Report: Iowa president wants, and working on, IndyCar return for 2016 - MotorSportsTalk

The Verizon IndyCar Series put on another good show at what is becoming one of its marquee tracks, Iowa Speedway, on Saturday night for the Iowa Corn 300.

New track president Jimmy Small told the Cedar Rapids (Ia.) Gazette he is working towards a deal to make sure the series continues to race at the NASCAR-owned and operated track for 2016 and beyond.

“IndyCar is, hands down, the best race here. We want to keep it here. It’s a part of our vision to raise the overall profile of motorsports. I can’t imagine it not being here,” Small told the Gazette.

“This race, this series is really important to have here for a number of reasons.”

Iowa’s date was moved back a week this year and while it has still had a number of different dates since its first running in 2007, it has traditionally been in the same spot on the overall IndyCar calendar.

The race was held after June 20 each of the first seven runnings through 2013 before it shifted to July last year, a week before the Toronto round.

Thinking ahead to 2016, Toronto would be due to move back to its mid-July date after a one-year exception to move to June this year, because of the Pan-Am Games.

That would likely affect Iowa’s date, but not by much. It could fall in mid-July as this year, or, if the Auto Club Speedway date was moved back to the fall, Iowa could go back to its traditional late June date.

Either way, this is an event INDYCAR needs to keep, and the track wants to keep, provided it makes business sense.

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Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”