Iowa Speedway Tag

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer The last time Christian Eckes made a start in the ARCA Racing Series, it was one to remember for the teenage driver as he got the infamous kiss from Big Bill Venturini in victory lane. Eckes put on a dominating performance at Salem Speedway four weeks ago, battling teammate Chandler Smith down to the last lap to earn the first checkered flag of his ARCA career in his 16th start. The 17-year-old driver is running 13 of the 20 races this season, so he wasn’t inRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Kyle Busch Motorsports has added another up-and-coming driver to their line-up, Christian Eckes. The 17-year-old has been competing part-time in the ARCA Racing Series, where he won for the first time in dramatic fashion at Salem Speedway. Eckes will drive the No. 46 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Iowa Speedway on June 16. He will return to the truck at Gateway Motorsports Park on June 23, and ISM Raceway on November 9. Eckes will also compete atRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has added yet another sponsor as Friday it was announced that Luther Automotive Group will be the primary sponsor of Graham Rahal at Iowa Speedway on July 8. The company, which is the largest new and used dealership group in the Midwest, will also be an associate sponsor for Rahal’s No. 15 RLL Honda for the full 2018 season. “We are proud to be part of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing family and do our part to support Graham and Takuma as well asRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer  Joe Gibbs Racing is beginning to complete their Xfinity Series drivers’ lineup as they add Kyle Benjamin to the fold. Benjamin will drive the JGR No. 18 Toyota Camry at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, and Iowa Speedway on July 28. At Atlanta, he will carry the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant sponsorship. Benjamin competed in five races last year for JGR. He qualified an impressive second in his debut at Richmond Raceway. Benjamin went on to score two pole positions at Pocono Raceway andRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Ford Performance is making gains in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the season hasn’t even started yet. After gaining ThorSport Racing, JJL Motorsports will follow suit, moving from Toyota Racing’s Tundras to a Ford F-150. JJL Motorsports will use equipment acquired from the now-defunct Brad Keselowski Racing. The team will have Jesse Little behind the wheel for about eight to 10 races. Little has 13 Truck Series starts, including a ninth-place finish at Iowa Speedway last season. He has driven for his uncles’Read More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor IndyCar has announced changes to the rules and format of qualifying for oval races from 2018 on, according to a recent article by RACER.com. The old system of a driver lottery, the equivalent of drawing a name from a hat is replaced by a new system designed to up the tension and spectacle in a logical and fair manner. For the races at Phoenix, Texas, Iowa, Gateway and Pocono drivers will qualify in championship order according points. Drivers at the bottom of the standings will qualifyRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Motorsports Tribune reviews the season of the top 10 drivers from the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Our list continues with the fourth-place championship finisher, Helio Castroneves. Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet 2017: 4th in the championship  Wins: 1, Top 5: 9, Top 10: 16, Poles: 3, Laps Led: 442 Best Finish: 1st (Iowa Speedway) With Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves set to move over to sports car racing outside of the Indianapolis 500 in 2018, his 2017 served as both an impressive final Verizon IndyCarRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor IndyCar continued its round of tests for the new 2018 universal aerokit at Iowa Speedway this week where test drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Oriol Servia experimented with the Road Course/Short Oval spec car on the 0.894 mile oval. The veteran duo completed 270 laps as they sampled the new kit in various trims to determine a base line set up for next year’s race, where they added and then took downforce off of the cars to find the elusive sweet spot. Like the previous testsRead More

By Rob Gray, NASCAR Wire Service NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Preece’s short-lived, but ambitious 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule began three weeks ago at his de facto home track, New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It ended Saturday in the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway — as confetti swirled and soared to highlight his first career series triumph in Victory Lane. Preece, held off a hard-charging Kyle Benjamin in a green-white checkered finish that came after the third restart in the race’s final 17 pulse-quickening laps. “I thought this race wouldRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer A Top 10 at Iowa Speedway was much more emotional than normal for J.J. Yeley. Less than one week after losing team owner Mark Smith, Yeley drove TriStar Motorsports’ No. 14 Toyota Camry to a sixth-place finish. Yeley hovered around 20th for the bulk of the US Cellular 250 presented by American Ethanol, only cracking the Top 10 late in the going. He was driving the teams’ unsponsored No. 14 Toyota Camry, affectionately nicknamed ‘Black Betty,’ and carried Smith’s name on the passenger door. ARead More