NEWTON, IA – One of the hot topics around the NTT IndyCar Series weekend at the Iowa Speedway has been surrounded around the bumpiness of the racing surface. See, the .894-mile oval hasn’t had a repave since it was constructed. While it has been patched in some areas, the racing groove is the same now as it first was when this place opened in 2006.

That has created the a bumpy race track which some drivers say need to be redone. On the flipside, some also think that the track just needs to leave it alone until it’s absolutely necessary.

“I think it’s a fine line,” said defending race winner James Hinchcliffe. “The bumps certainly give this track a ton of character. Repaving race tracks usually leads to a year or two of not great racing. We will have to see what they decide to do. I like it. It’s got a ton of character. It’s not undriveable by any stretch. It’s not dangerous by any stretch. As long as it puts on good shows, I think we need to hang onto it as long as we can.”

Another Honda driver in Ryan Hunter-Reay says that the patches have actually hurt his once advantage that he had. In a four year span, Hunter-Reay had three wins and a runner-up. Since? 22nd, 3rd and 19th respectively.

“I think ever since they put the patches in for (Turns) 3 and 4 that’s where it took a turn for us,” said Hunter-Reay. “We finished on the podium here a couple of years ago. It’s been very difficult with the patches. They’re a very different surface than the rest of the race track. Bumps are fine. I don’t mind the bumps at all. (Turns) 1 and 2 have a lot of bumps but (Turns) 3 and 4 are where the patches are and make it a bit difficult to deal with. At some point, I’d like to see those patches go.”

Graham Rahal also is on board with a repave. At first he wasn’t but when he thought about it, he feels like a certain team that’s been dominating here this weekend has an advantage because of the age and would like to see a new surface put down as a result.

See, Rahal says while this track is still fast, it’s not as physically demanding since there’s less throttle time which is all due to the lack of grip all the way around.

“This isn’t as physical anymore,” said Rahal. “The track has lost a lot of grip. Cars have a lot more downforce. I remember the first year I was racing here cars were parking it. It’s a different era. Cars are still fast, we’re just doing it in a different way. This place is mentally exhausting. There’s just no time to breath. Laps are like bam, bam, bam. It’s tough. Seems the same as last year. It’s just losing grip. Tracks losing a little bit of grip. Tires are losing grips. Cars have a lot less downforce than they used to. Things are just changing.

“I don’t want to see a repave, well..maybe I do. What we struggle with, to me, this is where the Penske’s excel and they’ll tell you different but they’re full of baloney, is just over the bumps their shocks are extremely good. Just look at the pace, they’re 1-2-3. To me, that’s all shocks. Over the bumps, you’re just hanging on and balance of understeer and how much it will give up. It’s got a lot of character. I’m fine with it. There’s not a lot I can say that’s politically correct so we’ll just move on.”

Others like Ed Carpenter, Tony Kanaan, etc side with Hinch in that they like the bumps and can race around it.