{"id":76553,"date":"2025-08-17T14:42:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T14:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/76553\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T14:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T14:42:07","slug":"report-nascars-decision-made-on-returning-to-iowa-speedway-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/76553\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: NASCAR\u2019s Decision Made on Returning to Iowa Speedway in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NASCAR schedule<\/a> for next season is expected to be released this week, with a few key dates and race locations already announced. Amid the lingering rumors about what the Cup schedule will look like next year, one uncertainty has been whether or not Iowa Speedway will be on it.<\/p>\n

The Athletic<\/a>\u2018s Jordan Bianchi shared on Saturday\u2019s episode of \u201cThe Teardown<\/a>\u201d that there will be a NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a report out there that Iowa may or may not be happening and there have been conversations among NASCAR about not returning. I\u2019m going to say this, unequivocally, Iowa will have a Cup Series date next year, 100 percent. I promise you that. That is on the Cup Series schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan Bianchi on \u201cThe Teardown\u201d regarding Iowa Speedway being on the 2026 Cup schedule<\/p>\n

Related: Latest NASCAR Rumors on 2026 Schedule, Key Changes and Dates<\/a><\/p>\n

Bianchi stated that while there might have been \u201cchatter and rumors\u201d about a rotation of tracks, including Iowa, there were \u201cnever any conversations\u201d inside NASCAR about taking a race away from Iowa.<\/p>\n

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Iowa Speedway hosted its first-ever Cup Series race in 2024, drawing a sellout crowd of approximately 45,000. For its return this season, the temporary suites were not brought back, but NASCAR fans still came in droves, resulting in a sellout crowd for the second consecutive year.<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a08 Big Changes NASCA Should Make for 2026 Season, including Playoff Format<\/a><\/p>\n

As Bianchi mentioned, one flaw with taking Iowa off the schedule is that it would then require another race to take its place. NASCAR already removed the Chicago Street Race and Mexico City from next year\u2019s schedule, replacing them with Chicagoland and a street race at\u00a0Naval Base Coronado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Racing in Iowa is also critical for NASCAR to maintain its presence in the region. Without it, fans in surrounding states face greater barriers to attending races. While TV revenue remains the sport\u2019s primary income source, attendance is still crucial as NASCAR works to retain its core fanbase in the heartland.<\/p>\n

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With IndyCar potentially not returning to Iowa Speedway in 2026, there could be an opportunity for NASCAR to further entrench itself in the region. With its scheduled return for one race next season, a sellout crowd is likely for the third consecutive year.<\/p>\n

Related Headlines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NASCAR schedule for next season is expected to be released this week, with a few key dates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,46771,3140,26424,21623,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-76553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-cup-schedule","11":"tag-cup-series","12":"tag-iowa-speedway","13":"tag-jordan-bianchi","14":"tag-nascar","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}