On Tuesday, the Iowa Speedway landed a massive announcement. They have NASCAR coming back. While ARCA has come in 16 of the last 17 years, this is the big leagues. This is the Cup Series.
Wildly enough, despite this track looking like it was basically left for dead, they’ve got a return of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and now landed a Cup date.
Next June, NASCAR will come to Iowa with the Xfinity Series (June 15) and the Cup Series (June 16). The Cup race will be a Sunday night under the lights. Both will be on USA.
“The things Iowans value most are what NASCAR represents best—hard work, family, and community—which is exactly why our partnership has always been a natural fit,” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said. “We’re thrilled to bring a NASCAR Cup Series race to Iowa Speedway next summer and for this incredible opportunity to introduce millions of racing fans to our great state.”
NASCAR Hall of Famer and Iowa Speedway co-founder and designer, Rusty Wallace, calls this a dream come true.
“This track was built with the intent of hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race one day, and to finally see it come together is a testament to the tenacity of the great race fans in Iowa,” he said.
Iowa Corn will be the entitlement partner for the first-ever Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. Comprised of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Corn works to unlock the potential of corn in a sustainable manner to meet the global need for food and energy. The name and logo of the Cup Series race will be announced in the near future.
“Iowa Corn is no stranger to racing and the Iowa Speedway as we helped introduce farmer produced biofuels to consumers through race sponsorships for a dozen years,” shared Craig Floss, Chief Executive Officer of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. “By bringing the NASCAR Cup Series to Iowa, farmers are able to showcase the power and performance of Sunoco Green E15 at the fastest short-track on the planet, which is surrounded by corn fields, the very source of that amazing, renewable, homegrown and affordable biofuel.”
It’s been a wild path to a Cup weekend but Iowa battled adversity and here they are.
See, in 2019, it was clear at that time that Iowa wasn’t ever going to get a Cup date. This track broke ground in 2005 and opened in Sept. 2006. It was 2019 and still no Cup date yet.
However, they’ve found their niche. INDYCAR was putting on hell of a show and having ARCA and the Xfinity Series join throughout the year was good enough.
Now, four years later, on the heels of another massive year for which Ed Sheeran, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown Band performed during the doubleheader INDYCAR weekend, they’ve landed a Cup date for 2024.
“Today’s announcement is an exciting one for NASCAR and for race fans in the state of Iowa,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President, Racing Development and Strategy. “They have long sought a NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, and we’re happy to deliver that for them. We fully expect this to be one of the most highly-anticipated dates on the 2024 schedule and an amazing weekend of NASCAR racing in The Hawkeye State.”
Of the drivers projected to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series next year, 19 have won at Iowa Speedway in other NASCAR national and touring series, including Brad Keselowski, who joined NASCAR and state dignitaries for the announcement Tuesday on the Iowa State Capitol steps.
“For years, the Iowa community has patiently waited for the NASCAR Cup Series to come to town,” said Keselowski. “It is with great pleasure for all of the racing community to announce they will finally see that dream come together. Iowa truly is a hotbed for motorsports fans, I saw that enthusiasm firsthand in 2009 for the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and can’t wait to see the atmosphere on race day in 2024.”
The pandemic in 2020 almost left this place as a ghost town. Literally. Luckily, INDYCAR was able to conduct a doubleheader that July with ARCA as a support race. Attendance was still limited.
In 2021, it was down to ARCA.
Roger Penske was interested in buying the track, but it had to make dollars and cents. But, by having a year to think about it, Penske and his team thought outside of the box – rent the track still from NASCAR but promote it themselves.
Bobby Rahal helped. He got one of his sponsors, Hy-Vee involved. They’d go above and beyond. It was true to the “if you build it they will come,” Iowa motto.
Google and DoorDash joined. Hy-Vee built massive suites inside and out of the track. Concerts were added.
Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton were in the four in 2022. Last year’s was even bigger. So was the crowd.
INDYCAR and Iowa was a must see, must attended event. It was bigger in this new era than it was prior to COVID.
NASCAR saw it. NASCAR felt like since they owned the track, why not jump in too. So, a month before INDYCAR shows up, NASCAR will bring their premiere series to Central Iowa. Similar is what happened at the World Wide Technology Raceway. INDYCAR shined there and NASCAR followed.
While some may take digs at NASCAR for copying INDYCAR, it’s honestly a testament on how well INDYCAR is doing things right. It’s forcing NASCAR to take notice and join. I get the notion on this new announcement could have lasting impacts on the INDYCAR race, especially since the contract runs out in 2024, but with how much money Hy-Vee has pumped in and how vested they are for INDYCAR as a whole, I don’t foresee this being a detriment. In fact, I could only see this helping.
It’s a way to shine more focus on the INDYCAR race with drawing attention to both. I mean NBC Sports will air both so it would be in their best interest to mention that INDYCAR is back for a doubleheader a month later with the Saturday night race under the lights on NBC.
Plus, it helps lower the ticket prices too. With NASCAR coming, it’s a way to offset some of that cost in July for INDYCAR. NASCAR brings TV money with them which can funnel back into the INDYCAR weekend as well. If NASCAR coming keeps the INDYCAR ticket prices lower and adds more eyeballs to that weekend, then how can you complain?
The only potential pitfall could be if NASCAR adds any traction compound or resin which doesn’t equate well to the INDYCAR’s. Iowa can put on a hell of a show without it so that’s the only interest I’ll have my eyes on if they try any of that funny business.
Other than that, this could be a good thing.
On-sale ticket information for the first-ever Cup Series Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway will be announced in the near future. Today, fans can put down a $25 deposit for priority access to purchase tickets before the public on-sale at iowaspeedway.com.
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