NASCAR Purchases Iowa Speedway

NASCAR officials announced on Wednesday that the sanctioning body has purchased Iowa Speedway in Newton, Ia.

Iowa Speedway LogoA release from NASCAR states: “In a strategic move designed to expand its commitment to enhancing event experiences and fan engagement, as well as solidify the future of one of the premier racing and entertainment facilities in the Midwest, NASCAR announced today that it has purchased Iowa Speedway.”

“Iowa Speedway is a great entertainment facility with a very bright future,” Eric Nyquist, NASCAR vice president, strategic development said in a release. “The facility has the support of the region, it’s positioned well in the heart of the Midwest, and year in and year out it provides great short-track racing action for motorsports fans.

“NASCAR ownership will allow us to draw on the entire resources of our company. It also provides us with the opportunity to execute first-hand a number of entertainment ideas and engagement opportunities with fans – much of which we have outlined repeatedly as the core of our Industry Action Plan.”

The purchase was made by NASCAR, which is a privately owned company controlled by the France family. The France family also controls the publicly traded International Speedway Corporation, which operates a number of facilities on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.

Iowa Speedway, located 30 miles of of Des Moines, is an .875-mile speedway that was designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Rusty Wallace.

Iowa Speedway is scheduled to host a the NASCAR K&N Pro Series for an East/West combination event on May 17 next year with a Nationwide Series event scheduled for May 18. Also on the scheduled for 2014 is a Camping World Truck Series/IndyCar Series weekend scheduled for July 11-12. On Aug. 1 the track will host another K&N Pro Series East/West combination event followed by a second Nationwide Series event on Aug. 2.

The release from NASCAR announcing the purchase of the facility states: “NASCAR has no plans for Iowa Speedway to host a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race next year or in the immediate future.”

NASCAR is expected to announce more details concerning the purchase of the facility during an event at the track on Dec. 12.

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Comments

  1. howscarol14 says

    Is there a read on that NASCAR (instead of ISC) bought a track for the France family? Could there be a family split over strategy?

  2. Watch out, when NASCAR buys a track they like to close it. Pikes Peak and Nazareth come to mind.

  3. Iowa has always had good numbers in attendance no matter what race it is. As far as what I see on TV that is. But two things might happen. ISC will get a sprint Cup race at the track in 2015 when they say “Big changes will come to the Sprint Cup schedule.” When NBC takes over the new TV deal in 2015. Or ISC will close the track and move the races to tracks they want.

    But I can tell you this. This will be the last time IRL will be at Iowa. From what I know Indy Car dose not like racing at ISC tracks since Champ Car and Indy Car combined a few years ago.

  4. Paul,

    ISC did not buy the track. NASCAR bought the track. I know people say there’s no difference, but there is a difference.

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