Auto Racing Insider Pete Pistone Posted Thursday, July 30, 2009
NEWTON, Ia. - Iowa Speedway wasn't promised anything in terms of race dates by any sanctioning body when the first shovel went into the ground on this state-of-the-art facility located a little bit east of Des Moines.
But once this racing "Field of Dreams" rose out of the Iowa cornfields, the race dates started to come.
Regional touring divisions were followed by national stock car and open wheel tours as the track built its calendar with a solid line-up of diverse competition.
Once the likes of the ASA Midwest Series, USAR Pro Cup, ARCA, NASCAR's Camping World East and West circuits and USAC competed at the track even more prominent organizations took notice of the full grandstands and tight racing.
The Indy Racing League, before it went on its current path of launching oval tracks for more road courses and street circuits, landed here a few years ago to race reviews and sell-out crowds.
But the track hit the big-time when NASCAR awarded a Nationwide Series race to Iowa Speedway and the buzz around this area for Saturday's inaugural U.S. Cellular 250 is as high as the Iowa corn in the sky.
Temporary grandstands were brought in to accommodate the mad demand for tickets and if Saturday's race isn't a complete sell-out it's about as close as it can get.
The .875-mile track, designed in part by Rusty Wallace, should give the Nationwide set the perfect venue to put on a stellar race, which would be the perfect follow-up to the show at O'Reilly Raceway Park last weekend.
The weekend won't be the last on one of NASCAR's big stages this year either. The economic woes that hit Ohio's Mansfield Speedway forced NASCAR to look for an alternative track to host the Camping World Truck Series. They found the perfect solution in Iowa and Labor Day weekend will find the trucks making their debut at the track.
It's all coming together for track management who created a standout facility and without lawsuits or a legal system got race dates to create a schedule.
Whether or not a Sprint Cup date ever comes here, not a likely scenario given the proximity to Kansas Speedway which is about a three hour drive from the front gate, is not the point.
NASCAR is here and the fans will turn out in droves to watch.
It's the perfect example of building it and watching them come.
Pete Pistone is the Senior Editor of RacingOne. Pistone is also the co-host of "The Morning Drive," which airs Monday through Friday from 7-11 a.m. ET on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128. He also hosts the syndicated "SpeedJournal Report," heard on 100 radio stations nationwide and Pistone is a sports reporter/anchor for Chicago's WGN Radio and also hosts weekly auto racing segments on the station. Pistone serves as the national motorsports writer for CBS Sports.com.
