Iowa
Will Moon, Iowa football donor and owner of Iowa 80 truck stop, dies at 64
Video: Iowa football QB Jeremy Hecklinski provides summer update
Iowa football’s Jeremy Hecklinski meets with media on July 15, 2026.
The accounting student whose name is attached to the University of Iowa’s endowment for the head football coaching position and who created an athletics excellence fund at the school grew up as a “truck-stop kid.”
Will Moon raced around towering semis while his parents labored to grow what, six decades later, is now the massive, hugely popular Iowa 80 World’s Largest Truck Stop along Interstate 80 at the Walcott exit.
The longtime UI donor and namesake of the Moon Family Head Football Coach died on Thursday, July 16. He was 64.
“I was very saddened to hear about Will’s passing,” Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz said in a news release. “Will and his wife Renee have been very generous in their support of our program and Hawkeye athletics. Hawkeye student-athletes will benefit from their gifts for years to come.”
Moon arrived in Iowa City at the perfect moment for a football fan in the fall of 1979, just as coach Hayden Fry was beginning the revival of the Hawkeye football program, and Moon was captivated.
“From that point on, Iowa football was fun again,” Moon told the University of Iowa Center for Advancement in 2021.
Moon grew up working at the truck stop during the summers after his parents took over in the 1960s. His father, Bill Moon, an entrepreneur, bought the truck stop after he found the land for Standard Oil as construction of Iowa’s portion of I-80 neared completion. A year later, Bill Moon convinced Standard Oil to let him run the truck stop, and he took full ownership in 1964.
As a teenager, Moon became interested in the family business and its operations, and, with an aptitude for math, came to the University of Iowa to study accounting, paving the way for a successful business career and to take over the family business.
While at Iowa, Moon met his wife, Renee Breckenridge Moon. Their first date was at The Airliner in downtown Iowa City, where they watched the Hawkeye football team defeat Penn State. Ever since, they cheered for the Hawkeyes from inside Kinnick Stadium, in opponents’ venues and at bowl games.
Moon and his wife rank among UI Athletics’ most generous donors. Their support created an endowment fund for the operational needs of Hawkeye football, establishing the Will and Renee Moon Excellence Fund for unrestricted athletics initiatives, and providing leadership support for the Kinnick Edge Campaign to revitalize the north end zone. In recognition of this generosity, the UI permanently designated the football leadership position, ensuring that Moon Family Head Football Coach will be the official title held by Ferentz and all future UI head football coaches.
“Will was one of the kindest, most genuine people you could ever meet, and his love for the Hawkeyes was unwavering,” Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz said in a news release. “His generosity and loyalty helped shape Iowa Athletics, but it was the relationships he built and the way he cared for others that will be remembered most. He was a dear friend and truly part of the Hawkeye family.”
Visitation will be Monday, July 20, from 4-8 p.m. at Runge Mortuary in Davenport. Funeral services will be Tuesday, July 21, at 10 a.m. at Calvary Church of Walcott, followed by burial at Walcott Cemetery.
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @rishjessica_
Ty Gibbs didn’t question his crew chief’s final pit call.
“I can’t do anything about it, so you just run with it,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs used late pit strategy and held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell over the final 20 laps to win the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Iowa Speedway.
Gibbs — the 23-year-old grandson of former NFL coaching great and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs — won by 0.253 seconds over Bell for his second victory of the season and his career.
Gibbs and Bell each pitted with 60 laps remaining in the 350-lap race, but while Bell took four tires, Gibbs just went with two right-side tires, and came out ahead. And when leader Ross Chastain pitted on Lap 330, Gibbs took over the top spot and fought off a late charge by Bell.
Tyler Allen, Gibbs’ crew chief, thought taking two tires was the only chance to get ahead of Bell in that final pit cycle.
“We knew after practice the left sides weren’t wearing much and they tended to refire OK,” Allen said. “So in terms of coming into the race, it was definitely a viable option.”
Gibbs liked the aggressive call.
“I think in the position with our points situation, for sure,” he said.
Gibbs, who picked up his first career win April 12 at Bristol, came into the race ranked fourth in the season standings, and moved into second — 103 points behind JGR teammate Denny Hamlin.
Gibbs, who had an issue in the pits on his first stop of the day when his jack fell too early during the tire change, fell back to 28th before charging back.
“You’re kind of hosed after that deal,” Gibbs said. “So you’ve got to stay locked in and keep working.”
It was the seventh second-place finish of the season for Bell, who led 108 laps.
“Ty did a really good job,” Bell said. “He did a great job of managing the race.”
Pole-sitter Ryan Blaney, who won the inaugural 2024 Cup Series race at the 0.875-mile oval, was third after leading a race-high 129 laps.
Josh Berry finished fourth. It was Berry’s best finish of the season, and only his third top-10 finish. Hamlin finished fifth.
Chase Briscoe was sixth. Chastain recovered to finish seventh. AJ Allmendinger was eighth, followed by defending race winner William Byron. Austin Dillon was 10th.
Reddick’s struggles
Tyler Reddick’s summer struggles continued when he crashed into Erik Jones four laps into the race.
The rear end of Reddick’s car slid entering Turn 1, and Reddick ran into Jones before hitting the wall. Reddick finished last in the 36-car field.
“A 100% that was on me,” Reddick said. “It’s something I don’t normally do, make those kinds of mistakes. Just gut-wrenching on a lot of levels. I thought we kind of figured out what we needed to do for the race today, and made a killer mistake earlier.”
Reddick won the first three races of the season, and four of the first six, and has five wins overall. But he has had four finishes of 30th place or worse in the last six races.
No brakes, all gas for Hamlin
Hamlin had brake issues during practice Saturday, which led to the team changing brake rotors and a cooling unit. Hamlin had to go to the rear of the field, but surged back to finish fifth despite having more brake issues during the race.
“I just had white knuckles every lap, not knowing where my car was going to land when I got in the corner,” Hamlin said. “That was a crazy race to have to do it the whole time without (brakes), but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and the team did an amazing job. I would take that day a hundred out of a hundred times.”
“I’ve never seen Denny that exhausted,” Joe Gibbs said. “I think he drove his heart out.”
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The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down in eastern Iowa as severe storms brought damaging winds and large hail to the region.
Storm survey teams assessed damage Saturday in Buchanan, Linn and Jones counties.
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF2 tornado in northwest Buchanan County and an EF1 tornado in northeast Linn County.
Survey teams also identified two large swaths of significant straight-line wind damage. Some areas experienced estimated winds of 80 to more than 90 mph, along with very large, wind-driven hail.
The storms caused significant damage to trees, farm buildings and crops. Some homes also sustained extensive damage to siding and windows.
The National Weather Service said additional information from the storm surveys could be released in the coming days.
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