How Iowa Speedway finally landed a NASCAR Cup Series race (2024)

NEWTON, Iowa — When Craig Floss’ phone rang last year, he saw who was calling and figured his friend was just reaching out to catch up. But the person on the other end also had a more pressing business-related opportunity he needed to discuss.

What Jimmy Small, a NASCAR managing director, pitched to Floss, the CEO of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, was a partnership that had been years in the making. Upon hearing what Small had to say, Floss couldn’t believe it. Something he had dreamed about was actually happening.

Iowa Speedway was going to host a NASCAR Cup Series race on June 16, 2024. The deal was done, with an announcement planned in front of the Iowa State Capitol. Small, the former Iowa track president, wanted to know if Floss’ company, which had long supported races at Iowa Speedway, wanted to sponsor the Cup race.

“I said, ‘Really, after all of these years, it’s finally going to happen?'” Floss said. “I was very shocked because it had been so long.”

Ever since Iowa first opened its doors in 2006, many within NASCAR have wanted to see the track awarded a Cup date. The 7/8-of-a-mile track 38 miles east of downtown Des Moines has a layout conducive to putting on great racing, with its multiple grooves and aged surface. While Des Moines isn’t a major market, it’s not exactly tiny, nor is it far from several larger cities. Several Xfinity Series races in the track’s early years drew crowds of over 50,000.

“I think for years, we kind of always thought that it was inevitable, right?” said Justin Allgaier, 2018 Xfinity race winner at Iowa. “… I felt like when we were having some of those really successful weekends here that it would just make natural sense to add the Cup Series back years ago.”

But despite widespread support, including sometimes persistent lobbying from drivers, Iowa never got the Cup date it wanted, the one many felt it deserved. Instead, it became a regular stop for NASCAR’s Xfinity and Truck Series.

Some of the reasons why Iowa never secured a Cup race before this year were within its control. Unstable leadership marked the track’s early years, with frequent concerns regarding its financial solvency. Another knock was Iowa’s lack of flashy track amenities, something on which NASCAR placed more importance back then than it currently does. And while there are many race fans within the area, as frustration built over the lack of a Cup date, tepid attendance followed for Xfinity and Truck races in the late 2010s.

Beyond Iowa’s control was that it came into existence when the Cup schedule was not only at its capacity but also largely a carbon copy from year to year. The track was also not owned by either of the two companies that operated most of the tracks on the 36-race schedule. It was a closed club, and Iowa was not invited past the velvet ropes.

Much has changed, however, over the past few years, both at Iowa and within NASCAR. And that has brought the track to Sunday and the first NASCAR premier series race in the state since 1953.

The first key change came in 2013 when NASCAR purchased the track for a reported $10 million. This made it easier for NASCAR to shift a Cup race here if they ever desired. It also erased any concerns of ownership instability.

Still, the issue of finding a place on the Cup schedule remained, made all the more difficult by sanctioning agreements NASCAR entered into with track operators that prevented any seismic makeover. These contracts ran through the 2020 season.

How to best recraft the schedule in 2021 became a priority for Ben Kennedy, the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., who in 2019 took on a leadership position where his duties included reshaping the Cup schedule. Among his objectives was to introduce a greater variety of tracks and bring NASCAR to untapped markets.

Over time, Kennedy has certainly accomplished this goal. Since 2021, races have been added in Los Angeles, downtown Chicago, plus within the markets of St. Louis, Nashville, Tenn., and Austin, Texas. NASCAR is planning international expansion too, with a push to add a race in either Mexico or Canada in 2025.

But as NASCAR continued to expand and transform its schedule, where exactly Iowa would slot in remained a question.

“Since we put our team together in the summer of ’19, Iowa has come up several times in a lot of our conversations,” Kennedy said. “It was always a matter of not ‘if,’ but ‘when’ for us that it would necessarily happen. … We have been talking about it since Day 1 of our scheduling conversations in 2019.”

Although Iowa checked a lot of boxes, uncertainty lingered. During COVID, the track went virtually dormant, leading to speculation that it would be shuttered for good. Then came an unexpected catalyst.

In 2022, IndyCar rented the facility to host races on consecutive nights. With Hy-Vee, an Iowa-based grocer, onboard as sponsor to help foot the bill, the weekend attracted an energetic throng of fans that gave Iowa both a much-needed jolt and reminder of the potential it offered. Another successful doubleheader the following year reaffirmed the belief Iowa could host big-time auto racing.

And when NASCAR needed to fill a date on its 2024 calendar after negotiations began breaking down with race organizers in Montreal, officials paid a visit to the track last summer. They liked what they saw. Iowa’s time had finally come.

“It’s obviously the inaugural Cup race here at a track that has paid a lot of dues,” said Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski, a three-time Xfinity Series winner at Iowa Speedway. “It’s been around now for 17 years, 18 years, so it’s finally having its day here.

“From everything I understand about the attendance and the support of the community, it’s going to be outstanding for all three nights, which is great, and it shows a pent-up demand. I think it’s important to go where you’re wanted, and it’s very clear that here in Iowa, NASCAR is wanted. … I’m glad to see a community that pays its dues get a race.”

Fans have enthusiastically greeted Iowa finally landing a date. Cup tickets never hit the open market, all sold out during presale. Saturday’s Xfinity race also sold out; and Friday’s ARCA race had just a handful of tickets remaining as of Friday afternoon.

“I’m super excited,” said Chase Briscoe, who won a 2019 Xfinity race at Iowa. “Every week we typically have meet-and-greets with sponsors and there’s always the question of, ‘What’s your favorite racetrack?’ And it’s always Iowa. I would always say, ‘Well, we don’t go there in the Cup Series, but it’s Iowa Speedway.’ And now we finally get to go there in the Cup Series. I’m super excited.”

Said Kennedy: “The energy is going to be amazing this weekend. It’s going to be electric. I’m excited to finally see Cup cars on track and what that looks like.”

The burning question surrounding Iowa is no longer whether the track will ever land a Cup date but whether NASCAR will revisit beyond Sunday. While the 2025 schedule is not yet finalized and NASCAR remains publicly noncommittal, it seems NASCAR’s visit to Iowa is likely not one-and-done.

“I remember going there (in the lower series) and for whatever reason, I remember fans always talking about how bad they wanted a Cup race,” Elliott said. “So I’m just excited they finally got a Cup race. It’s been a worthy facility for a long time and whatever the reason may be or however long we go, it’s good they have done things right over the years. They got one and hopefully they make the most of it.”

(Top photo of the NASCAR Cup Series driver field posing after practice Friday at Iowa Speedway: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

Jordan Bianchi is a motorsports reporter for The Athletic. He is a veteran sports reporter, having covered the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, college basketball, college football, NASCAR, IndyCar and sports business for several outlets. Follow Jordan on Twitter @jordan_bianchi