Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway is a oval short track in Newton, Iowa. Since its inaugural season of racing in 2006, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, including events sanctioned by NASCAR and IndyCar. NASCAR has owned the facility since 2013, with Eric Peterson currently serving as the track's president. Iowa Speedway is served by Interstate 80.

As of 2023, the track holds 30,000 seats. Along with the main track, the track complex also features seven road course layouts, including a road course layout that combines parts of the main track along with the infield road course to make a " roval".

After an initial proposal to build a track by businessmen Jerry Lowrie and Larry Clement failed in the early 2000s, in 2003, the Paul Schlaack-owned U.S. Motorsport Entertainment Corporation made a bid to build a shorter facility. After another delay due to a perceived lack of funds that lasted throughout 2004, groundbreaking commenced in mid-2005, with the facility holding its first races in September 2006. The sanctioning body of NASCAR later bought the track in 2013 to save the facility from financial issues.

Description

Configurations

The speedway in its current form is measured at , with 10 degrees of banking in the frontstretch, four degrees in the backstretch, and a progressive banking system utilized from 12 to 14 degrees in the turns. Varying sanctioning bodies have disputed the length of the track; NASCAR's official measurement is at 0.875 mi, while IndyCar measures the track at .

Along with the main track's construction, road course layouts that combined the main track with dedicated infield portions were constructed, with developers making seven road course layouts.

Amenities

The facility is served by Interstate 80, and is approximately east from the Iowa capital of Des Moines. According to a 2023 report by ''The Des Moines Register'', it holds 30,000 seats. In a 2006 '' Autoweek'' report, the track constructed 28 luxury suites; in recent years, extra temporary suites for its IndyCar races were developed by Hy-Vee.

Track history

Planning and construction

Jerry Lowrie and Larry Clement failed proposal

In November 2000, Kentucky Speedway developer Jerry Carroll proposed to the Jasper County board of supervisors plans to build a $76 million, 40,000-seat, track in Newton, Iowa. With the proposal, Carroll sought for the county to issue $30-40 million worth of bonds to fund the project, along with seeking as much as an additional $35 million from the Vision Iowa program, a state economic growth program. However, by January 2001, Carroll abandoned the plan to focus on developing the Kentucky Speedway. As a result, California businessman Jerry Lowrie opted to replace Carroll in directing the project. Lowrie decided to decline to ask the county for bonds. The project drew support from Newton mayor David Aldridge, but later saw opposition from residents near the proposed site. The opposition claimed that building the site would be a nuisance for the rural residents and later tacked on Lowrie's unproven record of success.

An approval from Vision Iowa was considered critical for the project to survive, with developers hoping to secure $20 million. However, by August, the remaining available funding from Vision Iowa dropped lower than the amount needed. The next month, Lowrie abandoned the project to focus on building a speedway in California, leaving the project to be led by race team owner Larry Clement. Although Clement claimed that by October he had commitment from private anonymous investors totaling $7-10 million, Vision Iowa leaders refused to still give the remaining money, claiming that they did not feel that sufficient proof of total commitment from investors had been provided, with Vision Iowa demanding that the identities of the investors be released. The funding was rejected by the fall of 2002.

U.S. MotorSport Entertainment Corporation bid, delays, eventual construction

On April 16, 2003, the Newton City Council unanimously approved a proposed project for a $30 million, , 25,000-seat, multi-use racing facility headed by the U.S. MotorSport Entertainment Corporation and its CEO, Paul Schlaack. The project proposal planned to build it near Interstate 80, with Newton officials in charge of approving the project rather than those from Jasper County. However, although the city planned to invest $9 million into the facility, they opted to wait to build the track until Schlaack found enough investors for the project. In June, NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace was announced as the leading designer of the project. Schlaack unveiled plans in October, with the city now investing a planned $17.3 million with stated hopes of an opening date in 2005. Although plans were made to hold groundbreaking in spring of 2004, construction was delayed in June due to a lack of funds for the now-$50 million project.

In February 2005, progress on the project resumed when developers announced that they had gathered enough funds; by this point, the budget had increased to $70 million, and the opening year was delayed until 2006. The developers later sought to pass a ten-year sales tax break bill; the proposed bill was the first of its kind proposed in the state of Iowa. The bill drew bipartisan support from the Iowa General Assembly, and was passed from committee in late March. However, while the bill was supported by then-Governor of Iowa Tom Vilsack, the bill drew worries of draining the state's tax revenue based on future precedent, with Vilsack suggesting to retool the bill. It passed the Iowa House of Representatives on April 12, and was later approved by Vilsack on May 4. The project received further support with a promise from the Georgia-based UBG Financial Corporation to lend up to $57 million for the project; although, it was met with skepticism due to claims of finding "little physical evidence of hecompany".

Groundbreaking was held on June 21, 2005. The project was met with optimism, as the economic impact of the facility for the city of Newton was seen as a satisfactory boost for a stagnating city; especially since the biggest employer of the city, Maytag, had begun major layoffs at its Newton factory. By August, Todd Melfi was appointed as the track's general manager. In mid-October, the track confirmed racing dates for the 2006 season with ARCA Re/Max Series and United States Auto Club (USAC)-sanctioned events, with a Hooters Pro Cup Series race being scheduled to christen the facility on September 15, 2006. Two months later, developers secured a $40 million loan from Wells Fargo in replacement of UBG Financial, who seemingly abandoned the project. By April 2006, developers stated hopes of expanding the area to include a water park and a hotel nearby the facility. After the Maytag factory closed in May, the facility was depended on heavily by the Newton area to replace the economic bloodline of the city. In June, the facility was rumored to hold an Indy Racing League (IRL) race weekend for 2007; the report was confirmed in August.

First events, sales to Clement family and NASCAR

The facility opened as scheduled on September 15, 2006, with Woody Howard winning the first race at the track. The race and its preliminary sessions were marred with excessive tire wear, with mandatory competition cautions being implemented prior to the event. Three weeks later, the facility held its first music festival. The next year, the facility held its first IRL race, with Dario Franchitti winning the first major race at the facility. In late February 2008, chief financial officer Jerry Jauron replaced Stan Clement as the track's president. That same year, the facility was awarded annual NASCAR races for 2009, with the second-tier NASCAR Nationwide Series (now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series) and the third-tier NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Three years later, in accordance with a plan to transfer ownership of the track within five years, U.S. MotorSport Entertainment sold controlling interest of the facility to the Clement family, a family from Newton. Jauron left shortly thereafter in September, handing over the track's control to Doug Fritz, the senior director of marketing for NASCAR. In 2013, the track sought an $8 million grant from the Iowa General Assembly to improve amenities, but failed. In the same year, the track was found to be in financial trouble, with the facility being late on bill payments. As a result, Fritz resigned, with track management claiming that the track was seeking a refinancing deal in early September. Two months later, ''The Des Moines Register'' reported that the facility had been sold to the sanctioning body of NASCAR for $10 million, with Jimmy Small taking over Fritz's position of leadership.

With the purchase of the track, NASCAR chairman Brian France stated hopes of the facility hosting a Nationwide Series version of the NASCAR All-Star Race; he also said that he was not interested in giving the facility a Cup Series date as the schedule was "full". In February 2018, David Hyatt, the former president of the Motor Racing Network (MRN), replaced Small as the president of the track. Hyatt stated hopes of expanding the facility, along with obtaining a NASCAR Cup Series weekend; particularly, the NASCAR All-Star Race. By the following year, Hyatt claimed that Iowa Speedway had high chances of being awarded a Cup Series date in 2021.

Reported proposed sale, resurgence

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the track's races for 2020 were either canceled or run with fewer spectators. By mid-2020, journalist Robin Miller reported rumors that racing mogul Roger Penske was hoping to buy the facility to keep it on the IndyCar schedule; the facility was also rumored to be in financial trouble. Other rumors were also made at the same time that the track was going to be closed down. The rumors of closing were repelled by former general manager Craig Armstrong, who claimed that although the facility would not host any NASCAR or IndyCar races in 2021, the situation was a "temporary setback", with the track still hoping to host club racing events. When the track reopened to full capacity in July 2021 for the NASCAR fourth-tier ARCA Menards Series, attendance was reported at 5,000, putting future events in jeopardy. However, a month later, IndyCar announced its return to the facility in 2022, this time with a doubleheader event.

On October 2, 2023, reports by ''The Athletic'' claimed that NASCAR, in seeking a replacement for a failed attempt of trying to lure a Cup Series weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the 2024 season, opted to choose Iowa Speedway as a backup option. The decision was confirmed a day later, with the facility slated to hold its first Cup Series races since its opening. In February 2024, Eric Peterson, a NASCAR regional director for corporate sales, was appointed to replace Hyatt as the track's president.

Events

Racing

NASCAR

The facility hosts an annual NASCAR weekend featuring the NASCAR Cup Series' Iowa Corn 350 and the NASCAR Xfinity Series' Hy-Vee PERKS 250. From 2009 to 2019, the track also hosted the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series events. From 2012 to 2013, the track hosted a second Truck Series race with the Fan Appreciation 200.

IndyCar

The Indy Racing League (now known as the IndyCar Series) announced their intentions to run annual IndyCar races at the facility in 2006, with the first races being run in 2007. In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, IndyCar opted to run a doubleheader at the facility. IndyCar decided to stick with the doubleheader format when the series resumed racing at the facility in 2022.

Other racing events

The facility has played host to a variety races hosted by varying sanctioning bodies, including the ARCA Menards Series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, the Pro Mazda Championship, and the USF2000 Championship.

Lap records

As of July 2024, the fastest official race lap records of the Iowa Speedway are listed as:

Notes

References

External links

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ARCA Menards Series tracks
IndyCar Series tracks
Buildings and structures in Jasper County, Iowa
Motorsport venues in Iowa
NASCAR tracks
Tourist attractions in Jasper County, Iowa
NASCAR races at Iowa Speedway
2006 establishments in Iowa
Newton, Iowa