Scott Sharp first raced in the state of Iowa nearly 20 years ago when the city of Des Moines hosted the Ruan Grand Prix. This weekend, sharp and his Indy Racing League competitors will gather at the Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn Indy 250.
Sharp says he likes the short tracks, including Richmond and Phoenix. He feels the new track will offer competitive and exciting racing as it won’t be like a short track. Sharp says drafting should be huge, which most of the time isn’t the case on short tracks.
Sharp expects it to be the fastest short oval, and he says it’s going to be interesting to see how the banking of the track works out. Sharp says through practice and the early part of the race the drivers will be searching for the quickest way around the track.
Sharp says guys have been able to win races in the last lap on the outside by keeping others pinned down. He says that may be the case at Iowa. He says if there’s two-by-two racing then there could be a lot of cars pinned down around the track.
It is the Iowa Speedway’s biggest event to date and track designer Rusty Wallace hopes it will lead to even more big events. Wallace says they’re talking to NASCAR about adding a couple of events.
Wallace says a NASCAR Truck or Busch Series race are possibilities, but he says it’s too much to get a NASCAR Nextell Cup race. The Indy Cars will begin practice runs on Friday afternoon.