Iowa
NASCAR's Cup Series comes to Iowa, but it's not the same track the drivers remember
NEWTON, Iowa — Christopher Bell likes that the NASCAR Cup Series will be at Iowa Speedway for the first time.
Heading into Sunday’s race, the .875-mile track isn’t quite the one he remembers.
Bell has seven top-five finishes in nine starts at the track in NASCAR’s other series, including two wins in the Xfinity Series.
But the track has a different look this weekend after a partial repaving in the turns. The top-to-bottom racing that was a characteristic of the track in the past may not be there for Sunday’s 350-lap race.
“If we were on the old pavement, I feel like it would be a big advantage to have,” Bell said. “But with the repave we have, it’s essentially a new racetrack. I really think it’s anybody’s ballgame.”
An estimated 40,000 fans are expected for Sunday’s race. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday were sold out by the spring, and Friday’s Cup and Xfinity practice as well as an ARCA Menards Series race were nearly sold out.
The first Cup race is an accomplishment after years of the track trying to get on the schedule.
Chase Briscoe does a burnout after winning a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race, Saturday, July 27, 2019, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Iowa Speedway, which opened in 2006, gets its long awaited NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, June 16, 2024. Credit: AP/Matthew Putney
The track, designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, opened in 2006. The IndyCar Series held its first race at the track in 2007, with NASCAR’s Xfinity and Truck series coming to the track in 2009.
NASCAR purchased the track in 2013 to save it from financial problems, but it seemed destined for closing after the COVID-19 pandemic, when only an ARCA Menards Series race was held there in 2021. But the IndyCar Series, which skipped coming to the track in 2021, came back with doubleheaders in 2022 and 2023 that drew near-capacity crowds.
NASCAR then announced last fall that the track would be getting a Cup Series race this season, as well as a return of the Xfinity Series.
Eighteen of the drivers in Sunday’s field have at least one win at the track in one of NASCAR’s other series.
Chase Briscoe does a burnout after winning a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race, Saturday, July 27, 2019, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Iowa Speedway, which opened in 2006, gets its long awaited NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, June 16, 2024. Credit: AP/Matthew Putney
“I walked out here and I felt like it was a lot bigger than I remembered,” said Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won three Xfinity Series races here. “I felt like it was a pretty small short track, but obviously you get going pretty quick here.”
“It’s still Iowa, but it’s not the same Iowa,” said Chase Briscoe, who won the last Xfinity Series race at the track in 2019.
Bell had the same wistfulness.
“I miss the old Iowa,” he said.
Larson up front
Kyle Larson will start on the pole after posting a fast lap of 136.458 mph. Ryan Blaney was second at 136.311.
Saturday morning’s rain wiped out Xfinity Series qualifying and forced NASCAR to alter the Cup Series qualifying. Drivers went out in two groups, with the top five in each group filling the top 10 qualifying spots.
Larson was the last driver to go through qualifying.
“It helped to go at last,” Larson said. “I’m sure the track was getting a little bit better.”
If you build it
Joey Logano was 16 years old when he competed in the first race at Iowa Speedway, finishing 40th in a Hooters Pro Cup event. So he wasn’t surprised at the reception the Cup drivers have received this weekend.
“They love it,” said Logano, who won at the track less than a year later in a K&N Pro Series race. “I noticed that 20 years ago or whatever it was when the stands were packed for a Pro Cup race. So you can imagine what it’s like to get a Cup race. I joked around, I said, ‘I don’t know where all of these fans are coming from, there are a lot of corn fields out here.’ It’s kind of like the Field of Dreams.”
Hawkeye State
Corey LaJoie will get some attention from Iowa fans just because of his paint scheme. LaJoie’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet is carrying the Tigerhawk logo of the University of Iowa’s sports teams.
Gainbridge is LaJoie’s primary sponsor, and former Iowa’s women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark, who has her own endorsement deal with Gainbridge, made note of LaJoie’s car in a video released on social media on Friday.
“I know I’ll be rooting for the black-and-gold car,” said Clark, the reigning national player of the year who finished her college career as the NCAA’s Division I all-time scoring leader. She was the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA draft.
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Television Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Libertarians will be on the ballot statewide for the first time since 2018.
Incumbent Republican Congressman Zach Nunn will face off against a well-funded Democrat, and now a Libertarian entering the field may make it even tougher.
Marco Battaglia says his candidacy gives voters a choice to break away from the two-party system.
“We got Polk County pretty much where people just show up and check, you know, the D next to the name. And we got a lot of the other counties where people just show up and check the R next to the name. A good goal would just to be get people thinking about those three options rather than just knowing they’re going to show up and vote for a color,” Battaglia said.
In 2022, Nunn won by 2,145 votes against Democrat Cindy Axne.
With yet another tight race on the horizon, Battaglia says he’s not worried about being labeled a spoiler.
“I think that’s a really shortsighted way of looking at politics. The sooner that Iowans and the people of the district get used to a multi-party system, a system where someone can just run as no party as an independent and have a fair race the better I think it’ll be for everyone that lives here,” Battaglia said.
Iowa State University Political Science Professor Dave Peterson says if Battaglia has any impact on the race, it would be as a spoiler.
“The margins matter, right? If the Libertarian pulls a couple of points from Nunn – if that takes him from 53 to 51, not a big deal. But if it takes him just over the edge where the Democrat, you know, has slightly more then it matters, but I think that’s unlikely. I think Nunn is likely to win this race,” Peterson said.
Peterson says the effects of a third-party candidate may be muted since Donald Trump being on the ballot will lead to higher Republican turnout.
Battaglia isn’t the only Libertarian running for Congress. In Eastern Iowa, Nicholas Gluba is running in Iowa’s 1st congressional district. In Northwest Iowa, Charles Aldrich is running in the 4th district.
—
Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Television-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
The Iowa State Cyclones unveiled a fourth new uniform for the 2024 season on Thursday afternoon, which adds to the set of three new unis they unveiled in early May. Although that set did include a white uniform, the numbers, wordmark and sleeve stripes were cardinal and gold. This new uniform is white with only black accoutrements.
As always, lets start with the hype video:
The fourth jersey is here‼️
🌪️🚨🌪️ pic.twitter.com/cF5b3kpYeG
— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) June 20, 2024
Here’s how that compares to the other three sets they unveiled previously:
Ain’t no joke.
🌪️🚨🌪️ pic.twitter.com/adGdmZZNj9
— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) May 1, 2024
The new hype video unfortunately doesn’t show any rear views of the uniform, but we can safely assume that both NOB and number will be black.
There are some additional views here:
⚪️⚫️⚪️⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/sBmGS60wRf
— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) June 20, 2024
The helmet is white, and it was previously shown with the set released in early May. Clearly this uniform is designed to be worn as part of an “Icy White” or “Stormtrooper” theme. In fact, the video showing players holding what looks to be a lightsaber portends the Star Wars theme. However, Stormtroopers didn’t use lightsabers, so that’s a curious prop. And most Jedi didn’t wear mono white.
The white jersey and helmet were also shown with black pants, so it appears that will be an option.
I donno. Maybe it’s not a lightsaber.
This new uniform is fine, but it also seems completely unnecessary. They already introduced a perfectly good white uniform — in actual school colors — so this feels like overkill. But this is obviously part of the current trend in college football so it is what it is.
Your thoughts?
News
H5N1 in Iowa dairy herds reaches 8 cases
Another case of H5N1 Influenza A has been confirmed in an Iowa dairy herd.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says the most recent detection occurred in dairy cattle in Sioux County. It’s the eighth detection of the virus within the state’s dairy herds.
State Ag Secretary Mike Naig says supportive care can help dairy cattle recover with little to no mortality association with the disease.
Suspected cases can be reported to the agency at 515-281-5305.
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