“Just Hate That”—Iowa’s Entry Becomes Problematic as Bob Pockrass Slams NASCAR’s Contract Idea

NASCAR’s unveiling of its 2024 schedule has brought down extreme reactions from various orders of the racing community. One of the most important additions for next year is to be the Cup Series race at the Iowa Speedway in Newton. Drivers will race at the track in June 2024, over a weekend that will also have an Xfinity Series race. While this move from NASCAR has drawn support and praise for the promotion, insiders have cast worry that it will just be a temporary fix.

Talking to the hosts of the podcast “Door, Bumper, Clear”, reporter Bob Pockrass discussed the new addition and hoped that NASCAR doesn’t end up disappointing fans.

Bob Pockrass wants more races at Iowa despite never having been there

After NASCAR made it official that the best racers in America would be at the Iowa Speedway in June 2024, the members of the track’s community were thrilled. The track’s designer and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Rusty Wallace announced, “This is a fantastic day for everybody and we should all be excited. (…) This track was built with the intent of hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race one day, and to finally see it come together is a testament to the tenacity of the great race fans in Iowa.”

Iowa Speedway was opened in 2006 and bought by NASCAR later in 2013. After 17 years of work aimed at bringing the Cup Series to Iowa, the stakeholders had finally achieved their goal. The spot for Iowa opened up after the race at the Auto Club Speedway was pulled out citing renovations. However, with the sport expanding beyond the national boundaries, the happiness might be short-lived.

Expressing his concerns on the same, Pockrass said, “I would just hate to go there once and then say “Okay, well, now we got Montreal or somewhere in Mexico… Got the International race”, and they’re going to leave it. If they were going to… If it’s just a one-year plan I would have said “Hey, just go to Homestead for a second race instead of maybe lifting people’s hopes up”. 

The addition of the 7/8 mile track means more diversity for the fans and the drivers. While that is a favorable outcome, it hasn’t been confirmed if the schedule will continue beyond 2024.

Watch Story: NASCAR’s 2024 Schedule: A New Chapter Begins

NASCAR’s event at the Iowa Speedway in the 2024 season

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In addition to the 20 Xfinity and 13 Truck Series races that have been hosted by the Speedway between 2009 and 2019, it has also had 19 NTT IndyCar series aces. With Bristol moving to the concrete track from dirt and Iowa Speedway added, we can expect 7 Cup Races on oval tracks less than a mile next season.

The Iowa Speedway has an official capacity of 30,000 and it is obvious that the stands will be filled come June. NASCAR’s senior VP of racing and strategy said in a statement, “They have long sought a NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, and we’re happy to deliver that for them. We fully expect this to be one of the most highly-anticipated dates on the 2024 schedule and an amazing weekend of NASCAR racing in The Hawkeye State.”

The change in tracks and schedules comes at a time when NASCAR has been actively seeking to hold races in tracks outside the United States. It was earlier speculated that a Cup Series race would be held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for now. However, NASCAR has made its intention of moving beyond its current boundaries very clear. With the future of NASCAR in the Iowa Speedway not guaranteed, Bob Pockrass’s worries might become a reality in 2025.

Read More: “Just a Holder Place” – NASCAR’s Pretentious Behavior Exposed After Daytona Debacle Raises Questions