Hy-Vee PERKS 250 explained

Race Title:Hy-Vee PERKS 250
Series Long:NASCAR Xfinity Series
Venue:Iowa Speedway
Location:Newton, Iowa, United States
Sponsor:Hy-Vee
First Race:2011
Distance:218.75miles
Laps:250 (Stage 1: 75 Stage 2: 75 Stage 3: 100)
Previous Names:Iowa John Deere Dealers 250 presented by Pioneer (2011)
Pioneer Hi-Bred 250 (2012)
DuPont Pioneer 250 (2013)
Get to Know Newton 250 (2014)
3M 250 (2015)
American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen (2016–2017)
Iowa 250 presented by Enogen (2018)
CircuitCity.com 250 presented by Tamron (2019)
Most Wins Driver:Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Sam Hornish Jr. (2)
Most Wins Team:Roush Fenway Racing (4)
Most Wins Manufacturer:Ford (4)
Surface:Asphalt
Length Mi:0.875
Turns:4

The Hy-Vee PERKS 250 is a 250-lap, 218.75-mile NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The race has been held in May or June from 2011 to 2019 and was going to be held again in 2020 before being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The race was removed from the Xfinity Series schedule entirely in 2021.[2] The race returned to the schedule in 2024.

In the race's first year in 2011, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned his first win in what was then the Nationwide Series despite his engine blowing coming to the start/finish line on the last lap. His Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards, who was running 2nd, could not see through the smoke coming from Stenhouse's car and as a result, he hit the back of Stenhouse's car which allowed him to cross the start/finish line 1st and win.

The race had different title sponsor almost every year in its first stint on the schedule. The revived Circuit City brand was the race's title sponsor in the last of those years in 2019.[3] On March 27, 2024, Hy-Vee was announced as the title sponsor of the race in 2024 in its first year on the series' schedule since 2019. The grocery store has been the title sponsor of the IndyCar Series doubleheader races at the track since 2022. The store is highlighting their rewards program PERKS in the name of the race. The track also announced in that announcement that the 2024 race had been sold out.[4]

Past winners

YearDateDriverTeamManufacturerRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed
(mph)
LapsMiles (km)
2011May 226Ricky Stenhouse Jr.[5] [6] Roush Fenway RacingFord250218.75 (352.044)2:03:40106.132
2012May 206Ricky Stenhouse Jr.[7] Roush Fenway RacingFord250218.75 (352.044)2:02:29107.157
2013June 9*6Trevor Bayne[8] Roush Fenway RacingFord250218.75 (352.044)2:08:05102.472
2014May 1854Sam Hornish Jr.Joe Gibbs RacingToyota250218.72 (352.044)2:04:28105.45
2015May 1760Chris BuescherRoush Fenway RacingFord259*226.625 (364.717)2:24:1794.242
2016June 1918Sam Hornish Jr.Joe Gibbs RacingToyota250218.72 (352.044)2:07:51102.659
2017June 249William ByronJR MotorsportsChevrolet250218.72 (352.044)2:32:5285.859
2018June 177Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet250218.72 (352.044)2:08:33102.100
2019June 1620Christopher BellJoe Gibbs RacingToyota250218.72 (352.044)2:19:0294.402
2020

2023
Not held
2024June 151Sam MayerJR MotorsportsChevrolet253*221.375 (356.317)2:36:2784.899

Multiple winners (drivers)

  1. Wins
DriverYears Won
2Ricky Stenhouse Jr.2011, 2012
Sam Hornish Jr.2014, 2016

Multiple winners (teams)

  1. Wins
TeamYears Won
4Roush Fenway Racing2011-2013, 2015
3Joe Gibbs Racing2014, 2016, 2019
JR Motorsports2017, 2018, 2024

Manufacturer wins

  1. Wins
MakeYears Won
4 Ford2011-2013, 2015
3 Toyota2014, 2016, 2019
Chevrolet2017, 2018, 2024

Notes and References

  1. News: Leistikow. Chad. In realigned schedule, NASCAR cancels its Iowa Speedway events for 2020 season. Des Moines Register. May 14, 2020. March 2, 2021.
  2. Crandall. Kelly. 33 races on tap for 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series. Racer. October 30, 2020. March 2, 2021.
  3. Web site: Page. Scott. Circuit City to sponsor Iowa XFINITY race. Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 6, 2019. June 6, 2019.
  4. Web site: Sold-out NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Iowa Speedway named Hy-Vee PERKS 250 . . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC . March 27, 2024.
  5. News: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins Nationwide race in Iowa . . 2011-05-22 . 2013-06-02 . Malloy, Mike.
  6. http://jayski.com/nationwide/2011/next/results/nns12iowaresults2011.htm 2011 Iowa John Deere Dealers 250 Results
  7. News: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dominates Nationwide race at Iowa . USA Today . 2012-05-20 . 2013-06-02 . Hamilton, Andy.
  8. News: Bayne celebrates wedding with Nationwide win at Iowa . USA Today . 2013-06-09 . 2013-06-09.