INDIANAPOLIS — In just two years, Iowa Speedway has gone from a short oval that was all but dormant, to one of only three tracks in the United States that will host the NASCAR Cup Series and the NTT IndyCar Series next season.
The seven-eighths-mile oval was the dream of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Rusty Wallace, who envisioned a track like Richmond (Va.) Raceway. It opened in 2007 and was a popular stop on the IndyCar Series schedule, as well as hosting NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menard Series races throughout the years.
In 2016, NASCAR purchased the track from members of the Clements family — the owners of Featherlite Inc., an Iowa company best known for its aluminum trailers. The high-banked oval produced fantastic racing and was popular among the IndyCar and NASCAR drivers who competed there.
But in March 2020, the COVID pandemic shut down professional sports around the world and Iowa Speedway was hit hard. The track canceled the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series and Truck Series races. Only ARCA and IndyCar had events at Iowa Speedway that season.
IndyCar negotiated a Friday night/Saturday night doubleheader with limited, socially distanced attendance.
The future of Iowa Speedway was uncertain in 2021. IndyCar did not schedule a race at the facility and ARCA was the only series to race there.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Newton, Iowa, Mayor Mike Hansen wanted to save Iowa Speedway. IndyCar needed another oval on the schedule and the drivers in the series wanted to return to Iowa.
IndyCar owner Roger Penske got involved and Hy-Vee CEO Randy Edeker was approached by Governor Reynolds to save the track.
On Aug. 17, 2021, an agreement was announced that brought IndyCar back to Iowa with Hy-Vee and Penske Entertainment as the event partners.
IndyCar leased the track from NASCAR and had control of the property to prepare it for what has turned out to be one of the biggest weekends on the IndyCar schedule — the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend at Iowa.
Large crowds attended events that included racing and concerts in both 2022 and 2023.
Just one week after the 2024 IndyCar Series schedule was unveiled, Governor Reynolds and Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s vice president of strategy and innovation, confirmed Iowa Speedway will host its first NASCAR Cup Series race on June 16.
It makes the Iowa track one of three permanent facilities that will host both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NTT IndyCar Series next year. The other two are Indianapolis Motor Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill.
Iowa is a racing hotbed with its many short tracks. Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway hosts the Knoxville Nationals, which is the most prestigious sprint car race in the world.
“There has been a desire from the folks at Newton and the state to bring a NASCAR Cup race there,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps said. “We thought now was the time to do it. I won’t speculate on why we weren’t there earlier. We are coming and we are excited to be there, and they are excited to have us.”
NASCAR and IndyCar will have two major races at Iowa Speedway in less than one month. That creates a very tight promotional window for each contest, especially with IndyCar.
Phelps is convinced the races can co-exist and expects each to thrive.
“To me, I think it is accretive,” he said. “I don’t think it is going to pull away from their event. There are lots of opportunity to have great racing at that facility. There are some separation there, too.
“Think back to Pocono and Michigan where you had six weeks between events and it was the same event at the same track. We are excited about it. Obviously, we talked to Roger Penske and his team about it.
“We’ve had some conversations with the Hy-Vee people as well. We want everyone to look at this as a positive and I think it is.”
Penske is confident the two series will co-exist, but it is an unusual arrangement because NASCAR owns the track and IndyCar leases the facility.
“We were in concert with NASCAR all along because of our dates and where we are,” Penske said. “We lease the track from the France family anyhow.
“Quite honestly, we have invested there and think it’s a great place. Short-track racing has been very popular around the country. Iowa has a great fan base. I think it will create more interest in racing. We have our dates set, our twin races (doubleheader), in 2024. We’ll have some great talent coming in from the standpoint of entertainment.
“Look, we live together with NASCAR at many different race tracks. Our track at Michigan, we used to have the Twin 200s.
“Hey, things happen.”
Phelps believes the appetite for big-time racing in Iowa is ravenous enough that both series can feast at Iowa Speedway.
“The great folks at Iowa and the surrounding states that will come, and who knows, they will probably come from all 50 states, but when you go to a facility to run your first NASCAR Cup race, it’s something special,” Phelps said. “That is what it is going to be at Iowa.
“The love that we felt from the governor and her team, this came together quickly which is good. We are all motivated to make sure we put on something special for the fans. That is what they are going to see. We are going to go to a facility that looks great. The racing is going to be really strong.”
This story appeared in the Oct 25, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
