New President at Iowa Speedway prepares for first Cup race

NASCAR announced back in February that longtime NASCAR and Kansas Speedway executive Eric Peterson had been named President of Iowa Speedway.

The Linconville, Kan., native assumed his duties immediately, as the facility prepares to host its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series weekend, June 14-16.

“There was an opportunity at the end of 2023 to come up here and work with the team and lead the track. I took that opportunity and haven’t looked back,” Peterson said during a NASCAR testing session at the track last week. “This has been an amazing experience.”

“Eric has a strong Midwest work ethic and an incredible passion for our sport,” said Chip Wile, NASCAR senior vice president and chief track properties officer. “He also has a proven track record of developing relationships with major national and local brands, making him the ideal choice to lead the top professional sports venue in the state of Iowa.”

“We haven’t had a president in Iowa since 2020. We have just overseen things from Kansas,” Peterson said. “NASCAR is another level of racing. And in order to make sure we are delivering for the sponsors, competition and all of our fans, we needed to have a president here and a team built out as well. I’ve been fortunate to be able to do that.”

Most recently, Peterson served as NASCAR’s Senior Director, Corporate Sales, West Region, but has held various corporate sales roles since starting with International Speedway Corporation and Kansas Speedway in 2010. Peterson holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Emporia State University, and he will relocate to Iowa with his wife Ashley and two children later this month.

Iowa Speedway will host the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 on June 16. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Hy-Vee Perks 250 is June 15 and the ARCA Menards Series Atlas 150 is June 14. The IndyCar Series Race Weekend is in July.