Track Profile: Iowa Speedway

The ARCA Menards Series at Iowa Speedway ranks among the stock car racing traditions that feature a perfect blend. Hence its status as a staple on the schedule.

Located about 30 miles east of Des Moines in Newton, Iowa, the 0.875-mile, D-shaped oval was designed in the mid-2000s with exciting racing in mind. And the venue has not disappointed in the 14 years the ARCA Menards Series has visited.

Drivers generally love racing at Iowa. That doesn’t mean the track is easy to navigate. Its progressive banking in the corners makes for multiple racing line options. And its length can be confusing, as Iowa is categorized as a short track even though it can give drivers the feel of a speedway.

This why the track is known as “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet.”

Below is everything to know about Iowa Speedway ahead of the ARCA Menards Series’ 15th visit dating back to its opening in 2006.

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Track Profile: Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway sits on Rusty Wallace Dr., a road appropriately named after the man who designed the oval track ahead of its opening in 2006.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer and 1989 Cup Series champion was called in for a driver’s perspective on the speedway’s configuration, and given the success he had experienced at Richmond Raceway, another D-shaped oval smaller than a mile in length was desirable.

What makes Iowa unique in addition to its length is its progressive banking.

“It’s the only 7/8-mile race track in the country that I’m aware of,” said Wallace. “When we designed that track, we made it three different banking angles, and those particular angles really created side-by-side racing.

“One thing I wanted to do also is really bank up the exits of the corners so drivers when they try to make a pass can stay leaning on that banking and make the pass, instead of coming off the banking and all of the sudden the track falls flat and the pass goes away.

“That’s one of the reasons almost all of the competitors who go there love racing there.”

PHOTOS: ARCA Menards Series racing at Iowa

 

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Iowa Speedway, which in addition to its oval features a road course in the infield, has hosted NASCAR Xfinity Series races, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, NTT IndyCar Series races and others in addition to is ARCA Menards Series history. The track has also hosted races for what’s now the ARCA Menards Series East and West.

As for the ARCA Menards Series races, the track has hosted 14 events and produced 14 different winners. Fittingly, Wallace’s son Steve won the first ARCA Menards Series race at Iowa in 2006. Though the elder Wallace was proud to see ARCA racing at the track even before his son reached Victory Lane.

“They’re real fast; the way they design the cars, the engine combinations,” Rusty Wallace said of the ARCA Menards Series. “Every time you see an ARCA race, it’s exciting. That’s one of the reasons when it was brought up we were going to run an ARCA race at Iowa, I was one of the guys real excited about that.”

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ARCA Menards Series races at Iowa Speedway