Started in 1925 as Frontier Park, it quickly became a hit across the Midwest with a dirt track. The 1989 season saw Hawkeye Downs become Iowa’s first weekly paved oval, with paved pits, an enclosed tech building, MUSCO lighting, and many other outstanding features. Hawkeye Downs continues to be the only full-time weekly asphalt track in Iowa.
Hawkeye Downs has been a popular venue over the years for regional and national racing series, including ASA, IMCA, NASCAR, ARCA Midwest Tour, and the American Indycar Series. Events such as the Yankee Classic have run here in the past.
Today, Hawkeye Downs is Eastern Iowa’s premiere 1/2 and 1/4 asphalt racing venue, along with 35,000 sq. feet of Expo Center space. We offer weekly racing, trade shows, meetings, conventions, concerts, consumer shows, auctions, weddings, private events and more that attract more than 100,000 visitors annually.
At the start of 2020, Common Ground Capitol purchased the entire 92 acre property the Hawkeye Downs’ expo center and racetrack currently sit on. The racetrack and expo center are leased and operated by Hawkeye Downs, Inc. a nonprofit organization ran by a board of volunteers. The remaining property is utilized by a variety of organizations and managed by Common Ground Capitol.
Hawkeye Downs has long been considered the crowned jewel of short track racing in the Midwest, and remains as a great resource for quality outdoor and indoor family entertainment!
