Iowa Speedway IndyCar Weekend

[Cycsk]

@Connor_Ferguson

OK, Connor, I listened to you on "Emory Plus One" and you sold me on going to Iowa Speedway this weekend. However, I need help from you and/or others in the know.

1. If I can only go to one race, which one should it be?
2. What are the differences between the various races of the weekend?
3. Where should I sit?
4. Is the Garage Pass worth it? How about the Fan Walk?
5. How early do I need to get there to navigate parking, etc.?
6. Anything else?

Here is the link for anyone else considering it. https://www.hyveeindycarweekend.com/en/buy-tickets

 

[BCClone]

For the best experience, paint a number on your car and drive onto the track

 

[isufbcurt]

If you are hungry they have a food truck area. A friend/client/fellow racer of mine is going to have his food truck there - Kickin Chicken

He told me Indy rules require this to be a cashless event, just an FYI.

 

[deadeyededric]

I think the IRL has had way better racing than NASCAR the last 10-15 years. I hope open wheel gets back to being as big as it once was.

 

[deadeyededric]

If you are hungry they have a food truck area. A friend/client/fellow racer of mine is going to have his food truck there - Kickin Chicken

He told me Indy rules require this to be a cashless event, just an FYI.

Have you been watching that Legends late model stuff on Saturday nights? It's pretty cool seeing Schrader and those guys driving.

 

[Cycsk]

If you are hungry they have a food truck area. A friend/client/fellow racer of mine is going to have his food truck there - Kickin Chicken

He told me Indy rules require this to be a cashless event, just an FYI.

Too bad that I may be seeing Indy Cars race in Iowa before I get to one of Curt's races. Stupid rain.

 

[isufbcurt]

Have you been watching that Legends late model stuff on Saturday nights? It's pretty cool seeing Schrader and those guys driving.

No I've been gone racing most weekends.

 

[isufbcurt]

Too bad that I may be seeing Indy Cars race in Iowa before I get to one of Curt's races. Stupid rain.

Hopefully 7/29 in Ft Dodge works for you. I think Conner is trying to go to that one too.

 

[ianoconnor]

I'll be there for both races - looking forward to it. I've never done the garage pass or fan walk so can't comment there. Generally though, IndyCar is exceptional when it comes to fan access to drivers, garages, etc.

Not a huge difference in the 2 races - Sat is 250 laps and Sunday is 300 laps. So slightly different pit strategy potentially but that's about it. Different musical acts each day, so maybe that swings it one way for ya.

The Indy Lights race is also on Saturday at 11:15, which is essentially AAA level if you want to compare to baseball.

Tons of info here: www.hyveeindycarweekend.com

 

[Cycsk]

Not a huge difference in the 2 races - Sat is 250 laps and Sunday is 300 laps. So slightly different pit strategy potentially but that's about it.

That was helpful. I wondered if there would be different cars in each race. Is it common to have the same cars racing twice during an IndyCar event?

 

[Clonefan94]

That was helpful. I wondered if there would be different cars in each race. Is it common to have the same cars racing twice during an IndyCar event?

They usually do it at least once a year. Detroit for the past few years was always a two race event. They have done it at others tracks as well, Gateway I believe was another one.

 

[cyclonespiker33]

I'll be attending on Sunday, mostly because of the concerts aspect. As a noob, I bought seats in row 1. Was that a good or bad idea?

 

[isufbcurt]

I'll be attending on Sunday, mostly because of the concerts aspect. As a noob, I bought seats in row 1. Was that a good or bad idea?

We sat in row 3 a couple years ago. You'll get a great feel for how fast the cars are being that close.

 

[BryceC]

I think the IRL has had way better racing than NASCAR the last 10-15 years. I hope open wheel gets back to being as big as it once was.

It is getting bigger but IMO the eyeballs are going to F1.

 

[ianoconnor]

Yea, you'll have a great time sitting anywhere. And to Curt's point, seeing them up close is just impressive. For viewing the racing, I prefer sitting higher up. Similar to how front row of the upper deck at JTS are probably the best seats in the house in terms of seeing plays develop etc.

 

[ClonesInDallas]

Too bad that I may be seeing Indy Cars race in Iowa before I get to one of Curt's races. Stupid rain.

Hopefully 7/29 in Ft Dodge works for you. I think Conner is trying to go to that one too.

Fellow CFers supporting each other in real life is a really cool thing to see!

 

[Cycsk]

Yea, you'll have a great time sitting anywhere. And to Curt's point, seeing them up close is just impressive. For viewing the racing, I prefer sitting higher up. Similar to how front row of the upper deck at JTS are probably the best seats in the house in terms of seeing plays develop etc.

So, what seats do you recommend for Iowa Speedway, factoring in sight lines and time-of-day.

 

[ianoconnor]

So, what seats do you recommend for Iowa Speedway, factoring in sight lines and time-of-day.

I've only been to two races there and don't recall issues with time of day. Well besides the 2019 race that didn't start until like 10:30p because of a rain delay lol.

We sat in the front row of the turn 4 grandstands (sec 404) for that 2019 race and I really enjoy those seats. I would equate these to those upper deck first row seats at JTS that I compared to earlier.

The other time I sat in the top couple rows of what they call the middle grandstands. I think it was around section 301, but could have also been in the Newton Club as I joined my buddy that had season tickets. Those were great too and quite a bit closer to the track.

 

[cyclonedave25]

I'll be attending on Sunday, mostly because of the concerts aspect. As a noob, I bought seats in row 1. Was that a good or bad idea?

I remember when Indy car made their first appearance in 2007 at the Iowa Speedway, I sat with some friends in row 6. We didn’t bring hearing protection and this was when the cars were naturally aspirated. My ears were ringing for days. Haven’t been to a race since they went to V6 Turbos so not sure how loud they are these days. But bring some foam ear plugs just in case.
Like Curt said, you will get a great idea of their speed sitting down that low.

 

[CyGuy5]

I “had” free tickets from Slack/Salesforce until they said they had a processing error. Sucks becuase I really wanted to go