Newton, Iowa -- Auto racing fans in Iowa once had to leave the state to catch the sights and sounds of high-speed, IndyCar racing. On June 23 and 24, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 marked the first major open-wheel race at the Iowa Speedway, which opened in September 2006. Nineteen IndyCar stars competed, including the 2007 Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti, Danica Patrick, and 20-year-old Marco Andretti.
"This is the biggest professional sporting event in Iowa history," said Craig Armstrong, vice president and general manager of Iowa Speedway. "We hope this is an annual stop for IndyCar."
Even with a thriving fan base for auto racing in Iowa, it took time to persuade businesses and corporations to fund the $70 million Iowa Speedway. Davenport was proposed years earlier as the location of an Iowa racing track. However, when the Chicagoland Speedway opened in 2000, plans for a Davenport track soon faded.
Stan Clement, president of the Iowa Speedway, then floated the idea of a raceway in Newton, a town of more than 15,000 that is 35 miles east of Des Moines off Interstate 80.
Clement had the support of NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace, who wanted to design Iowa Speedway like his favorite track, the Richmond National Speedway.
"Wallace's credentials are as long as my arm and yours," Armstrong said. "You know, nobody stopped and thought a racecar driver could do that."
Wallace employed the idea of compressed banking at the Iowa Speedway. While most tracks as short as the seven-eighths-mile Iowa Speedway have some banking, Wallace extended it into the straightaway with gradual slopes of 12 to 14 degrees. In contrast, most other tracks flatten out faster going into the backstretch.
"Compressed banking makes the track faster and gives it a lot more grip," Armstrong said. "You can carry so much more speed into the corners, which makes it more entertaining for the race fans. Two- to three-cars-wide racing happens here with regularity."
Armstrong said he hopes the Iowa Corn Indy 250 will be a mainstay on the Indy Car Series. He also wants to use the event to get the attention of NASCAR and other motor sports attractions. "We hope that with some time, we're offered a Craftsman Truck series with NASCAR events," he said. "It's NASCAR's decision. We just feel we have to prove ourselves." On Friday, June 22, the gates opened at 1:15 p.m. They held the Indy Pro Series Qualifying followed by a 2:30 p.m. Indy car practice. On Saturday, June 23, the gates opened at 1 p.m. with the Indy car practice started at 1:30 p.m. Then at 4:10 p.m., the Indy Pro Series Race was held.
The weather was warm and humid, leaving the track slightly moist. Car No. 7, driven by Alex Lloyd of Indianapolis and racing for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, finished first followed by car No. 27, driven by Wade Cunningham from Auckland, New Zealand, and racing for AFS Racing Inc./Andretti Green. After the completion of the race, qualifying was held for Sunday's Iowa Corn Indy 250. The night was topped off with a concert by the music icons Three Dog Night.
On Sunday, June 24, Dario Franchitti held off Andretti Green Racing teammate Marco Andretti by 0.0681 of a second (the 17th closest in IndyCar Series history) to win the inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway.
The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd was treated to the high-speed excitement on the 0.894-mile oval. The race had multiple crashes involving multiple cars. Seven of the 19 starters were retired because of contact with each other or the SAFER Barrier, including five of the top 10 in IndyCar driver standings entering the race (Danica Patrick, Sam Hornish Jr., Jeff Simmons, Tomas Scheckter and Tony Kanaan).
"You can see how many risks people took on restarts because it was one of the few opportunities you're going to get to overtake, and you can see what happens with that extra risk." said Darren Manning, who gave AJ Foyt Racing its best finish in a year.
"At the end, it came down to the two of us, and I just had nothing for Dario," Marco Andretti said. "I was driving his setup. The guy is unbelievable at setting up a car. I've got to thank him for that. When you're driving the same car, it's hard to go a longer distance, and I had nothing for him, so I just wanted to protect him and have a great day for Andretti Green."
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