Dale Earnhardt Jr. voices concern about Iowa Speedway ahead of NASCAR race there

Next Sunday, Iowa Speedway will host a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time since its opening in 2006.

While there’s a lot of intrigue for how the racing will look like at Iowa, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a bit worried. The track underwent a partial repave earlier this year, with the entrances and exits of turns two and four getting a fresh coat of asphalt. Earnhardt said on his “Dale Jr. Download” podcast that the partial repave will encourage drivers to stay on the new pavement as long as they can while avoiding the original surface.

“I’m a little bit worried about Iowa as we saw with the photos and images from the tire test,” Earnhardt said. “They paved parts of the racetrack and unfortunately, you’re never ever going to want to get out of that new pavement. So, wherever they put new pavement is where the cars are going to go. I know this track was extremely rough and it was the very reason why I never went there in the Xfinity Series was because of listening to my drivers talk about how bad the bumps were, especially getting down into Turn 1.

“They probably had to fix the track but why they didn’t pave the whole track is interesting. So, I’m not sure what kind of race it’ll be — a good one or not when we actually go there for real.”

Ryan Blaney has hilarious reaction to resurfaced Iowa Speedway

Photos of the newly paved surface emerged last month, showing just a sliver of the old pavement remaining in the corners of the track. Ryan Blaney shared his reaction to the new look of the track, which is unique to say the least.

https://t.co/wqADw4JeyD pic.twitter.com/tB9rZZMMzs

— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) May 30, 2024

Earnhardt explained how a partial repave at Pocono Raceway impacted the racing there, which we could see at Iowa next Sunday.

“In three and four they paved the middle but that’s where you’re going to run,” Earnhardt said. “It’s going to be so much better that you won’t not want to run there, and nobody would go outside that groove for any reason. It’s gonna tear your tires up, be more abrasive on the tire. So, you’re gonna have a faster car, more grip and better tire life to stay in the new asphalt.

“When we paved the grip strip at the top of Pocono, you had to run up there. After several years, you might could make that bottom work to try to make a pass, but the grip strip is what it was called at Pocono in the top of Turn 3, and you had to be on it to have any chance at a lap. It was like a half of second faster. So, I hate to use the word trouble, but I’m concerned about that.”