“It is not being discussed,” Jimmy Small, Iowa Speedway President said. “I’ve never had a single conversation alluding to that possibility.” The question of when is Iowa Speedway going to hold a NASCAR Sprint Cup race came bubbling back to the top over the weekend following the Speedway’s final race weekend of the 2015 season. There was quite the buzz on social media from NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Saturday night. Those drivers took to Twitter after watching Ryan Blaney and the rest of the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers compete in the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. “We got a great race on Saturday night – which is no different than almost every race here – and all the (Sprint Cup) drivers were watching it. They want to race here. Our fans want that (Sprint Cup) race here. We want what our fans want, so obviously, we are in support of it,” Small said Tuesday afternoon. Those tweeted comments from drivers set off threads on each one’s Twitter accounts. All talking up Iowa Speedway in Newton and the caliber of racing produced by the 7/8-mile track, plus which currect Sprint Cup race moved from a track to make room for Iowa. Small said there is no realistic consideration being given to bringing a Sprint Cup race to Iowa. Small said he is going to Daytona next week to wrap up the final plans for Iowa Speedway’s 2016 season. “It is not a part of our 2016 schedule, but who’s to say about the future. NASCAR and IndyCar do all of their scheduling on an annual basis,” Small said. “They have to because they go into major markets and want to avoid huge conflicts with other sporting and non-sporting events across the country.” Small was named Iowa Speedway president a month after the France family announced NASCAR purchased the race track in November 2013. The 29-year-old Small took the reins of a race track for the first time in his career with NASCAR. Small said he and NASCAR were very clear from the beginning that a Sprint Cup race was not part of the plan for Iowa Speedway. He said this investment was made by NASCAR because the Speedway was a great facility. A year ago in his mid-season state of the sport address at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR chairman/CEO Brian France said Iowa Speedway was not on the radar for a Sprint Cup race. “On Iowa, we don’t have plans for a Cup date there,” France said. “We’re working with the state representatives and others to help us build racing in Iowa to the highest level that we can. They’re doing a great job with us, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the entire effort that the communities have made in and around Iowa.”(Newton Daily News)(8-5-2015)
