Newton Municipal Airport had nearly 50 aircraft stay during first NASCAR race

NASCAR race weekend was the biggest event last year at the Newton Municipal Airport, and staff are eager for its return this coming August. The Iowa Corn 350 was the first NASCAR Cup Series to be held at Iowa Speedway, and it drew in a considerable amount of traffic to the local racetrack, as well as the nearby airport.

Ethan Nasalroad, president of Johnson Aviation, spoke of the experience at the airport this past summer during a recent presentation with the city council.

“This was huge for Newton. This was huge for Iowa. As a fixed-base operator, to be able to handle a Cup race, that was really a big deal for us as well. We look forward to seeing them again next year,” Nasalroad said before correcting himself. “Well, in a couple months I should say.”

NASCAR races saw 47 aircraft at the airport over a period of three days, and the IndyCar Race Weekend drew 54 aircraft.

Johnson Aviation hopes to see as much traffic this year as it saw in 2024. The races at Iowa Speedway continue to drive traffic to the city-owned airport. Data shared by Nasalroad shows that in addition to the race traffic, the airport sees a steady amount of aerial applicators using the facility.

Upcoming improvement projects at the airport not only show the facility is growing, it’s getting a lot of use. Bids for the apron expansion came in more than $400,000 less than the engineer anticipated, meaning the city’s share — which is already considerably low — is even lower than anticipated.

The current space constrains the airport, which is seeing continued growth in large part because of the races scheduled at the Iowa Speedway. Planes are not getting smaller either. Oftentimes, visiting planes have to use tenant ramp space or utilize unconventional parking to fit all of the aircraft.

Hangar space is also depleting.

“We’re as busy and we’re as full as we can be out there,” Nasalroad said.

By October this year, Johnson Aviation will be celebrating 75 years in business.