Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of racing communications, is not sure if the governing body will return to Iowa Speedway for the 2026 season. On the Hauler Talk podcast, Forde was asked about the future of the track and a potential repave.
“TBD. As far as what we’re looking at for next year’s schedule, I think we’re probably three weeks away on when that schedule would drop,” Forde said. “Haven’t heard anything one way or the other on Iowa except all positives. I don’t have any inside information. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to talk about it anyway.”
Forde then talked about the fans who attended the race at Iowa. “They come out, and they show their love for Iowa, and they’re voting with their wallet on whether it should be on the schedule,” he said. “I imagine the powers that be will take that into account.
William Byron talks about Iowa Speedway after winning NASCAR Cup Series race
“Then the next step would be on a repave. We would get with the industry on that as well and get their opinion. Some like the old surface, or whenever there is an old surface that has this question of do we need a repave or not. Some want to keep it because that does lead to some good racing, but there are parts of that track that are kind of put together. There’s some band-aids on that track that probably need to be the more permanent solution.”
The NASCAR Cup Series began competing at Iowa last year, and Ryan Blaney won the inaugural race. On Sunday, William Byron won the Iowa Corn 350, and it was his second victory of the season. After the race, Byron was asked what he expects from Iowa Speedway going forward.
“I just kind of roll with it,” Byron said. “But I think they should probably see it through now. The track is starting to age pretty quickly. It would probably be good if you repaved the top now, at least repave the straightaways. I’m not sure. It’s kind of like our strategy today; once you’ve committed to it, you’ve just got to see it through.”
Iowa Speedway opened in 2006 and is 0.875 miles long. NASCAR has owned the track since 2013 and has hosted Xfinity Series races there since 2011.
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