Hy-Vee Saves IndyCar Racing At Iowa Speedway

[UPDATE: Thursday, 8/19, 10:51 a.m.; The NTT IndyCar series officially confirms their return to Iowa Speedway in 2022 in a Thursday morning Tweet].

Iowa fans love their racing and amidst recent worries of Iowa Speedway in Newton possibly closing down entirely, a major breakthrough has happened that could bring one of the major races back to the oval track.

The start of the pandemic could have been the end of IndyCar racing at Iowa Speedway. Leave it to a grocery chain that already does just about everything else to add one more thing to that list. Hy-Vee and Graham Rahal racing are expected to sponsor the return of a race to the 2022 calendar.

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A press conference is scheduled for Thursday, according to the Des Moines Register. At this press conference will be IndyCar series owner Roger Penske, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing owner Bobby Rahal and driver Graham Rahal, Hy-Vee chairman/CEO/president Randy Edeker. These parties have been in talks for the better part of the summer to get a deal worked out. Regarding what that conference will entail, the Register said

It's expected IndyCar will announce the return of a race at Iowa Speedway for 2022, with Hy-Vee — a major RLL team sponsor — to serve as the race's title sponsor.

IndyCar has run one of its races on the Newton oval track 15 times between 2007-2020, including in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. IndyCar and NASCAR (who owns the Iowa Speedway) could not come to an agreement for 2021.

To make a long story short, the IndyCar series is making its final plans for the 2022 schedule, and it appears that Iowa's beloved short-track will appear on it.