Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds held a press conference on Tuesday morning to reveal the news.
The 7/8th-mile paved short track, located in Newton, Iowa, will host a NASCAR race weekend on June 14-16 next season with an ARCA Menards Series race on June 14, a Xfinity race on June 15 and a Cup event on June 16.
Iowa was on the ARCA schedule this season and the Xfinity Series last competed at Iowa in 2019. The track has never previously hosted a Cup series event.
Iowa will be the first short track on the Cup scheduled located outside the Southeast United States.
"We’re really excited to be heading to Iowa Speedway,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR‘s senior vice president of racing development and strategy. “The first time in what will be the 76-year history that we’ve had a (Cup) race at Iowa Speedway, and the first time in a really long time that we’ve had a (Cup) race in the state of Iowa, so we’re excited to get there.
“We talk a lot about the racing product and what that looks like, and we hear from a lot of our fans that would like to see more short tracks. And then we also hear how good intermediate racing is with this Next Gen car. And I think Iowa in a lot of ways shows both the short track as well as an intermediate race track in the way that it races. I’m so excited to see it on the schedule.”
The Midwestern short track is a favorite among drivers and fans throughout its 17-year history. With Tuesday‘s announcement, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Hawkeye State for the first time since 1953, when Herb Thomas drove the No. 92 Fabulous Hudson Hornet to victory at Davenport Speedway, a 0.5-mile dirt track 130 miles east of Iowa Speedway.
“This is a dream come true,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, Iowa Speedway‘s co-founder and designer. “This track was built with the intent of hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race one day, and to finally see it come together is a testament to the tenacity of the great race fans in Iowa.”
