Elton Sawyer explains why NASCAR only partially repaved Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway has been partially paved for the upcoming NASCAR races this weekend, and Elton Sawyer revealed the reason for the move. In an interview with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, the senior vice president of the competition said there were no plans to touch the surface before this weekend. However, there were some areas of concern after taking a closer look.

“Fortunately, we were 70 to 80 percent where we needed to be from all the infrastructure, race control, SAFER barrier, things of that nature,” Sawyer said Tuesday morning, per Racer. “The one thing that over time that with this facility, obviously the winters are hard there in Iowa, and it took a toll on the surface. Our goal all along when we announced this race back in October of last year was to not repave.

“But as we started scheduling events, whether it was a tire test and looking at the facility, and once we got into the early part of the calendar this year, it was apparent that there were some areas we were going to have to take a look at and do some repaving. Again, our goal all along was not to do that. We wanted our fans to see that track and a race where the surface had been worn, but that just wasn’t going to be the case.”

Elton Sawyer shares more on the partial repaving of Iowa Speedway

Both ends of the racetrack – through the corners – have been repaved. Sawyer said there was not enough time to repave the entire track, leading to NASCAR just addressing the troubled areas.

“Now, aesthetically, it looks a little different than what we would normally go into a facility (and see),” Sawyer said. “But we’re confident the repairs are to a high level, and it’s not going to be an issue and we’re still going to have some multi groove racing around the racetrack. We’re looking forward to getting out there and getting cars on the racetrack and seeing exactly how things unfold.”

This will be the first time in five years NASCAR competes on the racetrack. The organization has owned Iowa Speedway since 2019, but Cup Series teams are visiting the track for the first time this weekend. The Iowa Corn 350 will start on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. It will air on the USA network as NBC takes over NASCAR broadcast coverage for the second half of the season.