It hit me as a little curious last week when I read that NASCAR had purchased Iowa Speedway. I would have expected a purchase by the France's International Speedway Corporation (ISC), but was surprised to see the NASCAR sanctioning body purchase.

Is this a tax deal or what?

Iowa is the track that Rusty Wallace helped design (like DW at Kentucky) based on the Richmond layout. In fact, after Doug Fritz lost his ISC job at Richmond, he went to Iowa for a brief stint on Rusty's recommendation. The Featherlite trailer folks have also been an owner. The AP story says NASCAR will be the third owner of the still young facility.

Unlike the baseball field in Kevin Costner's "Field of Dreams" film, building a racetrack in an Iowa corn field didn't seem to ring true to the adage of "If you build it they will come."

What do you pundits think is going on here?

NASCAR Buys Iowa Speedway East of Des Moines

NASCAR has bought the Iowa Speedway.

But that doesn't mean that the track will be hosting a Sprint Cup any time soon if ever.

NASCAR announced Wednesday that it had finalized the purchase the seven-year-old track. It's a move NASCAR said solidifies the future of the 0.875-mile tri-oval track in Newton. A purchase price wasn't disclosed.

Featherlite Inc. founder Conrad Clement and his family purchased the track which with temporary seating has held up to 60,000 fans for NASCAR Nationwide events in 2011.

NASCAR will be the Iowa Speedway's third owner since it opened in 2006.

"Iowa Speedway is a great entertainment facility with a very bright future," said Eric Nyquist, NASCAR's vice president of strategic development. "The facility has the support of the region, it's positioned well in the heart of the Midwest, and year in and year out it provides great short-track racing action for motorsports fans.

"NASCAR ownership will allow us to draw on the entire resources of our company. It also provides us with the opportunity to execute first-hand a number of entertainment ideas and engagement opportunities with fans."

There has long been hope among racing fans that the Iowa Speedway long a favorite of drivers for its bullring setup might someday land a Cup event because of its success hosting Nationwide, Camping World Truck series and IndyCar races.

But NASCAR specifically noted in a release there are no plans to bring the Sprint Cup Series to Iowa in the immediate future.

NASCAR said it will host a special event in Des Moines on Dec. 12 to outline additional details on the purchase and its future plans for the track.

"In the meantime, let's just say that Thanksgiving came a day early for Iowa Speedway fans, the community of Newton, and indeed the entire state of Iowa. Iowa Speedway is here to stay, thanks to the strength, stability and resources of NASCAR," Iowa Speedway spokesman Craig Armstrong wrote in an email to The AP Wednesday night, adding that the track estimates that it has an annual economic impact of $50 million in Iowa.

The Iowa Speedway is scheduled to host an IndyCar race and two Nationwide events, though it'll have just one NASCAR trucks race after hosting a pair in recent years.

Below is the story that first surfaced in September:

Financial woes hit Iowa Speedway; CEO resigns

(Photo: Charlie Neibergall, AP)

Story Highlights

• Fritz was formerly the president of Richmond International Raceway
• Iowa Speedway is lagging behind on some payments to vendors
• Co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace designed the track

NEWTON, Iowa Iowa Speedway officials hustled to calm any potential fears about the racetrack's financial health or future after confirming the departure of its chief executive officer and a pending refinancing deal.

Employees were told Tuesday morning about the departure of Doug Fritz, the man hand-picked as CEO in September 2011. Speedway officials confirmed to The Des Moines Register on Tuesday morning that Fritz had left the company and that a refinancing deal was in the works.

Conrad Clement, speedway chairman and principal owner, acknowledged the existence of some financial issues in a brief telephone call with the Register , saying, "We're in the process of refinancing the whole speedway."

Clement declined, however, to answer questions beyond a news release that was issued late Tuesday afternoon. The news release offered no new, additional details related to the track's financial status.

"We're fine," said Clement, the founder of Featherlite Trailers in Cresco. "Everything's fine."

Officials at the 7/8-mile racetrack, designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer and part-owner Rusty Wallace, vowed that a race schedule would be finalized for 2014.

One of the signature events at the speedway is the Iowa Corn Indy 250, which most recently motored through Iowa last June. IndyCar CEO Mark Miles responded to the Register about the contract status of that race, via a spokesperson: "We have made great progress toward finalizing our agreement. We've worked through the commercial terms and are now at the point of final agreement on the date. ... It's been a very constructive and positive process."

Five companies or individuals in business relationships with the speedway told the Register in the last week that lagging payments for goods and services in 2012 continued this season.

Speedway officials confirmed that the track is catching up on some payments, but declined to provide specifics about the number of vendors owed or the remaining amount of money still billed for this season.

Stan Clement, Conrad's brother and president of Iowa Speedway, emphasized that plans for next season remain in motion and offered assurances that unpaid bills will be handled.

"We're planning on having everything up to date and are working on next year," said Stan Clement, who also has been tabbed to assume the CEO duties vacated by Fritz. "We're trying to get current, but we're going to be fine."

Stan Clement, in fact, said negotiations are ongoing for a schedule that could include a combination weekend with IndyCar and NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series.

Speedway spokesman Craig Armstrong said Fritz left to pursue another position in motor sports on the East Coast. Fritz worked to keep the decision under wraps until the completion of the season capped by Sunday's "Fan Appreciation 200" trucks race .

When asked if the timing of the split with Fritz was connected to any of the financial questions, Armstrong said the events were unrelated.

"Doug wanted to keep it quiet because he didn't want to upset anyone at the end of the racing season," he said.

Fritz, formerly the president at Richmond International Raceway, was not able to immediately be reached for comment and his speedway cellphone had been disconnected.

Armstrong said that despite the concerns from speedway business associates who contacted the Register , no unpaid bills remain from last season. Wallace, who was reached while vacationing in Mexico, also indicated that business partners had been compensated for last season.

"Every year's the same thing," Armstrong said. "You get short on cash at the end of the year, you start selling season tickets, sponsorship money comes in, and we get caught up. Our business is just different than other businesses.

"You get money in big chunks, then you get nothing."

Iowa Speedway hosted five races from major sanctioning bodies this season: Two in NASCAR's Nationwide Series, two in the Truck Series and the IndyCar weekend.

Jasper County court records indicate that the Clement's U.S. Motorsport Corporation recently reached an out-of-court settlement related to a dispute about the purchase of the speedway from Manatt's Inc., a Brooklyn, Ia., road construction company.

The court case stemmed from a deal announced in July 2011. Manatt's served as the initial majority owner of the track when it opened in 2006.

Iowa Speedway is partially supported by public money, including a 10-year deal with the state from 2006 until the start of 2016 that refunds sales tax money, at a 5 percent rate, the facility pays. A tax increment financing arrangement with Newton provided revenue to build the original infrastructure around the track and is being repaid through the track's property tax payments.

In May, the Iowa Legislature failed to support a bid for an $8 million appropriation that speedway officials said would help expand facilities for a possible race in Sprint Cup, the top circuit in NASCAR.

A legal representative of NASCAR sent a letter a week later to Stan Clement copied to Gov. Terry Branstad, legislative leaders and select local media that emphasized the sanctioning body has not suggested it would award a Sprint Cup weekend to Iowa.

In the news release Tuesday, Conrad Clement promised future racing at the popular track in central Iowa.

"Iowa Speedway has a very bright future ahead," the chairman said. "We have many facility improvements and fan amenities on the books for next season, and we are looking forward to another outstanding year in 2014."

The following opinion and 50 cents ... errr, $4 may get you a Starbucks cup of coffee.

• ISC has committed a boat load of money to upgrade its flagship property - Daytona.
• I'm not sure how much cash they have to pay for the upgrades vs. how much debt they'll float to finance it.
• ISC is a publicly traded company. Like any other, stockholders want a return on their investment through a rise in share price and dividend payouts. Both can be driven by higher revenues, controlled costs, increased bottom lines, and even some bullish speculation about the future (such as what drives a lot of the dot com companies). The battle public companies fight regularly is investors are kind of like the kids in the AT&T commercials. They want more and more and more - and of course they want it NOW.
• Interest in racing seems to be flat or retreating. Fans who buy stuff like tickets and merchandise AND products and services pitched by sponsors. TV ratings are ehhh meaning they can't raise ad rates. Sponsors therefore aren't as plentiful for the teams, tracks, sanctioning body, TV, or websites.
• Iowa as currently structured wouldn't add much revenue or bottom line to ISC. Matter of fact, ISC might have to borrow to buy, uplift and market it. More costs in excess of revenue - at least in near term. Not exactly the plan investors would like to see.
• With NASCAR as the privately-held acquiring entity, they can do things ISC cannot. I'm guessing NASCAR got a bargain on the purchase making it too good of a deal to turn down.They can keep a midwest NASCAR presence to complement Michigan, Chicago, Indy and KC.
• NASCAR as the owner can then turn their attention to marketing what they have without the pressures of a Cup date that ISC investors might demand.
• If the track gets back on solid financial footing, I'm willing to bet NASCAR would then "sell" the track to ISC at a favorable price - as in little or no capital profit. ISC could simply disclose what is called a 'related party transaction' and then move forward with their new asset without having to spend as much as NASCAR may have to.

Even if it makes sense financially for the Frances who control both companies to do it this way, I think there are far broader questions to be answered. As many knew and others may have learned from Tim Leeming's Racing History Minute posts, Bill France as the head of NASCAR also promoted many of his early races - and even competed in some of them as a driver or owner. But that was late 1940s through the 1950s. Today is a different era. ISC and SMI are publicly traded companies. The teams though still privately held are multi-million dollar enterprises. For the sanctioning body who holds all the cards in granting race dates to now OWN a track that is the beneficiary of one or more of those dates is certainly questionable.

As long as Iowa runs the undercard series or maybe an Indy race, NASCAR may be able to move forward with little questioning because the money won't be substantial enough to worry about. But when (not if) the topic of a Cup date going there arises, lawyers in their suits will arrive with suits to challenge the clear conflict of interest.

Thanks for your take, Chase. Will your accountants in arms be able to stave off the suits with suits longterm? Stay tuned.

NASCAR purchased? Now Another Speedway Can Anticipate Ruin.

Probably not. Generally speaking, lawyers are better funded than the accountants. And better dressed.

I just hope it helps Iowa get a Cup date. Every series that's raced on it from Indycar and K&N to trucks and Nationwide has put on top-class racing and Cup schedule could use some tracks that actually put on good racing.

Apparently its not as easy as one might think. Based on other articles I read around the time this was announced, the new TV package calls for 36 races. Not 37 - and I don't think the teams would be looking to expand another date anyway. That means an Iowa Cup date would have to come at the expense of an existing track / race. Immediately, I think eyes turn towards Pocono and Dover - with Dover being the more likely target. But again, I think lawyers for Dover's shareholders would sprint for the courthouse doors if the sanctioning body pulled one of Dover's dates to transfer it to a track that it owned.

As we've seen in all of professional sports, boardrooms, state and Federal legislatures, etc., however, contracts generally aren't worth the paper on which they're printed. If NASCAR wants a 37th Cup race at Iowa, they'll declare it and work with TV and teams to make it happen. If they want to transfer a Cup date from elsewhere, they'll make it lucrative enough for the "losing" track to go away reasonably quiet.

From Des Moines paper, NASCAR bought Iowa for about $10 million. The value of the place has fallen dramatically since being built. The original builders invested $70 million and then got soaked when they had to unload it for $19 million. Then the value fell almost another 50% when NASCAR bought it. But at that price, perhaps the Frances felt like it was too good of bargain price not to act.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/viewart/20131204/SPORTS/312040109/...

If NASCAR doesn't turn it around though, you may see the track offered on Craigslist or Groupon.

I guess we'll possibly know a little more about what NASCAR has in mind on December 12 - based on the teaser in the original story:

NASCAR said it will host a special event in Des Moines on Dec. 12 to outline additional details on the purchase and its future plans for the track.