Why Has NASCAR Only Partially Repaved Iowa Speedway? A Detailed Look at Cup Series’ Newest Venue

NASCAR returns to the Iowa Speedway this coming weekend for the first time in several years and they’ve already done something not a lot of people are happy about. The mile-long track was recently repaved in parts after the organization said that they had no plans of doing so. It turns out that the extreme cold of Iowa winters harmed certain areas of the track and they had no choice but to repave.

As per RACER, the bottom lane on both ends of the track through the corners was worked upon. However, repaving only a part of a track makes it quite uneven and drivers will end up struggling to find as much pace on the old asphalt. However, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer has assured fans that there is no reason to be concerned about the quality of racing.

“We’re confident the repairs are to a high level, and it’s not going to be an issue and we’re still going to have some multi groove racing around the racetrack. We’re looking forward to getting out there and getting cars on the racetrack and seeing exactly how things unfold,” he said.

Iowa Speedway Corners with partial repave. What kind of racing will this lead to? pic.twitter.com/ueqA7sHtRK

— Trackside (@Tracksidenow) June 11, 2024

The NASCAR executive may be confident about multi-groove racing but it did not take long for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to share his concern.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls bluff on NASCAR executive’s claim

As a former NASCAR driver, Junior understands the track from the perspective of a driver. Hence, he believes that no one would consciously choose to race on the old asphalt so multi-groove racing was out of the picture. With a lot of cars trying to race on the newly paved surface, it might end up being a wreckfest at some point.

“You’re kidding yourself if you think that there’s going to be multiple grooves, and you’re kidding yourself if you think you’re going to use that old asphalt racing a normal line. You’re never going to want to be in it. Once they work that new asphalt groove in, that’s where you’re gonna have to be, to be competitive,” he told 5 GOATS.

The Iowa Corn 350 already has a lot of eyeballs looking forward to it and this new repave adds just a bit more inquisitiveness regarding the outcome on Sunday. It would disappointing, however, if the racing quality is not up to the mark.