Iowa Speedway is a 0.875 mi (1.408 km)[a] ovalshort track inNewton, Iowa. Since its inaugural season of racing in 2006, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, including events sanctioned byNASCAR andIndyCar. NASCAR has owned the facility since 2013, with Eric Peterson currently serving as the track's president. Iowa Speedway is served byInterstate 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 1.300 mi (2.092 km) 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 1 mi (1.6 km) 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 ofNASCAR later bought the track in 2013 to save the facility from financial issues.
The speedway in its current form is measured at7⁄8 mile (1.4 km), 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.[1] Varying sanctioning bodies have disputed the length of the track;NASCAR's official measurement is at 0.875 mi,[2] whileIndyCar measures the track at 0.894 miles (1.439 km).[3]
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.[4]
The facility is served byInterstate 80, and is approximately 35 miles (56 km) east from the Iowa capital ofDes Moines.[5] According to a 2023 report byThe Des Moines Register, it holds 30,000 seats.[6] In a 2006Autoweek report, the track constructed 28 luxury suites;[4] in recent years, extra temporary suites for its IndyCar races were developed byHy-Vee.[7]
In November 2000,Kentucky Speedway developer Jerry Carroll proposed to theJasper County board of supervisors plans to build a $76 million, 40,000-seat, 1 mile (1.6 km) track inNewton, 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.[8] 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.[9] The project drew support from Newton mayor David Aldridge,[10] 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.[11][12]
An approval from Vision Iowa was considered critical for the project to survive, with developers hoping to secure $20 million.[13] However, by August, the remaining available funding from Vision Iowa dropped lower than the amount needed.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16][17] The funding was rejected by the fall of 2002.[18]
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,7⁄8 mile (1.4 km), 25,000-seat, multi-use racing facility headed by the U.S. MotorSport Entertainment Corporation and its CEO, Paul Schlaack.[19] The project proposal planned to build it nearInterstate 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.[18] In June, NASCAR driverRusty Wallace was announced as the leading designer of the project.[20] Schlaack unveiled plans in October, with the city now investing a planned $17.3 million with stated hopes of an opening date in 2005.[21][22] Although plans were made to holdgroundbreaking in spring of 2004, construction was delayed in June due to a lack of funds for the now-$50 million project.[23][24]
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.[25] 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.[26] The bill drew bipartisan support from theIowa General Assembly,[27] and was passed from committee in late March.[28] However, while the bill was supported by then-Governor of IowaTom Vilsack, the bill drew worries of draining the state's tax revenue based on future precedent, with Vilsack suggesting to retool the bill.[29][30] It passed theIowa House of Representatives on April 12,[31] and was later approved by Vilsack on May 4.[32] 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 [the] company".[33]
Groundbreaking was held on June 21, 2005.[34] 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.[35] By August, Todd Melfi was appointed as the track's general manager.[36] In mid-October, the track confirmed racing dates for the 2006 season withARCA Re/Max Series[37] andUnited States Auto Club (USAC)-sanctioned events, with aHooters Pro Cup Series race being scheduled to christen the facility on September 15, 2006.[38][39] Two months later, developers secured a $40 million loan fromWells Fargo in replacement of UBG Financial, who seemingly abandoned the project.[40] By April 2006, developers stated hopes of expanding the area to include a water park and a hotel nearby the facility.[41] 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.[42] In June, the facility was rumored to hold anIndy Racing League (IRL) race weekend for 2007;[43] the report was confirmed in August.[44]
The facility opened as scheduled on September 15, 2006, with Woody Howard winning the first race at the track.[45] The race and its preliminary sessions were marred with excessive tire wear, with mandatory competition cautions being implemented prior to the event.[46] Three weeks later, the facility held its first music festival.[47] The next year, the facility held its first IRL race, withDario Franchitti winning the first major race at the facility.[48][49] In late February 2008, chief financial officer Jerry Jauron replaced Stan Clement as the track's president.[50] That same year, the facility was awarded annual NASCAR races for 2009, with theNASCAR Nationwide Series (now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series)[51] and theNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.[52]
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.[53] Jauron left shortly thereafter in September,[54] handing over the track's control to Doug Fritz, the senior director of marketing for NASCAR.[55] In 2013, the track sought an $8 million grant from the Iowa General Assembly to improve amenities, but failed.[56] 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.[57] Two months later,The Des Moines Register reported that the facility had been sold to the sanctioning body of NASCAR for $10 million,[58][59] with Jimmy Small taking over Fritz's position of leadership.[60]
With the purchase of the track, NASCAR chairmanBrian France stated hopes of the facility hosting a Nationwide Series version of theNASCAR All-Star Race; he also said that he was not interested in giving the facility a Cup Series date as the schedule was "full".[61] In February 2018, David Hyatt, the former president of theMotor Racing Network (MRN), replaced Small as the president of the track.[62] Hyatt stated hopes of expanding the facility, along with obtaining a NASCAR Cup Series weekend; particularly, theNASCAR All-Star Race.[63] By the following year, Hyatt claimed that Iowa Speedway had high chances of being awarded a Cup Series date in 2021.[64]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the track's races for 2020 were either canceled or run with fewer spectators.[65][66] By mid-2020, journalistRobin Miller reported rumors that racing mogulRoger Penske was hoping to buy the facility to keep it on the IndyCar schedule; the facility was also rumored to be in financial trouble.[67] Other rumors were also made at the same time that the track was going to be closed down.[68][69] 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.[70] When the track reopened to full capacity in July 2021 for theARCA Menards Series, attendance was reported at 5,000, putting future events in jeopardy.[71] However, a month later, IndyCar announced its return to the facility in 2022, this time with a doubleheader event.[72]
On October 2, 2023, reports byThe Athletic claimed thatNASCAR, in seeking a replacement for a failed attempt of trying to lure a Cup Series weekend at theCircuit Gilles Villeneuve for the 2024 season, opted to choose Iowa Speedway as a backup option.[73] The decision was confirmed a day later, with the facility slated to hold its first Cup Series races since its opening.[74] In February 2024, Eric Peterson, a NASCAR regional director for corporate sales, was appointed to replace Hyatt as the track's president.[75]
The Indy Racing League (now known as theIndyCar Series) announced their intentions to run annual IndyCar races at the facility in 2006,[44] with the first races being run in 2007.[49] In 2020, as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic, IndyCar opted to run a doubleheader at the facility.[80] IndyCar decided to stick with the doubleheader format when the series resumed racing at the facility in 2022.[72]
Ryan Briscoe,Dallara IR-04,2008,IndyCar)
Michael Valiante,Riley MkXI,2007,DP)
Caio Collet
Sage Karam
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