NASCAR’s future at Iowa Speedway appears to be hanging in the balance after two years at the 0.875-mile oval. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was ahead of the curve as he made his feelings clear on the venue last year, while Kevin Harvick has now laid into NextGen cars after the most recent race. 

Following his win at the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol on Sunday, which saw him stave off late fuel concerns, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron weighed in on the track’s future, suggesting that while he loves the area, it may be time for the track to be given some fresh asphalt if it’s to return.

“They should probably see it through now. The track’s starting to age pretty quickly,” the 27-year-old commented. “Probably be good if you repave the top now, at least repave the straightaways…

“It’s kind of like our strategy today, once you kind of committed to it, you got to see it through. I’m not sure where it goes from here, but we’re going to keep hopefully coming here, and it was awesome today.

“The fans, the facility is so clean and nice, and I love this area. Quickly becoming one of my favorite Cup destinations. It was already that in the Xfinity and Trucks, but it’s becoming that in Cup as well.”

Iowa is a track where Byron has enjoyed consistent success over the years, finishing second in the Cup Series in 2024, while winning there in the Xfinity, Craftsman Truck, and K&N Pro Series.

In fact, his ties to the 19-year-old facility go back to his teenage years, honing his driving skills on iRacing. “The funny story, back story with this place and kind of Pocono ropes into that as well, is when I was a kid, I was the iRacing schedule would always line up with the racetracks in the summer, and that’s when I’d have the most time to iRace was in the summer,” he explained.

“So I would race this track a ton on iRacing. So I feel like that’s why it’s been a good track for me is I just have thousands of laps kind of in my head of how the rhythm of this place goes and even with repaves and everything, I feel like I just spend so much time as a 14-year-old, 13-year-old, just racing on iRacing on Iowa and Pocono.

“So I feel like those tracks in the summer, it honestly lines up pretty good. Those are usually our fastest tracks.”

DON’T MISS:

Whether or not Iowa will return in 2026 remains to be seen, with the NASCAR schedule still in the works. However, according to The Des Moines Register, a fan was told in late July by NASCAR spokesperson Matt Humphrey that it would come as a surprise if it did not return next season.

“The 2026 NASCAR schedule is still in development, but we look forward to sharing the finalized details,” Humphrey told the outlet in a statement.

Aside from Iowa, the 2026 schedule appears to be taking shape, with Mexico City and the Chicago street course both dropped, per The Athletic, while Chicagoland Speedway is set to return. San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado has also been announced as the host of a new street race, with the event set to help celebrate the Navy’s 250th anniversary.