, with five PBA wins and a televised 300 game, is No. 2 in the Top 25 while Topeka legend Dale Euwer, former pro Kelly Coffman and multi-time Topeka Bowler of the Year Anthony Judd round out the top five.
Following Barnes in the No. 2 spot in the Readers Choice Awards is Allen Payne, who received more than 460 votes, while former Washburn Rural standout Trevor Baumgartner, Kaw Valley Hall of Famer Joe Burkhart and former Seaman star Ashton Bigger rounded out the top five in reader votes.
Here's a look at the Top 25 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 25 BEST OF THE BEST MEN'S BOWLERS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Bowling is one of the greatest so-called lifetime sports, with avid bowlers often taking up the sport as kids and bowling into their 70s, 80s and sometimes 90s.
That's awesome for the sport and the participants, but it makes putting together a list like the TopSports.news women's bowling Best of the Best Top 25 a nearly impossible task.
Do you go with bowlers who were some of Shawnee County best some five or six decades ago or do you lean towards a talented group of younger bowlers whose best is likely still ahead of them.
I tried to do a little of both, with veterans like Terri Sandgren, Maggie (Fritton) Crawford, Jeannine Wettengel and Natalie Bennett at the top of the list, while more recent stars like Kelsey Muther and Chelsie Bahr also earned lofty spots.
The advent of high school bowling was a boon for the sport, as evidenced by the fact that more than 30 bowlers received votes in the TSN Readers Choice poll as more than 9.300 votes were cast, by far the most of any sport in the Best of the Best balloting.
Whitney Prockish
Makenzie Millard
Former Washburn Rural state champ Whitney Prockish was the Readers Choice champion, while Seaman senior to be Makenzie Millard, the youngest member of the Top 25, was a close second as both Prockish and Millard garnered more than 3,000 votes.
Recent prep stars Ashton Anderson (Washburn Rural) and Kishno Bell (Seaman) both received more than 600 votes while Kristi Renyer (Shawnee Heights) garnered more than 450 votes.
Here's a look at the Top 25 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 25 BEST OF THE BEST WOMEN'S BOWLERS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Family and friends will gather at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, in the Topeka High gymnasium to celebrate the life of Trojan basketball coaching legend Willie Nicklin, who passed away on Dec. 10, 2020 at the age of the 92.
Attendees are asked to enter the gymnasium through the west doors off Western Avenue.
A celebration of the life of Topeka High coaching legend Willie Nicklin, who passed away in 2020, will be held in the THS gymnasium on Aug. 14. [Submitted]
Nicklin taught and coached at Topeka High from 1965 to 1991, taking over as the Trojans’ head coach in 1970 and leading High to state titles in ‘73 and ‘86.
