By: Mitchell Breuer 

NEWTON, Iowa – There was a point in time where it looked as if Iowa Speedway was bound to host a NASCAR Cup Series race and, seemed to be a fixture on the NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series schedules.  

In 2019, the track was booked and busy, hosting two Xfinity events, a truck race, one race for each of the ARCA series, and an NTT IndyCar Series event.  

Then 2020 happened, and after schedule changes being made due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the track with an Indy doubleheader and one ARCA race.  

While this was a big change within itself, it was nothing compared to what was coming next, as the 2021 schedule left Iowa with only one race, a standalone ARCA weekend that featured a combination event between the national and east series.  

Its presence would not be forgotten about though, with 2020 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, Sheldon Creed, stating the trucks should have remained at Iowa Speedway, instead of competing in a caution-heavy race at Knoxville Raceway.

While Creed is probably not alone in the hopes of the track getting more races, the future of the facility is still an unknown, as it is unknown if ARCA will even return in 2022. That being said, there were drivers competing on Saturday night echoing Creed’s sentiments the track should continue to have a role in NASCAR.

One of which, was Ty Gibbs, who won for his second straight at the facility. 

“I feel like Trucks and Xfinity should be here,” he told NEWS FROM THE PITS. “I feel like Cups should be here. I feel like this is a phenomenal racetrack. They would need some more grandstands for Cup Race, but overall, I feel like Rusty (Wallace) and all of those guys did a great job of building this racetrack and it’s a fun time. I love always coming here. It is just so different, where you run out on this track and all the bumps. It has a big personality on this track.” 

Another driver voicing his support for the track post-race was Taylor Gray, who gave high praise after finishing third.  

“To be quite honest, I mean, I don’t really know why the trucks don’t come here, or Xfinity doesn’t come here anymore. It’s one of the raciest, probably the raciest just short track there is.” 

While its future remains unknown, it was confirmed by track officials that Saturday’s Shore Lunch 150 drew over 4,000 fans for the one day of ARCA action.