Krista Voda hosts NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series races on Speed TV.

She hosts Trucks Series race coverage on Speed TV. Earlier this week she took some time to talk motorcycle scars, UNI football and women in broadcasting, among other things. Here are the highights from that interview:

How do you make sure you’re not seen as just a pretty face, or eye candy on the sidelines?
The nice thing now, for females now, for broadcasting, it’s not so much a novelty anymore. 25 years ago it wasn’t that way, and they were hired more for their looks. Now, you couldn’t get by on that, and thank goodness because I’m wearing a ballcap and no makeup. I would be in trouble if that were a prerequisite for my job. It’s not exactly glamorous most of the time. That’s what nice. I wouldn’t want that to be part of my job. I wouldn’t want to be known as the best female reporter. I just want to be the best reporters. I’m just as guilty. If a female pops up on a game, I think, she better know what she’s talking about. My reason for that is different. I don’t want that to be the stereotype. Just because you’re female you don’t know your information. It’s a double edged sword. If you’re the only female in a group of reporters you’re going to get the first question just because you’re different, but at the same time, if it’s a stupid question, you’re not going to get a second…. It doesn’t bother me, It’s not why I got into this deal. If I didn’t expect that or wasn’t ready to prove myself, then you really don’t belong here anyway.

Do you think sideline reporters are necessary?
I hope they’re needed because otherwise I’m probably out of a job. I think it is more needed in football because you’ve got guys like Belichick, because things are so guarded and there are so many more gatekeepers. But you know, I can see the defensive line coach screaming and yelling and throwing his clip board in the air. I can’t necessarily hear the words that he said, but I can relay the information based on his mannerisms. I can say these guys are getting their butts chewed out right now because they really screwed up there. I can relay information because I have a better position than the people at home and that’s my job, that they get to come out on the field as much as possible. You’re also able to talk to these people all weekend. I can talk to coaches, crew chiefs, tire guys and shock guys, and we can get information all weekend long, and I can piggyback that and build a case and build stories that apply to the race. I hope that my job, I can supply information to viewers that they wouldn’t get. I love doing that. In fact, writing is probably my favorite part of the job. I love doing Wind Tunnel and Speed Report so much because I get to craft the angles and the trends and the stories any way I want to.

Does Iowa deserve a NASCAR Sprint Cup race?
It’s hard because based on fan support and and fan loyalty and amenities that the track provides, it definitely does. But the problem is what sort of media exposure the track provides that you can draw from. That’s why they have races in places like California. It doesn’t draw the fan support or loyalty, but it does have the media exposure. It’s not the best track to go to for racing. But they are able to get some Hollywood people there, and that’s a draw. And that’s one of the reasons NASCAR has been able to grow so much is because of things like that. So you can’t really turn your back on that. But for true hardcore racing fans, it’s not the best place. Places like Richmond and Iowa, and Iowa is a very similar track, and everyone has raved about that track for years. I think that’s why everyone loves Iowa, especially with the trucks series, because we don’t race there anymore. I think after it’s done, the drivers in the trucks series are going to love Iowa even more than Richmond. When I was back here at the Iowa State fair with Ron Hornaday and Ricky Carmichael, we saw guys walking around wearing racing T-shirts. They didn’t know we were here, they weren’t wearing them for us. They were just big race fans. The one drawback and the one thing that we have going against us is that obviously, being in Iowa, college football is huge, and it’s opening weekend for college football. But the track didn’t get a choice. NASCAR called and said this is the one weekend you can get. But you don’t want to turn your back on that, and turn down that opportunity.

Why should people watch the Trucks Series?
Obviously, I’m spoiled because I enjoy it and I get to cover it every week. It’s a series I’m very biased towards. To me it provides great racing. The races are shorter, so there’s no time to look away, because something’s always happening. If the drivers make a mistake they’re really out of contention. It’s like a sprint. It’s like watching Usain Bolt in the 100 dash versus watching a marathon. Just the way the nature of the way the trucks race. They race side by side and they beat and bang against each other. We don’t have a Chase. Guys like Jimmy Johnson and Tony Stewart, they’re in. they can relax and work on some things. These guys can’t do that. They’re racing for every point.

Do you ever have problems, are there Bill Belichicks on pit road, who don’t want to reveal things, or not so much? Do they mislead you, tell you they’re going to do one thing and it turns out they don’t or they do something else?
Absolutely. We get that all the time. That’s just a part of it, that’s the tap dance part of it. A lot of times you ask the guys if they can make it all the way on fuel. And they know other teams are listening. What’s great about NASCAR is the accessibility that fans have. They can get a scanner and they can listen to the conversations between the drivers and the crew chiefs and their teams. So it really is like being up in the booth with the defensive coordinator learning plays. So, because of that, they know that people are listening and it can be relayed to other teams. They have guys back in the shop that are watching the race and listening to the radios, and they are relaying that information back by text message. So because of that, they are really guarded and they play it really close to the vest. Sometimes our broadcast, maybe I’m making a reference based on someone’s body language, or maybe it’s something I see with the team. Anything I see down there, and that would be whether I’m doing a football game or a NASCAR race. That’s what it’s all about, it’s bringing them as close to the action as possible.

Do you have a favorite driver to interview?
Not necessarily. That’s where it comes back to how these guys are so marketing savvy. Because they’re trying to get their sponsor on TV. They’re not always that way, you know when they have a crash we’re the last people they wanna see. They’re all really good to work with. No one is awful to work with. Obviously, talking to them at that moment isn’t fun, but actually it’s one of the more exhilarating part of the job, to get that emotion out of them. I don’t really have a favorite, but I would say my favorite driver, or the one I’m in awe of the most would be Mark Martin. His longevity is just amazing, and what he’s been able to do this year.
He is unreal. The only person who might be more physically fit than him, and only because of age is Carl Edwards. I would put him up against probably just about everyone.

Isn’t Kyle Busch even more media savvy now?
Kyle is an interesting character. He’s really like an old school guy. I know a lot of people really like to hate him. But I don’t know what we’d do without him, because you have to have a villain in the sport. Dale Earnhardt was that guy. There were so many people that didn’t like Dale Earnhardt because he was a hard-nosed competitive racer. Even Dale Jarrett, somebody everyone loves now because he’s retired, was disliked. Rusty Wallace was disliked. So, Kyle has those remnants of that old school driver. He’s learning to soften the edges at times. I think it’s hard for people at home to see that when he finishes second, you know, he should be happy. That’s what they think. But he’s not. Second is the worst position for him. That’s great. I kind of wish we had more of that. But I say that knowing that every time there’s a truck race or a Cup race and he finishes second, and I just sit there and go “ugh, that’s going to be my assignment, I just know it is.” You know he’s just going to be completely upset. But I think it’s refreshing to have a villain. I think Kyle likes that and thrives on it. I just found out this week, I’m back home in the Quad-Cities area, and I found out that my grandmother is not a Kyle Busch fan. She just sees the competitiveness and she wishes he would be nicer to people. She doesn’t understand why he can’t be nicer to people.

Does UNI have a chance against Iowa this weekend?
Until I saw the suspensions, their running game is definitely hurting. But to go in as a Panther as an alum. You always think you have a chance, and they have an incredible program. I root for the Hawkeyes any other week of the year. But this one, I’ll tell you this, I did not pack a gold shirt, I packed a purple shirt to wear Saturday.

What’s the future for you? What’s next, would you want to do something like Wind Tunnel?
I love doing studio shows. It’s a catch-22, because I love doing both. I love doing the studio shows because I love doing the writing. And I love doing events because I’m out in the action. So if I didn’t do one, I’d really miss it. I really count my blessings because I’ve been able to do almost exactly what I wanted to. There’s one event that I would love to do that I haven’t been able to do, is the Olympics, so that’s still something I’d love to accomplish.

How often do you get back to the Q-C area?
I get back about once or twice a year, not as much as I’d like. I root for the River Kings and the River Queens in anything, I always follow them. It was nice to see the story in the Times last week about how competitive the volleyball is in the MAC. My old coach is still there in Clinton, and it’s just great to see them do well.

How is the motorcycle riding going? How often do you get out on the bike?
I love it. I’m awful on an ATV. But I’m much better on a little dirt bike. But I haven’t gotten to ride it as much…. I actually have a couple of scars. So my riding isn’t good enough to prevent injury. I haven’t mastered any skills, but it’s still fun to do.

How will the Trucks race on this track, what do you expect?
It’ll probably be one of the most exciting races of the year because the way these trucks are designed, for whatever reason these guys drive with reckless abandon. The cars are flat on the sides, and they really use those sides. They beat on each other. There’s really a lot of aggressive driving in the trucks series. It’s always been that way forever and ever, that’s the way they were brought up. And when you watch them on a short track it’s breathtaking. People love the series because of that, because they’re so damn aggressive. The guys have been here testing. And they love it a lot. The thing with the 12 13 14 degrees banking angle, steeper. It pretty much assures that they’re going to race two or three wide all around the race. They get a lot of momentum out of turn 2. It’s one of these races that going into it, I’m not concerned about how the trucks are going to be racing. I think the fans are going to be going whoa, oh, wow, oww whoo. They’re going to be freaking out the whole race because these guys drive so damn aggressive.

Will it be similar to Bristol?
I think it’s going to have some similarities to Bristol. I think you’ll see them swap the lead back and forth quite a bit. Obviously pit stops are going to be important. I don’t think track position is going to be so important because it’s so easy to pass there. It’s an inaugural race. Everybody wants to be at a inaugural race, even the fans. The drivers all want to win an inaugural race anywhere. When you look way back at when we built this track the best we were hoping for was a NASCAR truck race. Having NASCAR call us up and give us a Nationwide race and a truck race, that just freaked us out. It was amazing We’re having such a great year, selling out the NASCAR East/West race, selling out the IndyCar race, and selling out the Nationwide race, which was beyond sold out, it was unbelievable, over 60,000. But right now we’ve got a little bit of a hangover because the permanent grandstands are about 25,000 seats and we’re at 23,000. We’ve got about 2,000 to sell yet and, I’m like what does that mean when everything sold out so fast, and these trucks are so popular, does that mean, maybe our date is wrong.

Are you concerned about going up against the Iowa football home opener?
That is a concern. But that was the only date we could get from the trucks series for this year. Now next year it looks like we’re going to be able to move that date a little bit. One good thing that we do have going on is that our races are night races. It starts at 8:45, it’ll be about 2 hours, so they’ll be able to get out at 10:30 and 10:45. So fans can do what they want during the day. They can enjoy the game and the race, and we hope they’ll do that. Friday we’ve got the Camping World West race with a concert, Saturday night we’ve got a truck race with a concert. So we just hope to end the year with a high note, I’d to end it and see the grandstands empty. Then we’re all done. Then we’re going to go back in January an say: “How did this year turn out? Did we make the right times, did we make the right dates? Did we make the right plans? One good thing is the traffic, we haven’t had any traffic problems. The race was over at 6:45 and everybody was out of there by 9:30. So we don’t have any traffic problems whatsoever. But with that said we’re going to continue to work to make sure that it gets even better yet.

Have any decisions been made on expanding the seating for next year yet?
No decisions have been made. We want to see what the final numbers are going to be because this track is very expensive. Mr. Brad Manatt has signed his name on then very big loan for this speedway. And we’re going to make sure that we can still service these notes and keep everything running properly. Because I will tell you, until we got the Nationwide Series race and Trucks race, we were in the hole. We made a lot of people nervous, especially Mr. Mannatt. And now with this thing we’re doing pretty good. We’ve gotta go whoa, we’re feeling better there. But we don’t want to build too many seats. In my eyes we need to build 10,000 more permanent. But we’ll see. The last thing any track wants to do is overbuild, and have empty seats at races. They constantly talk about how tracks aren’t sold out, and we know the economy is tough. But it was great to see 60,000 people in the seats, temporary or not.

Much has been made of the bump in turn 2, will it be fixed in the offseason, how does that work? Or doesn’t the bump give the track some personality?
We’ll look at it. I will tell you, there’s such a thing as a character builder. People say, “Man at Charlotte you’ve got the bump in turn 1, at Indianapolis you’ve got the rise in turn 3. This track’s got that and Iowa Speedway has a little bump in the middle of turn 1 and 2.” Iowa speedway was the smoothest track that anybody’s ever run on and the winters just caused just a little bit of settlement across the tunnel between turns 1 and 2. So we brought a company in there that specialized in putting a polyurethane style material under the track that pressurized it and actually raised the track up a little bit. We actually fixed a lot of it and not many drivers had complaints. Yeah it’s there. Is it a problem? No. Does it build character? I don’t know. It sure didn’t hurt the racing, that’s for damn sure. But we will go back and address it because the last thing we want to do is cut up a beautiful track and put a big ol’ black patch in it. The IndyCar Series guys would have to complain a lot more because those cars don’t have a whole lot of wheel travel at all. They only travel about 1 inch. The NASCAR cars travel about 4 inches. Well, the IndyCar guys didn’t complain and the stock car guys just talked about it. My buddy Randy Lajoie in the booth kept calling it the Rusty bump, I said shut up Randy, quit calling it the damn Rusty bump. But it made for some character, you can probably say that. We’ll look at it again, that’s for sure.

Can we expect any surprises on the Sprint Cup schedule? Iowa?
No. People are really talking about Iowa Speedway, that we could get a Cup race one of these days. And I told them we never even thought about that. Then when the race was so damn successful, the Nationwide race, and a lot of the NASCAR people, employees, started to say, we need to be here. And I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, we need to be careful what we ask for because the Cup purse is about four times more expensive than a Nationwide race. We’ve got to make sure that the fans in Iowa will come out to support a race. We need to sell 75,000-85,000 to make this thing work. Because Kansas City has about 85,000 people there. Well, we’re not any different. We’re going to need that many. Can we draw that much more. I don’t know.

You said earlier you’re not sure if Iowa Speedway can pull off a Sprint Cup race at this point, because of costs, when could it?
I’ll say this. Let’s say right now if NASCAR says we’re willing to give you one of the most sought after things in the world - a Sprint Cup date - do you want it? Hell yeah, we would want it. And we would immediately try to go out and sell those sponsors and to help pay for the purse and get this thing funded. We would work our ass off and the race would be fantastic. I know it would be. There’s not a doubt in my mind that it wouldn’t. But you’ve got to walk before you can run. We don’t want to do something that we can screw up on. And I don’t think we would screw up on it at all. But we’ve always told NASCAR that we want a trucks race, and my God if we ever got a Nationwide race we’d totally freak out. But don’t ever worry about us getting on your knees, please God give us a Cup race. There were lawsuits for getting a Cup race. There were lawsuits for Texas. And we were really freaked out about even mentioning that word around the race tracks. We’ll just put this race on and see if we’re worthy of it. Well obviously we’re worthy of it, obviously the people showed up and they obviously know how great the race was. And really we’d like to get one of those phone calls at 2 o’ clock in the afternoon from NASCAR and they say, hey we’ve got something to talk to you about. Wouldn’t that be a great call? But we don’t have that yet.

During qualifying for the IndyCar race there was some problems with drainage, has that been figured out, or was it just a matter of there being so much rain in a short amount of time?
That’s a great question. We got some specialists in there. We went down into the drainage ditches under the track. The drainage ditches are very big 3 foot wide by about 8 foot deep. And we found an excessive amount of construction material filled up in the drains. We got in some crews and cleaned that out. There was wood down there, there was a lot of stuff. But I will tell you, even with that it looked like it was not even enough to cause that problem. The specialists said that with the amount of rain you had, that probably caused that. Remember, every racetrack everywhere has drainage problems. With our huge drainage system I was really surprised that it happened. I think it just kept coming so hard, so fast it had to come up somewhere.

What has been more difficult, driving, or owning a Nationwide Series team?
Owning a Nationwide Series team and watching my son drive. And watching him making an enormous amount of mistakes. And the good stuff is watching him now and he doesn’t crash anymore. Seeing him come home with some good finishes. He’s running in sixth and we’re just around the corner from our first win. That’s tough watching all that. The other tough thing is just constantly working to try to find sponsors for these cars in this really tough economy. That’s a son of a bitch. We’re doing pretty good. Last weekend we announced that Five Hour energy is going to sponsor Steven’s car for every race next year. And then the folks for U.S. Fidelis that I do all the TV commercials for, they’re going to sponsor Brendan Gaughan’s car. We still have a little bit to sell on his car, we’re not 100 percent sold out. It’s been real tough to get those sponsors.

Michael Schumacher flirted with coming out of retirement, have you given that any serious thought?
I thought about it, and it’s long gone right now because I kept telling myself, I retired two years too early, but it was a great opportunity to work for ABC and ESPN and I really like those guys a lot and so I did it. I thought in these two years I still had another good strong run in me. Well then 2006 is passed, 2007 is gone, now we’re into 9. So, even if I wanted to, I’m way past what I thought I could do. I’m happy with what I do. Yeah, I still have the desire to jump in a car and run some races. And if ESPN ever thought and said, why don’t run a couple of Cup races, I’d jump at it. But that hasn’t happened and I’m very content. I’m just real hopeful that my kid will be successful, that he can continue his success because that’s what the whole family has tied itself to now. And Steven, since I don’t drive no more, he’s the guy I’m watching.

No, the track joined the elite tracks becasue it had a tire controversy, albeit a little one. All of the top drivers said the tires were rock-hard, potentially contributing to a series-high 12 cautions.

“The reason there were so many cautions here was because the tires were a little bit treacherous,” said Carl Edwards who finished fourth. “I think, and I hope Goodyear will work on it just a little bit, get it a little better.”

Goodyear likely played it safe on a new track and opted for durability over grip. It just makes you wonder, if these guys can’t get the tires right, what goes on at the extensive tire tests. Ther e have been quite a few at Iowa in its three years of existence.

More help: While the track drew rave reviews, some drivers can’t wait for a new car for the series, which is scheduled to debut next year. The current model is underpowered for some tracks, and a tightened-up rule book, likely designed to cut costs, leave many drivers wanting more.

Jason Leffler, for one, seeks an extra boost.

“We could use a little more horsepower in these cars,” said Leffler, who finished third. “And if they could loosen up the rules a little bit that would be good. But I’m looking forward to coming back (to Iowa) for sure.”

A theory: Why do all the drivers love Iowa Speedway so much? Kenny Wallace has a theory, and it has nothing to do with progressive banking.

“What makes the track such a success right now is that everybody likes my brother Rusty,” said Wallace, who finished a season-best seventh. “Let me tell you, my brother is working his butt off for that track. Everybody talks about how great it is because of how much work he did at the track.

“Now that we have this Nationwide and Truck Series date, they can do more, they can add on. But that is his signature on this track, and that is what made it so big so fast.”

It’s just a theory. But he might be on to something there.

Wallace watching: Even more difficult for Rusty, trickier than helping to build the track, is watching his son, Steve, race.

“It’s definitely nerve racking,” he said. “It’s one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do. When we started this three years ago I told my wife, ‘OK, here we go, get your crash helmet on because there’s going to be a lot of people who don’t like him.’

Steve finished 17th in Saturday’s race, but ran as high as second. He was merely a passenger in a three-car crash on lap 236 that took him, and Illinoisans Justin Allgaier and Erik Darnell out of contention.

“We heard everything. We heard some really horrible things that made my wife cry. But it’s been really neat to watching the maturity that happened.”

6:02 p.m.: Michael Annett update: He’s in 10th.

5:40 p.m.: Time for the pit crews to make their money. This will be the last pit stop, for sure. It’s a shame for Justin Allgaier, who was having a good day. The Illinois native led the race earlier. The question now is to pit, or not to pit, and how many tires, two or four.

5:25 p.m.: Wallaces update: Kenny, who started 24th has moved up to 10th, which is where he finished last weekend in Indianapolis. His nephew, Steve, is in 12th after starting eighth.

5:15 p.m.: It’s official, today’s crowd was the largest in Iowa racing history. The total: 56,087. That can’t hurt the track’s case for a Sprint Cup date, if one ever comes open.

5:06 p.m.: And as soon as I hit the publish button on this post, the caution comes out. Debris on the racetrack. Really? I thought they only had phantom yellows in Sprint Cup. I guess not.

5:05 p.m.: This is starting to look similar to this year’s IndyCar race at Iowa. Drivers got silly at the beginning of the race and caused six cautions in the race’s first 110 laps. There was one caution the rest of the day. It appears the Nationwide drivers are settling in. Here’s hoping it continues and we can see some green-flag pit stops. The pit crews can really earn their money.

4:55 p.m.: Michael Annett update: He’s up to 18th, 6.5 seconds behind leader Brad Keselowski. He has struggled a bit with the handling of his car and narrowly missed being collected in the last wreck. The Des Moines native started the race 36th.

4:45 p.m.: Can these cars run three-wide here? Not so much. Not for long anyway. I have seen it happen a few times, usually when a lapped car is involved. But going three wide is part of what caused the last wreck. Of course, Brendan Gaughan’s cut tire didn’t help.

4:40 p.m.: After 95 laps, nine cars are out. And as a sign of the times, there was one start-and-park.

4:20 p.m.: Pole sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has slipped to 10th place. It’s only his sixth Nationwide Series start, and he’s got Kevin Harvick breathing down his neck. Welcome to the show, kid.

4:15 p.m.: Illinois native Erik Darnell was the biggest loser on that last pit stop. He dropped down to 10th. But he gained three spots on the restart. Casey Atwood was treated and released from the infield car center.

4:05 p.m.: The guys on TV won’t shut up about how many spots Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards have gained. Right behind those guys is Kyle Busch, in 14th. He started 27th.

3:40 p.m.: As the engines fire, here are some pre-race notes.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the pole in his sixth Nationwide Series start.

Justin Allgaier posted his fourth top-10 start of this season.

Erik Darnell (third) took his fifth top-10 start in nine races.

1:50 p.m.: Word is spreading around the media center that almost 60,000 tickets have been sold for today’s race. That’s unofficial, and likely an exaggeration, but we’re approaching Kinnick Stadium numbers here.

1:30 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start on the pole for today’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. Riverton, Ill.’s Justin Allgaier will start second. Fellow Illinoisan Erik Darnell starts third, Trevor Bayne is fourth, and Brad Coleman starts fifth.

Local favorite Michael Annett will start 36th. Kyle Busch will start 27th, Kevin Harvick starts 34th, and Carl Edwards will start 40th. I’ll post comments from the drivers when I get them and video, too.  Stay tuned.

1 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is on the provisional pole for today’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. That much you know, if you’re watching on TV or at the track.

The surprise in qualifying, if there can be such a thing, because qualifying matters so little in these races, is Justin Allgaier. The Riverton, Ill., native leads the Nationwide Series rookie of the year standings and has run well at Iowa in the past is in second place, provisionally.

Mutoh didn’t shy away from a question about being overlooked.

“I’m really enjoying with my teammates. I mean, T.K. (Tony Kanaan) has a lot of experience and he is a really funny guy,” he said. “And Danica (Patrck) sometimes seems, you know, angry, but she’s not. She’s really focusing on winning races. But I like her very much, too.

“And with Marco (Andretti), I go out to dinner or sometimes, you know I have night life with him. We’re having fun, yeah. don’t know what he’s drinking, because I’m so drunk every time. Sorry. No, I’m kidding. We drink just water.”

Sure they do.

Smooth moves: Tomas Scheckter started the race 17th but that didn’t stop him from going to the front of the field.

He passed seven cars on the first lap and moved up as high as second place in the first 25 laps. He finished sixth.

It was only his third race of the season.

“The car looks beautiful and it goes great,” he said. “We’re working at it here. It’s a really new program and we’ve changed a bunch of stuff. This finish pumps everybody up, but we’ve got to keep going. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Don’t fear the weepers: Water seepage in turn 4 canceled qualifying Saturday even though it didn’t rain at all. But downpours on Friday raised the water table causing water to come out.

The water stumped track designer Rusty Wallace.

“We’re going to do some research after this event is over and see if there’s anything we can do to help that,” the retired NASCAR great said. “Almost all of the tracks on the NASCAR series have suffered that. A lot of problems at Pocono, at Michigan, Texas. It’s not an excuse. We’ve got to figure out what’s causing it at our racetrack.”

The middle of where?: Last year’s winner, Dan Wheldon, stayed in the top four for almost the entire race, and he finished fourth. Like most drivers at the track he has nothing bad to say about Iowa Speedway.

“I know a lot of people say that Iowa is in the middle of nowhere, but you know what, we get such a great crowd and they’re so enthusiastic,” Wheldon said. “As a driver you could put me in paradise, but if there’s nobody in the grandstands then it’s not good racing.”

Johnson in the house: West Des Moines native and Olympic silver medalist Shawn Johnson spent some time with fellow “Dancing With the Stars” competitor Helio Castroneves before the race. She took some laps around the track in the pace car. And watched some of the race from Danica Patrick’s pit.

“”I’ve been home for about a week and it’s great to be home,” Johnson said. “And now to come out to the track to watch the race and meet Helio is fantastic.”

The IndyCar Series will compete at the Iowa Speedway through the 2011 season. Series and track officials announced they had reached an agreement in principle to sign a two-year deal.

“We are very excited about this, we’re excited about being here every year,” IndyCar Series commercial division president Terry Angstadt said. “When we’re here, we’re treated so well. The fans are so great, and that doesn’t happen in every market.”

The deal hasn’t been signed yet, but IndyCar Series commercial division president Terry Angstadt said the deal would be signed soon. It was a matter of paperwork and not details of the deal.

“This will solidify Iowa Speedway as one of the top motorsports venues in the world,” track president Jerry Jauron said. “It’s an exciting time to be at Iowa Speedway.”

The deal doesn’t specify on which date the race will take place, but both sides are open to moving the date.

Iowa Speedway’s sponsorship deal with Iowa Corn Promotion Board ends after today’s race.

The IndyCar Series schedule will be finalized at the end of July. The schedule will have nine ovals and nine road or street courses, Angstadt said. The current mix is 10-7 ovals to street courses.

What do you expect at Iowa this weekend, the track has changed quite a bit since you last ran there?

I think the big difference will be the track, not so much the cars. They’re very similar to how they were when we raced last time. The track has aged for sure since when we were there last time. It’s a little bumpier than before. But I think we should see a similar type of race to last year.

What is the biggest challenge of the track?

One of the big challenges is the balance between cold tires to warmer tires. We run the superspeedway tires because of the loads they are under and they get temperature in the tire quickly. But it definitely makes for a couple of exciting laps. It makes it a bit dicey. You’ve got to get up to pace quick or you’re going to be under attack

Do you approach a track where you already have won any differently?

You try to approach them all the same. It definitely gives you some more confidence. I really want to get to the car and drive in it. This is the car that Dan Wheldon won in last year and the same team. We tested here last week as well, so that’ll help a little bit.

There hasn’t been as much passing and as much side-by-side stuff this year, why do you think that is?

Texas and Milwaukee were a bit disappointing in that way. I think part of it is that they’ve taken away some of the freedom in the rules packages. Some of the smaller teams were complaining that that was the reason that the Target team and the AGR and Penske were running away with it was because of the rules. But you’ve still got the same cars up front now, and it’s just really hard to get any passing. I’d like to see them open up the rules a bit more to promote some passing. The fact that the cars are so similar, they’re so close is that it’s almost impossible to overtake.

How quickly did you re-adjust to being in an IndyCar? Is it like riding a bike?

I’d say there was a certain adjustment of maybe a day, day and a half. It came back very very quickly. It was a surprise because I was a bit concerned about that really. Things happen so much quicker in an IndyCar than they do in a stock car.

Are you comfortable with this team now, how long did it take to get comfortable?

I’m very comfortable. That was one of the big reasons to come back. I knew that with the Target team I had the chance to compete for wins and championships. I was lucky enough to be with AGR for all those years. And coming back to the Target team really made it easy for me. It’s slightly different than I’m used to, but it’s worked quite well and it’s going very smoothly.

How is this team different than AGR?

It’s more in the way they set the car up and in the way the engineering executes. They work just a little different. But it works very well. It’s not that one is better than the other. It’s just different.

What is it like having Scott as a teammate; you had a rivalry going in 2007, a bit, with the title being decided on the final lap?

We had all kinds of rivalries over the years. But it’s friendly rivalry. So to be teammates with him, it’s really nice. He’s really a good guy to have as a teammate. I’ve really been lucky to have some great teammates, and Scott is right there at the top of that list. Scott really works hard and pushes hard, and he pushes me too.

Do you and Scott talk much about flying? He has a pilot’s license, too.

We talk quite a bit about it. We flew together when we did the 24 hours of Daytona together. A couple of weeks ago we flew. We both share the passion for flying, and it’s great.

Why are so many racing guys into flying?

I think that people who race are into anything mechanical, whether it’s cars or planes. We’re really into that stuff.

How often do you go up in the helicopter?

I sold my helicopter when I went to NASCAR because I just didn’t have any opportunities to fly it.

Is the Iowa gas pump trophy the strangest one you have?

I have a gold hamburger from a race in Germany in 1998. I also have the guitar from Nashville, so the Iowa fuel pump fits right in there.

You would never smash the guitar trophy would you?

We were talking about that this morning and I wouldn’t personally do it. But it’s entirely up to him with what he wants to do with it. And he did it for the best of reasons because he wanted to give pieces of it to the crew. But that’s not for me.

Are you a Kentucky basketball fan like your wife, Ashley Judd?

It’s really selfish for me. I just hope it’s going well for her, so she’s happy. She’s really excited about (the new coach), so that’s really good for her.

How is your collection of Jim Clark stuff coming?

The collection is going well. One of the cool things after winning Indy in 07 is that people found out I was into Jim Clark. People come up and say, hey I’ve got this piece that you might like. And people have some really nice pictures. It’s very very cool.

Do you have room in your trophy case for another gas pump?

Absolutely. I’ve got all kinds of room and it would fit very well.

Can you defend your Iowa title with this team?

I think so. The biggest thing this year is when you look at the competition, it’s incredibly important to when you can roll off the truck fast. When you do that it gives you the ability to work on the racecar and really perfect it. You can fine-tune the racecar. It sounds like obvious things to do, but if you don’t roll off the truck with a really good package it takes some time to really get it the way you want it. That being said once you’ve done that you can perfect things. We seemed very competitive in the last race at Texas in practice, but for whatever reason we didn’t carry that over to the race. I seemed to do well in traffic. But just given the outright pace we didn’t quite have the same pace. That’s something we’re working on.

What’s the biggest difference from this team to the Ganassi team?

It’s a much smaller operation and I think certainly going into the season I was under the impression that we’d be working on just one car but we’d have a budget to be where they are. But for whatever reason it isn’t quite there. In terms of development and the little things on the racecar we’re certainly not at their level yet.

How much different is Panther racing since last time you were there?

It’s always very difficult to judge after only a couple of races with a team. I was very new to IndyCar. Back then they were competing for championships and working with Penzoil. But I think when you get to the budget they were working on then. But then you compare them to the Penske team, I don’t think you can compare them right now. But the ethics of the team is great. The work ethic of this team is really good. There’s a few of the people left from when that team then.

At Indy did you have car to win?

At Indy the quickest car doesn’t win. It’s about execution on pit stops and strategy. But if you compare my car to Helio’s it obviously didn’t have the speed at the end of the race that he had. But we adjusted our car to work well in the end. When you compare my car to his, I don’t think it would’ve been that much different. We actually struggled in the month at Indianapolis we had a big imbalance. But for carburetion day and for the race we certainly helped it, we weren’t quite there but we really helped it. At Indianapolis it just seemed to be track position, which Ganassi had and Penske had. But when those Ganassi cars got in the back of the pack they couldn’t overtake. That was the theme for that race. Without track position it was pretty difficult to overtake.

What’s the biggest challenge about Iowa?

It changes so much. This will be the third time we’ve been here. The first time it was really comfortably flat out. You were able to run as low of a line as you possibly could. That was comfortable, but passing was pretty limited. It was pretty much in the pits and on restarts. Last year we went back and the second lane opened up and it was sometimes quicker or at least as quick as the low line. But it was about getting your car to work well in between turns 1 and 2. If you can do that and continue to run that low line. If you can do that as your fuel starts to burn off then you can keep pace there.

Is it a fun track?

Absolutely it’s fun. I wouldn’t say, it’s definitely a different race track there. They all have slightly different challenges. Iowa it’s getting the car to work over the big bumps in turns 1 and 2, and then as the track sort of falls away off of the exit of 4 you have to make it shorter in the rear. But if you’ve got the car working for you it sure is a fun track. I don’t think we’re quite pulling 4 G’s at Iowa, but I think Richmond is the track where we carry the most G’s. It’s a very very fun race track and I always like to go there.

Can you pass on the high side?

You certainly could last year. I have to say when you look at the races that we’ve been part of this year it’s been incredibly difficult to overtake. Going on last year I would say certainly that it’s going to be one of those races where you can overtake on the high side. But the big thing is the track position. When you look our last race at Texas, which is typically a side-by-side racetrack, there wasn’t much of that. So I would certainly hope that would be the case. Certainly from last year that would be. But it’s probably not going to be as easy as last year just because of the rules that are.

Have the rules tightened the teams up this year?

I think it’s a variety of things. I think obviously with the competition level. I think Brian Barnhart is in a very difficult position. I think a couple of years ago when we were in side-by-side racing we were trying to, I think his job basically was to try to spread the field out because people complained about how dangerous the IRL was with how easy it was to go flat out. It’s a very difficult position he’s in because now it’s almost gone the other way. There obviously are changes that he’s made that have spread the field out. I don’t think we expected it to be like this year. But I know he’ll do a fantastic job in the future. That’s what the IndyCar Series is about it’s about entertaining side-by-side racing. And I think we just haven’t had that. But I think personally it’s down to a variety of things.

What did you think of last year donating and helping?

It was something that needed to be done. My wife and I we drove from Chicago to Iowa and seeing that devastation of the floods, it was the very least we could do. I’m in a very fortunate position to do what I love and to make a lot of money to do it. I think it was the least that we could possibly do. Don’t forget that Scott Dixon did it too and Chip Ganassi was part of it. I felt that it was something that before the weekend started it was something that we could do to give them all the money. It was unbelievable. I’ve never seen the devastation of a flood, it absolutely blew my mind. There’s a lot of people that lost everything there. It was the least that I could’ve done. I know it was a very small amount. I was just grateful that I could do my small part. I think that we could make some people smile. I think the race last year the race was incredibly entertaining in difficult circumstances, but if that took their mind off that, I think that was awesome.

Why the success on ovals when your background is on road courses?

It’s one of those things. I would say this year it has been on the other way around. It depends on how you can get the racecar to work for you in the different situations. You’ve got to work incredibly hard with your engineer to get a feel that you’re 100 percent confident, particularly when it’s so competitive these days. I performed well on the road courses, not as well as I would’ve liked. But this year it’s sort of the opposite. I think it depends on the package that you have and the amount of time to get the package to your liking.

What do you think of Jenson Button’s success?

I think it’s great. A lot of people wrote Jenson off in the last few years. And I think it’s great that he’s got the car to show that. He’s the same driver he was last year and he didn’t even win a race and didn’t even feature. But this year he’s won six out of seven. So I’ve known Jenson for an incredibly long time. I’ve got an immense amount of respect for him. We’ve raced together since the age of 8. I couldn’t be happier for him. I really couldn’t.

You’ve never won at Nashville, you’ve finished second a couple of times, but if you ever did would you smash your trophy guitar like Kyle Busch?

No. Absolutely not. I’ve tried really hard to win that race because of the guitar. I have a couple of guitars in my house. So I wouldn’t have smashed it. I didn’t know that he smashed it. That’s crazy. I would’ve bought it off him. I would’ve offered him a lot of money to buy it. I finished second there a few times and I was bummed because I didn’t get it. If I’d have known he was going to smash it I would’ve offered him some money before. But he’s a fellow NOS driver. We’re sponsored by the same energy drink and maybe he was hopped up on NOS or something.

Do you have a favorite pair shoes?

I don’t have one. That’s why I have so many.

Any other superstitions besides tapping the car three times before you get in?

That’s about it, really. I think tap the nose on the right front. But nothing too exciting. It’s little things drivers do. It’s more being repetitive than superstition. That’s the main one, patting the car on the nose.

Franchitti won the first Iowa Corn Indy 250 in 2007. He returns to the track for the first time since then. He drove for Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR team last season.

2. I know three of the top 10 drivers at Indy won’t be at the race next weekend in Milwaukee. Townsend Bell, left, Will Power and Paul Tracy were one-off deals. They won’t compete at Milwaukee. Six of the finishers in the 11th through 20th spots won’t be there either including Tomas Scheckter and Sarah Fisher. And that more or less sums up what’s eating open-wheel racing these days.
Tracy might find a ride with A.J. Foyt Racing, as Vitor Meira, who suffered the second-most vicious hit of the Indy 500, is out for the season with a back injury.

3. I know Tony Kanaan will race next week in Milwaukee after suffering the hardest hit of the day. It’s no knock on Meira, who certainly is a tough driver, too. But Kanaan is about as tough as they come.
The Andretti/Green driver might have suffered some broken ribs and slew of bruises after hitting the wall almost head on at 195 mph. He told Speed TV’s Robin Miller that the car sustained 175 G’s on impact.

4. I know if Formula One was using a medals system instead of a points system the championship already would have been decided.
Not that it isn’t already. I don’t know if anyone can catch Jenson Button, right, and Brawn GP the rest of this year and we’re not even to the season’s halfway point.
Something is fishy in your sport if a team that didn’t exist or was near-extinction a month before the season started ends up winning the whole thing in blowout fashion.
And you thought IndyCar had problems.

5. I know that we should know more about the U.S. Formula One team that allegedly will run next season.
I’d like to know who is sponsoring this team. Everyone else would like to know who is driving for this team.
Here’s what we know, or think we do: The team will use Cosworth engines. Cosworth hasn’t been in the sport since 2006. That’s all I know, and I just found that out last week.
So, judging by the Brawn GP plan for success, might as well just give Peter Windsor, left, and Ken Anderson the championship now.

6. I know David Reutimann deserves a better team than the one he has now. The journeyman has some talent, but runs for a lousy team, Michael Waltrip Racing.

The journeyman driver is better known for this wreck, above, than for anything else he has done on the track, and that’s partly Waltrip’s fault.
Darrel’s younger brother needs to figure out if he wants to be a TV personality, a car owner or a driver and just stick with one. But it was nice to see Reutimann pull out a win Monday because of some good racing luck.
7. I know Jimmie Johnson has a Twitter account and it is called fake_Jimmie. His teammate, Jeff Gordon, has an account called fake_jeff. As far as I can tell, those accounts actually are theirs.
They’re keeping it real.
From fake_Jimmie: “I swear the only time I’m alone anymore is the car or the toilet! Actually just the toilet, I have to listen to Chad in the car!”
From fake_jeff: “Just heard Nelly’s “E.I.” on the radio. Hadn’t heard it in a long time. Still cool to hear my name!”
Jimmie follows Kevin Smith. Jeff follows only five people, the only non-racing person is ESPN reporter Marty Smith. I don’t know what to make of that. Stay tuned to this blog for a complete list of drivers’ Twitter accounts.

8. I know Tony Eury Jr. isn’t long for this world, at least, the world of being Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief. Earnhardt has only three top 10 finishes in the season’s first 12 races.
When asked about Eury Jr., team owner Rick Hendrick was noncommittal. In the past he strongly has defended Eury Jr.
9. I know the Indianapolis 500 starts too late.
I realize egos have pushed the race start time back to 12:15, too late for drivers to pull a double.
But you’ve now got some NASCAR guys who no doubt would be interested in swinging doubleheaders at Indy and Charlotte, and at least one, Tony Stewart, is free of contractual obligations that prevent him from running at the Brickyard in May. Because as team owner, he writes his own contract.
Want some sizzle? Want more than 300,000 at Indy? You’re gonna need the NASCAR stars’ help.

10. I know that Danica Patrick will head to NASCAR next year. As I have already written. She won’t be able to say no to NASCAR’s money.
I know she has pretty much maxed out her fame in IndyCar. She hasn’t come anywhere close to maxing out her results, but unless a seat came open at Ganassi or Penske, there’s no way she’ll do much better than she has.
Outside of trying to come back for another shot at an Indy win, Danica is gone.