Iowa is finally getting a race in NASCAR’s top series.
The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi reported Monday that Iowa Speedway will be added to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
It’s a huge win for the 0.875-mile track located in Newton, Iowa, about 30 miles east of the capital city of Des Moines.
Former NASCAR star Rusty Wallace, who designed the track and has served as minority owner, had long dreamed of landing a Cup race at the facility, which opened in 2006. While the track has hosted lower-level races by the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series, a Cup race always seemed just out of reach.
The Athletic report noted that Iowa Speedway in effect landed the race because NASCAR’s first choice for a new track fell through.
“The NASCAR industry was excited about the possibility of going to Montreal, but with those hopes diminishing, it seemed Iowa was for some reason tabbed as the next-best option for a new track on the 2024 schedule,” Gluck noted.
An official announcement is expected Tuesday. The speedway jumped the gun Monday, with its website briefly promoting a “2024 NASCAR Weekend” for the Cup Series on June 16, 2024 before removing the item.
It’s the second major sport Iowa has landed in recent years. In 2021, MLB began hosting a “Field of Dreams” game at the site where that classic movie was filmed in Dyersville, Iowa.
