What’s Going On With Iowa Speedway’s Repave?
What’s Happening? NASCAR headed to Iowa Speedway on Tuesday for a Goodyear tire test in preparation for the inaugural Cup…
As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Iowa Speedway for the first time in series history this weekend, fans might be surprised at what they see. The old, worn-out surface was partially repaved in the off-season, with the bottom two lanes of all four turns sporting fresh, new asphalt. While this was originally panned by fans and drivers alike, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic revealed the reason behind the repave on the most recent episode of “The Teardown.”
What’s Happening? NASCAR headed to Iowa Speedway on Tuesday for a Goodyear tire test in preparation for the inaugural Cup…
Jeff Gluck was in Sonoma this weekend, covering the race weekend for The Athletic. Following the negative response of the half-repave, which Gluck called “Frankensteinish”, Gluck asked NASCAR why the repave happened the way it did.
[NASCAR’s] explanation actually does make sense. When they announced that they were going to do this last summer, basically, they only had a certain amount of time before it gets too cold to pave in Iowa to get things done. So they had to decide, ‘we don’t have time to do the entire track, and guess what, we’ve also got to test before June. We can’t just show up in June. We have to have enough time to have a tire test, to have a confirmation to decide what tire were bringing to the race.’ So it had to be done by May
Jeff Gluck
Gluck is generous with the timeline in stating that Iowa was announced in the summer of 2023 because wasn’t announced until October 3, 2023. That gave NASCAR roughly seven and a half months, at most, to complete a full repave of the track, with three months of that being in the dead of winter. Realistically, NASCAR would have had about four and a half months, if even that much time, to repave Iowa.
Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile track, said that its reconfiguration took 163 days or around five and a half months. North Wilkesboro announced its repave in November 2023 and completed it in March 2024, about four months later. Iowa is not nearly as long as Atlanta, but it’s longer than North Wilkesboro.
The timeline to repave Iowa was quite tight, and it seemingly doesn’t allow for any setbacks. NASCAR seemingly determined that the safest thing to do was to repave what they could and solve the current problems before the Cup Series came to town. Brad Keselowski even said he believes the repave will help the Next-Gen car because there will be fewer bumps.
A lot [changed] with the track surface. It used to have this really wicked tunnel bump down in [turns] and two, and now that’s been kind of taken care of, which is nice because the Next-Gen car doesn’t really play well with bumps, kind of like an IndyCar. But I think it’ll make the car more raceable
Brad Keselowski
It seems NASCAR knew they had to repave the track, and they did what they could within the given time frame. Repaves are a necessary evil, and it seems, based on Keselowski’s comments, that there was at least a reason for NASCAR to repave Iowa when they did.
Gluck did say he has an article about this coming out this week, so we will have to wait until then for further details.
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As the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season gets underway, The Daily Downforce is once again tracking how fans feel about race broadcasts throughout the year, just as we did last year. This ratings tracker exists to capture fan feedback in a clear, consistent way across the entire season for each TV partner.
After each Cup Series race weekend, we will post a fan poll asking one simple question: “How would you rate this weekend’s Cup Series broadcast?” And fans can vote and comment based on their overall viewing experience. This article will be updated weekly with the most recent race’s numbers added to the tracker.
Participation is quick and open to everyone.
| Week | Network | Race | Votes | Good | Average | Bad | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FOX | Bowman Gray Clash | 368 | 16% | 43% | 42% | Check the Poll HERE |
| 2 | FOX | Daytona 500 | 989 | 42% | 46% | 12% | Check the Poll HERE |
Remember to follow The Daily Downforce on X to catch each weekly poll, share your thoughts, and be part of the conversation.
A new trailer revealed that NASCAR will be a part of The Crew Motorfest’s upcoming free season 9 update.
Will you be playing The Crew for this new update? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Denny Hamlin defends Riley Herbst, Brad Keselowski is furious, and Kyle Busch leaves everyone debating what it means to truly compete for a Daytona 500. The final lap at Daytona International Speedway sparked multiple completely different controversies that say a lot about modern superspeedway racing.
At superspeedways, instinct rules everything. Herbst reacted late, Keselowski paid the price, and Hamlin backed his guy. Meanwhile, Busch lifted from 25th, avoided the wreck, and gained ten spots, a move that looks smart in hindsight but could have backfired badly. In a new points-heavy format, are drivers thinking differently? We break down both moments, what they really mean, and whether everyone involved might actually have a point. Plus, early Cup Series power rankings to wrap it up.
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