Racing News Digest

I’ve spent some time in Iowa and for those of you that have not been there you may not believe this but it is a nice state. For many years through high school I would visit my Mom in Des Moines, Iowa in the summers. I ended up moving there after high school and lived there for about 4 years before joining the Army.

Iowa Speedway is making it’s mark pretty fast. Located in Newton, Iowa, Iowa Speedway is about 30 miles east of Des Moines right off of I-80. The 7/8 mile asphalt oval has grown at a fast pace in just three years.

The track is 7/8 mile asphalt oval (with optional road course), 60 foot wide with a 20 foot apron. Banking includes 12-14 degrees in the corners with 10 degrees on the front stretch and 4 degrees on the backstretch. There are enough garages for 50 competitors, 28 suits and seating for 25,000.

Ground was broke for the new speedway on June 22, 2005 as Rusty Wallace (track designer an co-owner) drove a big bulldozer on top of a mound of dirt. That was the start to this speedway gaining ground fast.

By October or 2005 it was announced that the ARCA RE/MAX Series would be racing at the new track in 2006The series has been there every year since.

A couple days latter in 2005 it was announced that the Hooters Pro Cup Championship Series would also be appearing in 2006.

A couple of weeks latter it was announced that 2 USAC events would be held in 2006 at Iowa Speedway.

The list continues to go on it seems including adding the IndyCar Series in 2007.

Iowa Speedways line up for the 2008 season included ARCA RE/MAX, ASA Late Model, USST Super Truck Series, Camping World Series East/West Challenge, Indy Pro Series, IndyCar Series (IRL), ASA Midwest Tour Super Late Models, ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series, USAC Silver Crown Series, Grand-Am KONI Challenge, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series and the SCCA VW Jetta Diesels,

And in October of 2006 Sprint Cup teams went to Iowa Speedway to test the new Car Of Tommorrow (COT). Teams included Joe Gibbs Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, and Penske Racing.

“Iowa should be proud of this racetrack. If you’re a Hawkeye fan, you are going to be out here. If you’re a Cyclone fan, you are going to be out here,” said Penske Driver, Kurt Busch with a smile.

ON TO 2009

Iowa Speedway started with gaining a NASCAR Nationwide Series race for the 2009 season. The Iowa 250 will be the 21st Nationwide race of the year and will be held on August 1st.

And then Mansfield Motorsports Park requested that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race that they were hosting in 2009 be moved. The reason was that the track could not meet some of the requirements to remain a NASCAR-sanctioned facility.

“Due to the economic times that we are all facing, Mansfield Motorsports Park will not be hosting the 2009 NASCAR Truck Race. We will begin processing refunds immediately. Please accept our apologies and please be patient while we are going through the refund process. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

That was great news for Iowa Speedway. The tracks co-designer and owner Rusty Wallace was able to negotiate a deal with NASCAR to have the Camping World Truck Series race that was suppose to be at Mansfield Motorsports Park get moved to Iowa Speedway.

One problem that the speedway may run into with this exploding schedule is capacity. The track currently has grandstand seats for 25,000. Track officials plan on bringing in temporary seating for the larger NASCAR events in 2009. After that they will analyze ticket sales and probably expand the permanent seating.

Iowa Speedway 2009 Schedule
Sat., May 16th –ASA Midwest Tour Super Late Models / USST Super Trucks
Sun., May 17th –U.S. Cellular NASCAR Camping World Series East/West Challenge
Fri., June 19th –IndyCar Practice Sat., June 20th Firestone Indy Light Series / IndyCar Qualifying
Sun., June 21st –Iowa Corn Indy 250 IndyCar Series
Fri., July 10th –ARCA Qualifying / Star Mazda Championship Series
Sat., July 11th –ARCA Re/Max Series / ARCA Truck Series
Fri., July 31st –NASCAR Nationwide Practice / USAC Sprint Cars Series
Sat., August 1st –NASCAR Nationwide Series
Sat., September 5th –NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Sat., September 19th –USAR Pro Cup Series / ASA Late Model Series

You can visit Iowa Speedway at http://www.iowaspeedway.com