Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Per numerous reports on local news last night and this morning, The Iowa Speedway is being sold again (Mannatt's to Clements (Featherlite Trailers) and now to ???), 3rd ownership group since they opened and none thus far have been very successful from a financial standpoint).

Hopefully this is good news, but seems like owners are flocking away and trying to cut their losses (per WHO-TV and the DesMoines Register, the Clement family is selling for less than what they paid for the track just a year ago and the new owners are taking on the unpaid bills to vendors from the previous ownership groups).

Unless SMI or ISC is behind this buyout (which I doubt), I think Iowa Speedway may be a thing of the past in the next 3-4 years as it seems apparent that is is very difficult to turn a profit even with TV $$$ coming in on the NASCAR races. 

Hopefully the new ownership group will embrace the other local tracks in the area (Knoxville, Marshalltown, Iowa State Fair speedway, Osky) and try to work together.

Let me think:

Nazareth Speedway, Pikes Peak International, Gateway International, Memphis Motorsports Park, Nashville Superspeedway, The Milwaukee Mile, and Rockingham Speedway all raced the same taxicab races as Iowa Speedway and are no longer.

Just wish the State of Iowa would get behind Knoxville Raceway like they did Iowa Speedway.

Knoxville doesn't pay someone to lobby on their behalf at the statehouse or they would....

Per WHO - the new owners will have some sort of press conference at the Statehouse on December 12th @ 1:00 PM Central.  I'm sure Governor Braindead is going to give them some $$$....

donimus,  Here's an update on some of the tracks you mentioned are no longer: (A)  in 2014 (for the 3rd year in a row) the Milwaukee Mile will host both an Indy Car race and on another date the 3rd edition of a very successful ARCA Midwest Tour Stock car race;  (B) on June 14, 2014 Gateway Intl Raceway will have a NSACAR Camping World Truck Series Race; (C) in 2013 Pikes Peak Intl. Raceway hosted a USAC Silver Crown Race, I'm not sure of the status of their return in 2014.  If I'm not mistaken I recently read that Memphis Motorsports Park in 2014 is making its return to racing in some form. 

I agree we sure don't want to lose any more tracks (dirt or pavement).

ISC told MRN that they are NOT part of the group purchasing.....If SMI isn't part of the group, no Cup date anywhere in the near future....

Rumor mill in the Central Iowa area seems to be running at full bore. Everyone seems to know who the "exciting" new owner isgoing to be, but no one can say...

As a NASCAR fan who lives 30 minutes from Newton, the newness and excitement seems to have worn off. Local Des

Moines news stations do not give the speedway much attention when it comes to their premier events like they use to. If

Iowans are bored of Nationwide racing after only a few years then NASCAR will be much more hesitant before even

considering a Cup race at Iowa Speedway. Technically, Iowa Speedway is a short track but it lacks the bumping and

crashing that most short tracks in NASCAR seem to have.

-Austin Rankin

I wonder how.  That place is always packed during Nationwide and Truck races.  How can they not be turning a profit? 

I never understood the short track they built other than Rusty helped design it. If your going to go with the short track then make it a high banked oval like Bristol. The average fan i would think would prefer at least a mile track or seeing high speeds. I have no desire to watch a paved race on a track like that.

I don't have an answer, but it just reminds me of the old Gary Larson "Far Side" cartoon.  The owner of a donut shop is standing at the register ringing up the days take and he says "I don't get it--I'm moving over 400 donuts a day but I'm just barely squeeking by"    Then you look in the foreground and see a 500 lb. man sweeping the floor glancing back at him.

priceless. 

Did you see the September truck race?   The place was at least half empty, rumor has it that they only sold around 4000 tickets....the rest were handouts.     No major title sponsor either. 

Someone who had seen the books told me that the overhead on the place was incredible...something like 30 grand per day, every day if I remember right.  

Went to an Indy car race when they first started and of course tickets were free.Best part was a casual conversation with A.J.Foyt after race which surprised me.It goes to show free tickets dont make a profit.Even though I am not much of a Nascar fan it appears that ARCA,NationWide,and Truck races have many empty seats.The competition for the $ has many venues.The Indy cars were fun but would rather see a good short track dirt race.Knoxvilles weekly shows probably hardly break even and are basically a prelude of the Nationals which make the whole thing work.Glad they have kept WOO santioning fee from cutting into their profit.

Too many salaries to pay, taxes, debt to service, and only 3 weekends of activity a year to bring in enough $$$$ to pay all those.

I saw a report yesterday that the new ownership group paid roughly $14,000,000 to the Clement family (Who paid $19,000,000 for it just one year ago) but had to assume nearly $7,000,000 in unpaid bills to vendors and such as part of the deal.

Amazing, the amount of $$$ owed to vendors and such was almost the exact amount that the speedway was lobbying the state to give them just last year......   Makes me think that unless they get a Cup date (which is unlikely unless SMI is the new buyers since ISC has now publicly stated they are NOT part of the group buying the track), there will be another set of owners again in a couple years or the track will eventually go under.

is Rusty Wallet still on the payroll?

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

I don't think Rusty was ever on the payroll,   He was a minority shareholder in exchange for PR work helped design the track.

Nascar has purchased Iowa speedway

After stating they were not part of the group purchasing Iowa Speedway just 1 day ago, ISC is now being reported as the buyer of Iowa Speedway (I'm sure they'll be at the Statehouse asking for Taxpayer $$$ to pay for upgrades within the next 30 days)....stay tuned

A lot of things have changed since this track was first proposed. Back then eventually getting a Cup date would have  practically guaranteed overall success but even that is no longer true. I understand why they wanted to do something a little different (what are you going to do, build yet another mile and a half track?) but I get the impression that the track configuration hasn't worked out all that well. That would be a tough call, glad I didn't have to make it. Perhaps this is one of those tracks that just wasn't meant to be. Even in a huge market like the Los Angeles area, the old Ontario Motor Speedway couldn't make a go of it and their schedule included stock cars, road course races, Indy cars, NHRA drag racing and music festivals. It would be interesting to know just how profitable the California Speedway operation is now that attendance at Cup races has fallen off the pace of previous years. I went to an Indy car race there about 10 years ago and was shocked at how few people were there. Maybe the TV money helps make it possible but I have to imagine they didn't air many shots of the mostly empty grandstand.

http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/nascar/nationwide/nascar-buys-iowa-speedway/

Lincoln 1845 ft/.35 mile T1=118MPH 
Eldora 2287 ft/.43mile T3=135MPH
Port 2716 ft/.51 mile T3=TBD
Grove 2792 ft/.53 mile T3=135MPH
Selinsgrove 2847 ft/.54 mile T1=136MPH
"I didn't move to PA from El Paso in search of better 
weather." Van May

Be nice to have them work with Knox on dates!

Sprints rule