Hy-Vee will now not be the title sponsor of the annual July IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway, and the weekend is not going to characteristic the high-profile music acts that have been a spotlight of the occasion below its sponsorship the previous three years.
A Friday information launch mentioned West Des Moines-based Hy-Vee will nonetheless be a “important sponsor” for the races scheduled for July 12 and 13. Hy-Vee helped revive Iowa Speedway in Newton after it fell off the IndyCar and NASCAR schedules in 2021, agreeing to be the title sponsor and promoter of two IndyCar races there starting in 2022.
That yr featured a headline-grabbing post-race music lineup, with Blake Shelton and spouse Gwen Stefani showing simply weeks after their first anniversary, in addition to Tim McGraw and Florida Georgia Line. In 2023 and 2024, Hy-Vee and IndyCar coupled the races with extra A-Record performers like Luke Combs and Eric Church.
The information launch mentioned tickets for this yr’s star-free occasion will value considerably much less, with many grandstand ticket costs diminished greater than 50%. Native artists will carry out on the halfway exterior the entrance gates, it mentioned.
“This summer time’s occasion weekend will shift gears from the high-profile music acts we have now seen the previous few years and as a substitute deal with the nice racing our loyal race followers have come to count on of their IndyCar expertise at Iowa Speedway,” it mentioned.
Hy-Vee spokesperson Tina Potthoff didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Throughout the 2024 race weekend, Hy-Vee and IndyCar introduced that the grocery store would stay the title sponsor of the race for “a number of years.” However the size of the contract was by no means introduced and in October Hy-Vee introduced it might not renew its one-year sponsorship of.
“Hy-Vee will proceed to be a key sponsor of INDYCAR Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway this yr, although the corporate will now not function the title sponsor of the occasion,” the Friday launch mentioned. “We look ahead to our continued partnership in 2025.”
Ticket renewals will start March 24 and tickets will go on sale to most people on April 7. On Monday IndyCar and its TV companion Fox , 25 laps longer than they have been final yr.
Iowa Speedway will likely be certainly one of simply 4 tracks internet hosting each the NASCAR Cup Sequence and the NTT IndyCar Sequence this yr. The others are Indianapolis Motor Speedway, World Huge Know-how Raceway close to St. Louis and Nashville Superspeedway.
“With the continued assist of Hy-Vee and all of our occasion companions, it will be an ideal weekend for IndyCar, for Newton and everybody throughout the state of Iowa and we are able to’t look ahead to the inexperienced flag,” the discharge mentioned.
