3 reasons why IndyCar could drop Iowa from 2025 calendar ft. NASCAR's silent cold war

The 2025 IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway are done and dusted, with Pato O'Ward winning the first race and Alex Palou winning the second race. Josef Newgarden was arguably the unluckiest driver in both races, missing out on a race win with no fault of his own.

While the 2025 races were better than the 2024 races at the Iowa Speedway, the short oval in Newton might be dropped from the calendar for the 2026 season. Let's have a look at the three reasons why the 0.875-mile circuit might not be featured in the American open-wheel racing series next year.

#1 NASCAR’s Silent Cold War

The Iowa Speedway is currently owned and maintained by NASCAR, which bought the ownership of the short oval over a decade ago. Coming into the 2025 race at Iowa Speedway, the official account of the circuit didn't upload any posts or stories about the IndyCar race at the circuit.

Iowa Speedway’s official social media accounts kept posting about the upcoming NASCAR race at the 0.875-mile circuit in August. Many fans came out and pointed this same on social media, questioning why Iowa wasn't promoting the IndyCar race on its platforms.

While it is understood that IndyCar and NASCAR rival each other to become the primary motorsport in the US, NASCAR owning Iowa Speedway and not promoting the open-wheel racing series hints towards a silent cold war.

Many locals near the Speedway also came out and claimed that there weren't any billboards about the IndyCar race in the city, not around the track, and that it was all about the upcoming NASCAR race.

Motorsports reporter Nathan Brown came out and revealed that less than 6000 tickets were sold for each of the races at Iowa, which further showcases the lack of promotion.

#2 Subpar IndyCar racing action at the Iowa Speedway feat. The repaved lane

NASCAR repaved the inside lane at the Iowa Speedway, which led to a rather dull 2024 IndyCar race at Iowa with all the cars running in a single file. The repaved lane had a lot more grip, naturally becoming the driver's choice, and the single-file running didn't promote any running.

However, coming into the 2025 race, the series brought a high downforce package to incentivise the driver to take the high line and lead to an action-packed race. While the 2025 races were better than 2024, it was still incredibly difficult for drivers to pass cars, including lapped traffic.

Kyle Kirkwood came out ahead of the weekend, suggesting the only solution to the problem is to either repave the whole track or let the new lane degrade. The poor racing might lead to Iowa Speedway dropping from the calendar.

#3 IndyCar on the hunt to explore new markets

Roger Penske and Co. are looking to expand the American open-wheel series beyond North America as a race in Mexico is believed to be heading that direction, and might be on the calendar as early as 2026. Pato O'Ward also came out and revealed that Japan or a race in the UK would be a good step for the series.

However, the management can only put so many races on the calendar, and new entries might lead to some existing circuits being dropped by Penske Entertainment.