Misplaced Pages

#914085

110-453: Iowa Speedway is a 7 ⁄ 8 mile (1.4 km) oval short track in Newton, Iowa . Since its inaugural season of racing in 2006, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, including events sanctioned by NASCAR and IndyCar . NASCAR has owned the facility since 2013, with Eric Peterson currently serving as the track's president. Iowa Speedway is served by Interstate 80 . As of 2023,

220-506: A Hooters Pro Cup Series race being scheduled to christen the facility on September 15, 2006. Two months later, developers secured a $ 40 million loan from Wells Fargo in replacement of UBG Financial, who seemingly abandoned the project. By April 2006, developers stated hopes of expanding the area to include a water park and a hotel nearby the facility. After the Maytag factory closed in May, the facility

330-403: A " roval " (a blend word combining "road course" and "oval") is an oval track racing facility that features a road course in the infield (and/or outfield), that is usually linked to the oval circuit. This type of course makes for a multi-purpose track, and allows the facility to be used for both oval and road racing. A typical combined road course consists of the oval portion of the track, using

440-576: A "Kulwicki victory lap". He won all three races in April (Bristol on April 4, North Wilkesboro on April 18 , and Martinsville on April 25). Also, he won the first ever race at the New Hampshire Speedway, starting 33rd, on July 11. In 1993, he won 10 of the 30 races, but finished second in the final points standings, 80 points behind Earnhardt. He ended the season strong, finishing in the Top 3 in all but two of

550-546: A "temporary setback", with the track still hoping to host club racing events. When the track reopened to full capacity in July 2021 for the NASCAR fourth-tier ARCA Menards Series , attendance was reported at 5,000, putting future events in jeopardy. However, a month later, IndyCar announced its return to the facility in 2022, this time with a doubleheader event. On October 2, 2023, reports by The Athletic claimed that NASCAR , in seeking

660-510: A 1/8 mile version. Perhaps the most unusual concentric oval facility is Dover Speedway- Dover Downs . The one-mile oval track encompasses a 0.625-mile harness racing track inside. Oval tracks usually have slope in both straight and in curves, but the slope on the straights is less, circuits without any slope are rare to find, low-slope are usually old or small tracks, high gradient are more common in new circuits. Circuits like Milwaukee Mile and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have 9° banking in

770-601: A 500-lap or 400-lap distance. Short tracks in many cases have lights installed and routinely host night races. The short ovals still form the backbone of NASCAR in the feeder series. Three race tracks of this type are also represented in the Cup: Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond. Tracks with potential for future cup races are the Iowa Speedway built in 2006, the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway used until 1984 in

880-456: A booth announcer. Up until 2012, Wallace owned and operated Rusty Wallace Racing , which fielded the No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry driven by Michael Annett and the No. 66 5 Hour Energy Toyota Camry driven by his son Steve Wallace . This operation was temporarily suspended due to the loss of sponsorship. However, Steve Wallace confirmed on his Twitter account that the team would return for

990-524: A close rival of Dale Earnhardt , was a number of severe wrecks he endured, especially at restrictor plate racetracks. The first one happened in 1983, when Wallace was attempting the Daytona 500 through the Gatorade Twin 125's . He was tapped by Rick Wilson , got airborne, and went on a spectacular series of flips that left him hospitalized. His next flip came at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1988. What started it

1100-422: A concentric 1/4-mile oval layout. The 1/4-mile layout became a popular venue for legends car racing . The name "legends oval" was derived from this use. They have also seen use with go-karts, short track stock cars, and other lower disciplines. This idea was adopted by numerous tracks including Texas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway , Las Vegas Motor Speedway , and Iowa Speedway which has

1210-461: A length of one mile or more. Since the introduction of the intermediate oval, Superspeedway is an oval race course of 2 miles or longer. There are six active superspeedways in the United States, the most famous being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway , both 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. These tracks were built in 1909 and 1959 respectively. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

SECTION 10

#1732852789915

1320-492: A light rain. Some tracks (e.g., Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA) have "rain or shine" rules requiring races to be run in the rain. Safety has also been a point of difference between the two. While a road course usually has abundant run-off areas , gravel traps, and tire barriers, oval tracks usually have a concrete retaining wall separating the track from the fans. Innovations have been made to change this, however. The SAFER barrier

1430-445: A lot of oval tracks, which neither have a classical geometric shape nor still represent a modern tri-oval in the strict sense. While these courses still technically fall under the category of ovals, their unique shape, flat corners, hard braking zones, or increased difficulty, often produces driving characteristics similar to those of a road course. Some facilities feature several ovals track of different sizes, often sharing part of

1540-449: A notable exception. Many 1-mile dirt ovals were used by stock cars or champ cars before race tracks with dirt surfaces were removed from the racing calendar in the early 1970s. Many of these racetracks got the nickname "Fairgrounds” — for example Arizona State Fairgrounds , California State Fairgrounds and Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway . The origin of these racetracks was in harness racing , which commonly used 1-mile tracks. Also,

1650-480: A replacement for a failed attempt of trying to lure a Cup Series weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the 2024 season, opted to choose Iowa Speedway as a backup option. The decision was confirmed a day later, with the facility slated to hold its first Cup Series races since its opening. In February 2024, Eric Peterson, a NASCAR regional director for corporate sales, was appointed to replace Hyatt as

1760-405: A road course, there are many different lines that can work on an oval track. The preferred line depends on many factors including track conditions, car set-up, and traffic. The oval track driver must choose which line to use each time they approach a corner. On a short track in a 25-lap feature race, a driver might not run any two laps with the same line. Both types of racing place physical demands on

1870-417: A single accident. This type of accident is often called " The Big One ". Oval track racing requires different tactics than road racing. While the driver does not have to shift gears nearly as frequently, brake as heavily or as often, or deal with turns of various radii in both directions as in road racing, drivers are still challenged by negotiating the track. Where there is generally one preferred line around

1980-461: A stand-alone road course layout(s) in the infield not directly linked to the oval layout, or otherwise using only a short portion of the oval. Combined road courses combine the high speed characteristics of ovals with the technical precision of road courses . It allows road racing disciplines the unique experience of being held in the stadium style atmosphere of an oval superspeedway. Numerous combined road courses saw widespread use with sports cars in

2090-467: Is a phenomenon found on fast, high-banked superspeedways. It occurs when the vehicles racing are cornering at their limit of aerodynamic drag , but within their limit of traction . This allows drivers to race around the track constantly at wide open throttle . Since the vehicles are within their limit of traction, drafting through corners will not hinder a vehicle's performance. As cars running together are faster than cars running individually, all cars in

2200-779: Is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. For the accolades over the course of his successful career, Wallace has been inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame (2013), the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013), the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2014) and the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010). Prior to joining

2310-428: Is considered among the best short track drivers in NASCAR history. He retired after the 2005 season with a 14.4 career average finish. In 2014, Wallace ran at Daytona for testing before the 2014 Daytona 500 as part of a promotion for Miller Lite's 40th anniversary, marking the first time a NASCAR Hall of Famer has driven in a NASCAR test. When asked about the testing, Wallace stated, "It all started at Homestead . I

SECTION 20

#1732852789915

2420-404: Is measured at 7 ⁄ 8 mile (1.4 km), with 10 degrees of banking in the frontstretch, four degrees in the backstretch, and a progressive banking system utilized from 12 to 14 degrees in the turns. Varying sanctioning bodies have disputed the length of the track; NASCAR 's official measurement is at 0.875 mi, while IndyCar measures the track at 0.894 miles (1.439 km). Along with

2530-437: Is noted for its structural similarity to Richmond International Raceway , where Wallace has won six times. Iowa Speedway hosted its first NASCAR Nationwide Series and first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in 2009. Iowa Speedway will host their first NASCAR Cup Series race on June 16, 2024. On December 4, 2023, it was announced that the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race there was officially sold out. The inaugural race

2640-545: Is the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama . Built in 1969, it is 2.66 miles (4.28 kilometers) long, and holds the current record for fastest speed in a stock car, lapping at an average of 216.309 mph (348.116 km/h) and reaching 228 mph (367 km/h) at the end of the backstretch. Daytona and Talladega are the pinnacle of stock car superspeedway racing, where restrictor plates are mandated by

2750-449: Is very common as vehicles may travel two and three abreast. This forces drivers to use strong mental discipline in negotiating traffic. There are drawbacks, however. Should an accident occur at the front of the pack, the results could block the track in a short amount of time. This leaves drivers at the back of the pack with little time to react and little room to maneuver. The results are often catastrophic as numerous cars may be destroyed in

2860-661: The MotoGP races were run counter-clockwise, with some reconfigured corners to fix corner apex problems. Michigan was also an example of a clockwise combined road course. Another example is the Adelaide International Raceway in Australia which combines a 2.41 km (1.50 mi) road course with an 0.805 km (0.500 mi) speedway bowl. The Bowl forms a permanent part of the road course and also runs clockwise. At many tracks, multiple configurations are available for

2970-533: The 24 Hours of Daytona . Since 2018, NASCAR has held the Bank of America Roval 400 on a combined course at Charlotte . In some rare examples, the combined road course layout is run in the opposite direction to the oval circuit. For instance, at Indianapolis the oval is run counter-clockwise, but the combined road course used during the IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Indianapolis is run clockwise. However

3080-480: The American Speed Association (ASA) championship while also competing against some of NASCAR's future stars like Mark Martin , Alan Kulwicki , and Dick Trickle . In 1980, Wallace made his NASCAR debut at Atlanta, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet for Roger Penske . He ended up finishing second in the race after qualifying seventh. He made nine NASCAR appearances over the next three years, finishing inside

3190-508: The Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta to beat out close friend and fierce rival Dale Earnhardt (the race winner) by 12 points. Wallace also won The Winston in a controversial fashion, by spinning out Darrell Waltrip on the last lap. In 1990 , Raymond Beadle switched sponsors, to Miller Genuine Draft . The four-year sponsorship deal was tied specifically to Wallace, meaning it went to whichever team Wallace went. The 1989 championship year

3300-877: The NASCAR Xfinity Series and made his Cup Series debut during the 2011 Daytona 500, making him the fourth member of his family to compete in the Daytona 500 and in NASCAR, behind the Bodines ( Geoff , Brett , and Todd ), Pettys ( Lee , Richard , and Kyle ), Earnhardts ( Ralph , Dale , Dale Jr. and Jeffrey ), and the Allisons ( Bobby , Donnie , and Davey ). Wallace's father, Russell Wallace Sr., died on October 30, 2011, at age 77. In late 2005, Wallace broke ground on his "Signature Design Speedway" in Newton, Iowa . Iowa Speedway had its first race on September 15, 2006, and hosted many races in 2007 including an IndyCar race. The track

3410-560: The Pro Mazda Championship , and the USF2000 Championship . As of July 2024, the fastest official race lap records of the Iowa Speedway are listed as: Oval track racing#Short track Major forms of oval track racing include stock car racing , open-wheel racing , sprint car racing , modified car racing , midget car racing and dirt track motorcycles . Oval track racing is the predominant form of auto racing in

Iowa Speedway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3520-573: The 10th driver in NASCAR to win 50+ races. He is also the only driver in NASCAR history to win his 1st and 50th career victories at the same track, and in the same race. He would also score 3 more wins at Pocono, Michigan, and the night race at Bristol (season sweep at Bristol). He finished seventh in the final points standings after some inconsistency in the championship race. The next year, he won at California for his 54th career win. He won on what would have been Dale Earnhardt 's 50th birthday and paid tribute to him with an Earnhardt flag. Wallace almost won

3630-424: The 1970s and early 1980s. However, their use at the professional level has since diminished considerably, since most layouts lacked the desirable topography and competitive challenges of natural road courses. In addition, most combined road course circuits offer poor sightlines for fans sitting in the grandstands. Oftentimes the challenging infield portion is obscured or not visible at all from the grandstands that line

3740-412: The 1989 Winston Cup Championship, 36 career poles, and 55 career wins. As of 2022, the 55 wins is 11th on NASCAR's all-time wins list. They include victories at Charlotte as well as the series' last three road courses ( Riverside , Infineon and Watkins Glen ), but none at Daytona , Darlington , Indianapolis , or Talladega . He has the most short track wins in NASCAR history with 34, and therefore he

3850-824: The 2000s were of this type. These include the Chicago Motor Speedway and the Walt Disney World Speedway , which were built during the 1990s construction boom but used for only four years. The historic Nazareth Speedway , which was paved in 1986, was completely abandoned after the 2004 season. Physically, many mile oval still exist such as the Rockingham Speedway and the Pikes Peak International Raceway . However, these racetracks have not been used by nationally important motorsports events for years. There are only three 1-mile tracks left on

3960-405: The 2002 Sharpie 500 after being bumped out of the way by his rival Jeff Gordon. In 2003, Penske Racing switched to Dodge and appropriately, in 2004, Wallace won his 55th (and final) race on a short track: the 2004 spring Martinsville Speedway race. It was also the last win for the track under the ownership of the H. Clay Earles Trust; the death of Mary Weatherford (matriarch of the trust) forced

4070-664: The Cup, and the Memphis Motorsports Park, which had races of the Busch Series back then until the 2000s. The Auto Club Speedway is to be converted from a 2-mile super speedway to a 1/2 mile short track in 2024. Synonymous with the name, a 1-mile (1.61 km) oval is a popular and common length for oval track racing. The exact measurements, however, can vary by as much as a tenth of a mile and still fall into this category. Most mile ovals are relatively flat-banked, with Dover being

4180-609: The NASCAR Xfinity Series) and the third-tier NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series . Three years later, in accordance with a plan to transfer ownership of the track within five years, U.S. MotorSport Entertainment sold controlling interest of the facility to the Clement family, a family from Newton. Jauron left shortly thereafter in September, handing over the track's control to Doug Fritz, the senior director of marketing for NASCAR. In 2013,

4290-448: The NASCAR broadcasting team for both networks when they started coverage of the sport in 2007. He signed a six-year deal with ESPN in 2006. He returned to commentate for the 2007 Indianapolis 500 won by Dario Franchitti . He co-hosted NASCAR Angels with Shannon Wiseman . Wallace worked with ESPN from 2007 to 2014 until their contract with NASCAR expired. Since the 2015 Daytona 500, Wallace has worked with Motor Racing Network as

4400-608: The NASCAR circuit, Wallace made a name for himself racing around in Florida , winning a pair of local track championships and more than 200 short track races. In 1979, he won the United States Auto Club 's (USAC) Stock Car Rookie of the Year honors, finishing third in points behind A. J. Foyt and Bay Darnell . In 1981, he finished second in the USAC Stock Cars championship standings, behind Joe Ruttman . In 1983, he won

4510-461: The NASCAR racing calendar: Phoenix, Loudon, and Dover. IndyCar only returned to 1-mile oval racing with the addition of the Milwaukee Mile in 2024 after 9 years of it being off the schedule. Also referred to with the general term of "speedway", these courses are 1 to 2 miles (1.6 to 3.2 km) in length, but the term is particularly reserved for 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tracks. At the beginning of

Iowa Speedway - Misplaced Pages Continue

4620-592: The Nationwide Series race at Richmond in May 2012 in a former Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang, powered by a Roush-Yates engine in the No. 4 sponsored by LoanMax Title Loans. Due to lack of sponsorship in 2013, Wallace's team ran one race in a No. 66 entry finishing 25th at Charlotte, then closed at the conclusion of the season. Wallace's brothers, Kenny and Mike , also used to race on the NASCAR circuit. He and his wife Patti have three children – Greg, Katie, and Stephen . Stephen raced full-time in

4730-421: The No. 2 Alugard-sponsored Pontiac. In 29 races, Wallace had two Top 5s and eight Top 10s. In 1986, Wallace switched teams to the No. 27 Alugard-sponsored Pontiac for Raymond Beadle 's Blue Max Racing team. His first win came at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 6, 1986. He also won at Martinsville on September 21. He finished the year with two wins, four Top 5s, and 16 Top 10s in 29 races. He finished sixth in

4840-535: The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2006–2010. In 2011, Brad Keselowski began driving the number 2. In 2006, Wallace returned to his General Motors roots when he raced a Crawford-Pontiac sportscar, painted black and carrying the familiar stylized No. 2. The car was sponsored by Callaway Golf, in the Rolex 24 at Daytona , teamed with Danica Patrick and Allan McNish , In 2008, his Nationwide Series cars switched from Dodge to Chevrolet. Rusty Wallace finished his career with

4950-491: The Paul Schlaack-owned U.S. Motorsport Entertainment Corporation made a bid to build a shorter facility. After another delay due to a perceived lack of funds that lasted throughout 2004, groundbreaking commenced in mid-2005, with the facility holding its first races in September 2006. The sanctioning body of NASCAR later bought the track in 2013 to save the facility from financial issues. The speedway in its current form

5060-583: The Professional, North America class. On January 25, 2006, it was announced that Wallace would cover auto racing events for ESPN and ABC. Despite Wallace's lack of open-wheel racing experience, his assignments began with the IndyCar Series and included the Indianapolis 500 (in a perhaps forgivable lapse, he described a thrilling battle on the last lap as "The most exciting Daytona 500 ever!"). He joined

5170-468: The Top 10 in only one more race. In 1984, Wallace joined the Winston Cup circuit full-time, winning NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors and finishing 14th in the final points standings. He drove the No. 88 Gatorade -sponsored Pontiac for Cliff Stewart with a best finish of fourth, along with two fifth-place finishes and four further Top 10s. Wallace stayed with Cliff Stewart for 1985 but this time, he drove

5280-542: The Trucks; the real truck was a Ford at the time), Kenny was featured in the game driving the No. 55 Square D Chevrolet (although the game's commercial showed him driving the No. 81 Square D Ford ) & Rusty was featured in the game driving his No. 2 Ford, with the exception that the Miller Lite stickers are replaced by Penske Racing stickers similar to current Penske Championship Racing driver Brad Keselowski , whose sponsor

5390-506: The Trust to sell the track a month later. On August 30, 2004, Wallace announced that the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season would be his last as a full-time driver. Although at the time the possibility remained that he may have continued to run a limited schedule after the 2005 season—as semi-retirees Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte also have done, Wallace's current broadcasting contract forbids him from doing so. Kurt Busch would replace Wallace in

5500-527: The United States. According to the 2013 National Speedway Directory, the total number of oval tracks, drag strips and road courses in the United States is 1,262, with 901 of those being oval tracks and 683 of those being dirt tracks. Among the most famous oval tracks in North America are the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway . Pack racing

5610-408: The back straight of the oval. As they are separate tracks, this creates a unique situation where different races can actually be run on both the oval and the full road course at the same time. Also unique is that unlike most combined circuits which use the oval track's start/finish line and pits, in the case of Calder Park it is the road course start/finish line and pits that are used. This configuration

SECTION 50

#1732852789915

5720-475: The black and gold with a blue and white scheme. In 1998, Wallace won the Bud Shootout at Daytona, a non-points race for the previous years pole winners and past winners of the race. It was the first win for Ford's new Taurus , and Wallace's only victory at NASCAR's premier track (as well as his only victory in any restrictor plate race) in a Cup car. In 2000, he secured his 50th career win at Bristol, becoming

5830-514: The cars coming towards and moving away from their vantage point. Traditional ovals (such as Indianapolis ) offered only limited linear views of the course, and required fans to look back and forth much like a tennis match. The tri-oval shape prevents fans from having to "lean" to see oncoming cars, and creates more forward sight lines. The modern tri-ovals were often called as cookie cutters because of their (nearly) identical shape and identical kind of races. Additional prominent examples: There are

5940-415: The circumference of the oval track, so many fans choose to view from the ground level inside the infield – leaving the grandstands mostly empty and unsightly. Many combined road course layouts have been abandoned. However, some have enjoyed extended life as venues for testing, driving schools, and amateur race meets . Since 1962, the most famous race continuously held on a combined road course has been

6050-406: The city of Newton was seen as a satisfactory boost for a stagnating city; especially since the biggest employer of the city, Maytag , had begun major layoffs at its Newton factory. By August, Todd Melfi was appointed as the track's general manager. In mid-October, the track confirmed racing dates for the 2006 season with ARCA Re/Max Series and United States Auto Club (USAC)-sanctioned events, with

6160-581: The combined road course layout(s). An example of an outfield combined road course can be seen at the Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne , Australia . The Calder Park complex has a 1.119 mi (1.801 km) high-banked oval speedway called the Thunderdome as well as a separate road course. The road course and the oval can be linked via two short roads that connect the front straight of the road course to

6270-444: The driver. A driver in an IndyCar race at Richmond International Raceway may be subject to as many lateral g-forces (albeit in only one direction) as a Formula One driver at Silverstone . Weather also plays a different role in each discipline. Road racing offers a variety of fast and slow corners that allow the use of rain tires . Paved oval tracks generally do not run with a wet track surface. Dirt ovals will sometimes support

6380-486: The drivers, IndyCar will no longer drive super speedways outside of Indianapolis. Michigan Speedway was part of the series from 2002 to 2007, AutoClub Speedway from 2002 to 2005 and a second time from 2012 to 2015, Pocono was used by IndyCar between 2014 and 2019. In NASCAR they are still an essential part of the racing calendar. The closed and partially demolished Texas World Speedway , was the original "sister track" to Michigan. The two-mile oval, with its 22-degree banking,

6490-474: The early twentieth century had wood surfaces. Indianapolis Motor Speedway 's track surface used to be made entirely of bricks, and today, 3 feet (0.91 m), or one yard, of original bricks remain exposed at the start-finish line. Each was hand laid over a 2-inch (51 mm) cushion of sand, then leveled and the gaps filled with mortar. Before the work was completed, locals nicknamed the track "The Brickyard". A combined road course , colloquially referred to as

6600-518: The early years of the Indy Racing League , the series visited several intermediate tracks. The higher-downforce, normally aspirated IRL-type cars proved to be competitive at several of the tracks. The CART series however, mostly stayed away as the faster, more powerful Champ Cars were generally thought to be too fast for this type of circuit. This became evident at the 2001 Firestone Firehawk 600 , when drivers experienced vertigo-like symptoms, and

6710-437: The event. Three weeks later, the facility held its first music festival. The next year, the facility held its first IRL race, with Dario Franchitti winning the first major race at the facility. In late February 2008, chief financial officer Jerry Jauron replaced Stan Clement as the track's president. That same year, the facility was awarded annual NASCAR races for 2009, with the second-tier NASCAR Nationwide Series (now known as

SECTION 60

#1732852789915

6820-501: The facility had been sold to the sanctioning body of NASCAR for $ 10 million, with Jimmy Small taking over Fritz's position of leadership. With the purchase of the track, NASCAR chairman Brian France stated hopes of the facility hosting a Nationwide Series version of the NASCAR All-Star Race ; he also said that he was not interested in giving the facility a Cup Series date as the schedule was "full". In February 2018, David Hyatt,

6930-605: The facility in 2006, with the first races being run in 2007. In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic , IndyCar opted to run a doubleheader at the facility. IndyCar decided to stick with the doubleheader format when the series resumed racing at the facility in 2022. The facility has played host to a variety races hosted by varying sanctioning bodies, including the ARCA Menards Series , the Rolex Sports Car Series ,

7040-399: The field will draft each other simultaneously in one large pack. In stock car racing this is often referred to as " restrictor plate racing " because NASCAR mandates that each car on its two longest high-banked ovals, Talladega and Daytona , use an air restrictor to reduce horsepower . The results of pack racing may vary. As drivers are forced to race in a confined space, overtaking

7150-450: The final 10 races of the season. Penske switched to Fords in 1994 . In 1996, sponsorship changed from Miller Genuine Draft to Miller beer sponsorship. At the end of the 1996 season, NASCAR hosted its first of three exhibition races in Japan, the first of two at Suzuka . Wallace was the winner of that first race. In 1997 , Miller changed the team's sponsorship to Miller Lite , replacing

7260-490: The final five races of the year). His wins were at Michigan , Charlotte , North Wilkesboro , Rockingham , the final race ever run at Riverside , and the season finale at Atlanta . With these six wins as well as 19 Top 5s and four further Top 10s, he finished second to Bill Elliott by 24 points. In 1989, Wallace won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship with crew chief Barry Dodson , by finishing 15th at

7370-516: The final points standings. During a practice session at Bristol on August 27, 1988, Wallace's car lost control and slammed on the turn 4 wall before barrel rolling five times on the straightaway. It took rescue officials - including Jerry Punch - 15 minutes to extract him from the wrecked car. According to Wallace, he nearly choked to death from a ham sandwich he ate before practice. Despite this near-death experience, Wallace developed his career further in 1988, scoring six victories (including four of

7480-623: The following day, he announced he would race in the series' X Games round in Austin. After finishing last in his heat race, he was relegated to the last-chance qualifier. During the LCQ, Wallace rolled his truck, but continued running; he finished sixth in the event but failed to qualify for the feature. In 2016, Wallace competed in the Ferrari Finali Mondiali at Daytona. Driving for "Ferrari of Houston", Wallace finished tenth overall and third in

7590-668: The former president of the Motor Racing Network (MRN), replaced Small as the president of the track. Hyatt stated hopes of expanding the facility, along with obtaining a NASCAR Cup Series weekend; particularly, the NASCAR All-Star Race . By the following year, Hyatt claimed that Iowa Speedway had high chances of being awarded a Cup Series date in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the track's races for 2020 were either canceled or run with fewer spectators. By mid-2020, journalist Robin Miller reported rumors that racing mogul Roger Penske

7700-433: The grass on the back straightaway several feet in the air. Months later, at Talladega , racing to the checkered flag, Wallace was tagged from behind by Dale Earnhardt , turned backwards, and flew into the air before violently flipping in the grass past the start-finish line, breaking a wrist (the area where Wallace's car wrecked has since been paved over). Earnhardt was visibly shaken by the incident and did make sure Wallace

7810-535: The history of NASCAR and IndyCar, this oval size was not very common. Until 1990, there were only five examples. Two of these, the Marchbanks Speedway (1.4 miles) and the Trenton Speedway (1.5 miles), were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s, and only three—Charlotte Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway—have survived to this day. All other ovals of this type were built after 1994. During

7920-524: The identities of the investors be released. The funding was rejected by the fall of 2002. On April 16, 2003, the Newton City Council unanimously approved a proposed project for a $ 30 million, 7 ⁄ 8 mile (1.4 km), 25,000-seat, multi-use racing facility headed by the U.S. MotorSport Entertainment Corporation and its CEO, Paul Schlaack. The project proposal planned to build it near Interstate 80 , with Newton officials in charge of approving

8030-471: The main track's construction, road course layouts that combined the main track with dedicated infield portions were constructed, with developers making seven road course layouts. The facility is served by Interstate 80 , and is approximately 35 miles (56 km) east from the Iowa capital of Des Moines . According to a 2023 report by The Des Moines Register , it holds 30,000 seats. In a 2006 Autoweek report,

8140-470: The oldest oval race track, the Milwaukee Mile was originally a race track for horse racing . In NASCAR, 1-mile oval tracks are among the intermediate tracks. IndyCar rates these tracks as short ovals, since IndyCar does not usually run on ovals shorter than 3/4-mile. The 1-mile ovals have lost a great deal of their former importance for oval racing. Most of the racetracks abandoned by NASCAR or IndyCar in

8250-585: The only long, flat tracks on the schedule. Auto Club Speedway, which joined Indianapolis, Michigan and Pocono as the one of four superspeedways used in the Verizon IndyCar Series , was the site of Gil de Ferran 's qualifying lap of 241.428 mph (388.541 km/h) in the CART FedEx Championship Series in 2000 , the fastest qualifying lap recorded at an official race meeting. Due to the low number of spectators or safety concerns by

8360-448: The oval race tracks. As a result, the racetracks have lengths of different accuracy. The following table shows the values that NASCAR, IndyCar and CART/CCWS used to determine the lap speeds and track records. A typical oval track consists of two parallel straights, connected by two 180° turns. Although most ovals generally have only two radii curves, they are usually advertised and labeled as four 90° turns. While many oval tracks conform to

8470-472: The points, making this his first Top 10 finish in the standings. In 1987, Wallace gained sponsorship from Kodiak tobacco , establishing the No. 27 Kodiak-sponsored Pontiac livery his early career is most remembered for. He scored victories at Watkins Glen and Riverside , as well as his first series pole at Michigan in June. These results were backed up with nine Top 5s and 16 Top 10s in 29 races. He finished fifth in

8580-576: The project rather than those from Jasper County. However, although the city planned to invest $ 9 million into the facility, they opted to wait to build the track until Schlaack found enough investors for the project. In June, NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace was announced as the leading designer of the project. Schlaack unveiled plans in October, with the city now investing a planned $ 17.3 million with stated hopes of an opening date in 2005. Although plans were made to hold groundbreaking in spring of 2004, construction

8690-494: The project to focus on building a speedway in California, leaving the project to be led by race team owner Larry Clement. Although Clement claimed that by October he had commitment from private anonymous investors totaling $ 7-10 million, Vision Iowa leaders refused to still give the remaining money, claiming that they did not feel that sufficient proof of total commitment from investors had been provided, with Vision Iowa demanding that

8800-603: The project, along with seeking as much as an additional $ 35 million from the Vision Iowa program, a state economic growth program. However, by January 2001, Carroll abandoned the plan to focus on developing the Kentucky Speedway. As a result, California businessman Jerry Lowrie opted to replace Carroll in directing the project. Lowrie decided to decline to ask the county for bonds. The project drew support from Newton mayor David Aldridge, but later saw opposition from residents near

8910-434: The proposed site. The opposition claimed that building the site would be a nuisance for the rural residents and later tacked on Lowrie's unproven record of success. An approval from Vision Iowa was considered critical for the project to survive, with developers hoping to secure $ 20 million. However, by August, the remaining available funding from Vision Iowa dropped lower than the amount needed. The next month, Lowrie abandoned

9020-861: The race track construction boom of the late 1990s, these tracks began to be labeled with the rather derogatory term "cookie cutter" tracks, as their differences were perceived to be minimal. In 1992, Charlotte became the first intermediate track to install lights and allow for night racing. It is now commonplace for these types of tracks to host night races. Intermediate tracks usually have moderate to steep banking. Almost all modern race tracks that are still used in NASCAR and IndyCar today are of this type. Since their size allows them to compromise high speeds with sightlines, especially tri- and quad-ovals of 1.5-mile length have become commonplace in major racing series that use oval tracks. While intermediate speedways were designed primarily with stock cars in mind, they were also believed to be suited to host Indy cars as well. In

9130-462: The race was cancelled for safety reasons. As of 2020, the IndyCar Series has only one race remaining at a high-banked intermediate track ( Texas ). These tracks began to be removed from the Indy car schedule in the late-2000s and early-2010s due to low crowds and serious crashes, including the fatal accident involving Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas in 2011. Originally a superspeedway was an oval race track with

9240-447: The same front straightaway. The now defunct Ascot Speedway featured 1/2 mile and 1/4 mile dirt oval tracks, and Irwindale Speedway features 1/2 mile and 1/3 mile concentric paved oval tracks. Pocono Raceway once had a 3/4 mile oval which connected to the main stretch, and circled around the garage area. In 1991, Charlotte Motor Speedway connected the quad oval start-finish straight to the pit lane with two 180 degree turns, resulting in

9350-403: The same start/finish line, and same pit area, but a mid-course diversion to a winding road circuit in the infield (and/or outfield). At some point, the circuit leads back to the main oval, and completes the rest of the lap. On some of the faster ovals, a chicane is present on long back-straights, to keep speeds down, and create additional braking/passing zones. Some more complex facilities feature

9460-485: The second race of the season on February 28, 1993, at North Carolina Motor Speedway. The season was also a sad one, as Wallace's friend and reigning NASCAR Champion Alan Kulwicki was killed flying into Bristol in April 1993. Because of this, when Wallace won the race at Bristol, in respect to Alan Kulwicki, he did a " Polish victory lap "—turning his car around and driving around the track the wrong way, as made famous by Kulwicki. In every race Wallace won that year he performed

9570-431: The similar construction boom of the baseball/football cookie-cutter stadiums of the 1960s and 1970s, and the subsequent sport-specific stadium construction boom that began in the 1990s. Most of the oval tracks are located in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. However, there are also many oval tracks elsewhere too, as listed below. Rusty Wallace Russell William " Rusty " Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956)

9680-599: The sport's ruling body to reduce the high speeds accommodated by their steep banking since 1988. Other superspeedways used by NASCAR include the Michigan International Speedway (2.0 miles), Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway prior to February 2008) (2.0 miles), and Pocono Raceway (2.5 miles). Auto Club Speedway and Michigan are often considered intermediate tracks by NASCAR due to their similarities with 1.5-mile tracks, while Pocono and Indianapolis are sometimes classified separately, as they are

9790-515: The state of Iowa. The bill drew bipartisan support from the Iowa General Assembly , and was passed from committee in late March. However, while the bill was supported by then-Governor of Iowa Tom Vilsack , the bill drew worries of draining the state's tax revenue based on future precedent, with Vilsack suggesting to retool the bill. It passed the Iowa House of Representatives on April 12, and

9900-486: The track constructed 28 luxury suites; in recent years, extra temporary suites for its IndyCar races were developed by Hy-Vee . In November 2000, Kentucky Speedway developer Jerry Carroll proposed to the Jasper County board of supervisors plans to build a $ 76 million, 40,000-seat, 1 mile (1.6 km) track in Newton, Iowa . With the proposal, Carroll sought for the county to issue $ 30-40 million worth of bonds to fund

10010-411: The track holds 30,000 seats. Along with the main track, the track complex also features seven road course layouts, including a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) road course layout that combines parts of the main track along with the infield road course to make a " roval ". After an initial proposal to build a 1 mile (1.6 km) track by businessmen Jerry Lowrie and Larry Clement failed in the early 2000s, in 2003,

10120-464: The track sought an $ 8 million grant from the Iowa General Assembly to improve amenities, but failed. In the same year, the track was found to be in financial trouble, with the facility being late on bill payments. As a result, Fritz resigned, with track management claiming that the track was seeking a refinancing deal in early September. Two months later, The Des Moines Register reported that

10230-403: The track's president. Since 2024, the facility hosts the annual Iowa Corn 350 , a NASCAR Cup Series race. Before 2024, the track held annual second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series and third-tier NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events from 2009 to 2019; the former returned in 2024. The Indy Racing League (now known as the IndyCar Series ) announced their intentions to run annual IndyCar races at

10340-407: The traditional symmetrical design, asymmetrical tracks are not uncommon. Additional prominent examples: The tri-oval is the common shape of the ovals from the construction booms of the 1960s and 1990s. The use of the tri-oval shape for automobile racing was conceived by Bill France, Sr. during the planning for Daytona. The triangular layout allowed fans in the grandstands an angular perspective of

10450-414: The turns and are considered low banked, superspeedways like Talladega have up to 33° of tilt in curves, Daytona has up to 32°, both are considered high banked. Atlanta is the intermediate track with the highest banking, 28°. Winchester has the highest banking of any active oval track with 37° Track surfaces can be dirt , concrete, asphalt, or a combination of concrete and asphalt. Some ovals in

10560-596: The years. While some tracks use terms such as "speedway" or "superspeedway" in their name, they may not meet the specific definitions used in this article. A short track is an oval track less than one mile (1.6 km) long, with the majority being 0.5 miles (0.8 km) or shorter. Drivers seeking careers in oval track racing generally serve their apprenticeship on short tracks before moving up to series which compete on larger tracks. Due to their short length and fast action, these tracks are often nicknamed " bullrings ". Professional-level NASCAR races on short tracks usually use

10670-483: Was a huge success with guest appearances from Rusty throughout the weekend. The cup series will return to Iowa Speedway on the first weekend of August of 2025. Wallace made a cameo appearance in the movie Days of Thunder . He and his brothers all appeared in the Electronic Arts video game NASCAR Rumble . Mike was featured as a Craftsman Truck Series driver, driving the No. 2 ASE Ford (no specific car makes for

10780-640: Was built as a facility for the automotive industry to conduct research and development. Daytona International Speedway was built as a replacement for the Daytona Beach Road Course , which combined the town's main street and its famous beach. Daytona hosts the Daytona 500 , NASCAR's most prestigious race, while the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 . The longest superspeedway in North America

10890-421: Was created to provide a less dangerous alternative to a traditional concrete wall. The barrier can be retrofitted onto an existing wall or may take the place of a concrete wall completely. Oval tracks are classified based upon their size, surface, banking, and shape. Their size can range from only a few hundred feet to over two and a half miles. The definitions used to differentiate track sizes have changed over

11000-416: Was delayed in June due to a lack of funds for the now-$ 50 million project. In February 2005, progress on the project resumed when developers announced that they had gathered enough funds; by this point, the budget had increased to $ 70 million, and the opening year was delayed until 2006. The developers later sought to pass a ten-year sales tax break bill; the proposed bill was the first of its kind proposed in

11110-570: Was depended on heavily by the Newton area to replace the economic bloodline of the city. In June, the facility was rumored to hold an Indy Racing League (IRL) race weekend for 2007; the report was confirmed in August. The facility opened as scheduled on September 15, 2006, with Woody Howard winning the first race at the track. The race and its preliminary sessions were marred with excessive tire wear, with mandatory competition cautions being implemented prior to

11220-451: Was hoping to buy the facility to keep it on the IndyCar schedule; the facility was also rumored to be in financial trouble. Other rumors were also made at the same time that the track was going to be closed down. The rumors of closing were repelled by former general manager Craig Armstrong, who claimed that although the facility would not host any NASCAR or IndyCar races in 2021, the situation was

11330-494: Was later approved by Vilsack on May 4. The project received further support with a promise from the Georgia-based UBG Financial Corporation to lend up to $ 57 million for the project; although, it was met with skepticism due to claims of finding "little physical evidence of [the] company". Groundbreaking was held on June 21, 2005. The project was met with optimism, as the economic impact of the facility for

11440-417: Was okay by checking on him after the race had concluded. Wallace finished 80 points behind Earnhardt in the final points for 1993. He also had an airborne crash in his last Gatorade Twin in 2005 when Dave Blaney clipped his right rear tire and sent his car off the ground. The car never turned over though. On April 1, 2015, Wallace tested a Stadium Super Truck owned by former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon , and

11550-408: Was reportedly marked with acrimony between him and Beadle. However, Wallace was stuck with the team for 1990 due to his contract. Rusty won 18 races for Beadle. In 1991, Wallace took the Miller sponsorship with him to Penske Racing , and he continued in the No. 2 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac . He also won the 1991 IROC championship. While 1992 only carried him one win, the win at the Miller 400

11660-473: Was satisfying; it was the first win for Wallace in a car which arguably was his best known chassis for his career, one affectionately known as "Midnight" after the win. With this nickname, the car raced for six seasons, carrying various race wins before being taken out of the fleet in 1997. The 1993 season was arguably his most successful season despite two major accidents at Daytona and Talladega, in which his car went airborne and flipped several times. He won

11770-411: Was standing between the 48 ( Jimmie Johnson ) and 2 (Brad Keselowski) cars joking around and those guys were egging me on to get back in a car and when Brad got wind of it, he called me up two weeks later and was serious about it and Roger (Penske) was all for it. Everyone in the world has been on me to test. 'Why haven't you been back in a car?' This here kind of got me." Wallace's legacy, besides being

11880-526: Was the site of Mario Andretti's closed-course record of 214.158 mph (344.654 km/h) which stood for 12 years. No major professional series have raced at TWS since the 1990s. The 2.5 mile Ontario Motor Speedway was known as the "Indianapolis of the West", but was bought by the Chevron Land Company in 1980 and partitioned for development. NASCAR and IndyCar use different measuring systems to measure

11990-424: Was unclear, but Wallace somehow managed to climb the wall and did a barrel roll. The roof of his car caved in. ESPN commentator Dr. Jerry Punch was the first responder, and possibly saved his life. In 1993, Wallace had two massive flips – both at plate tracks. The first was at the 1993 Daytona 500 , where he was tapped by the crashing cars of Michael Waltrip and Derrike Cope , and barrel rolled multiple times in

12100-521: Was used only twice (both in 1987) and has not been used for major motor racing since hosting Round 9 of the 1987 World Touring Car Championship . There have been two distinct oval race track construction "booms" in the United States. The first took place in the 1960s, and the second took place in the mid-to-late 1990s. The majority of tracks from the 1960s boom and the 1990s boom have survived, but some tracks failed to achieve long-term financial success. Incidentally, these two booms loosely coincided with

#914085