The late Humpy Wheeler, a race promoter extraordinaire and a man who should be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, said on numerous occasions that a racing fan with a bulldozer could be one of the most dangerous people on Earth.
Never can tell when a big fan with earth-moving equipment might try to build a race track. Best to leave it to the experts.
And the experts are? Drivers, maybe? Could make a bit of sense that the people who run cars at ridiculous speeds around closed courses would know a thing or two about how to design one.
The folks who planned Iowa Speedway thought so. The 0.875-mile oval, which opened in 2006 and hosted NASCAR’s Cup Series for the first time in 2024, was designed by former Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Rusty Wallace.
“My first question was, ‘Why me?’” Wallace said. The answer centered on Wallace’s long run of short-track success. The Iowa builders wanted a compact track but one that also would encourage side-by-side racing. Wallace, an expert at winning races on similar surfaces, jumped in with both feet, if not with a full set of architectural tools.
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“I had a blank sheet of paper to do what I wanted,” Wallace said. “I told the guys one of my favorite tracks to race on is Richmond. If I had the opportunity to build the perfect race track, I would kind of start with Richmond. They said, ‘Have at it.’”
Engineers and designers worked with Wallace’s ideas and produced a track with moderate banking and several racing grooves.
“I wanted it where you could stay side by side off the corners with great speed so that the banking would hold the car,” Wallace said. “I think drivers love a track where they can make multiple passes throughout the race. I haven’t heard anybody say they don’t like Iowa Speedway.”
Former Cup regular Ryan Newman, who has raced on virtually every surface available, has consulted on track rebuilds.
“Rusty in Iowa is probably the closest thing I’ve heard of somebody having a blank sheet of paper,” Newman said. “When they ask me, I say the same thing I say today—don’t change it. The best pavement tracks are the closest thing to dirt tracks without the dust.
“They have character in asphalt, bumps, swells, things you have to drive around. All that is good for the racing and the mechanical side of setting up your race car.”
Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 will continue Cup drivers’ education on the relatively new track. Ryan Blaney and William Byron own wins in the only two Cup races there. The speedway has hosted 22 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and 13 Craftsman Truck Series races.
Mike Hembree has covered auto racing for numerous media outlets, including USA Today, NASCAR Scene, NBC Sports, The Greenville News and the SPEED Channel. He has been roaming garage areas and pit roads for decades (although the persistent rumor that he covered the first Indianapolis 500 is not true). Winner of numerous motorsports and other media awards, he also has covered virtually every other major sport. He lives near Gaffney, South Carolina and can be convinced to attend Bruce Springsteen concerts if you have tickets.