NEWTON, Iowa — A two-tire call. An impeccable green-flag run. And Ty Gibbs had his second victory of the season.
Leapfrogging Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell on pit road — thanks to crew chief Tyler Allen’s two-tire call on Lap 290 of 350 — Gibbs kept Bell behind him the rest of the way in front of a packed house at 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway.
RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Iowa
When Ross Chastain came to pit road to complete the cycle of green-flag stops, Gibbs had the race lead on Lap 331, with Bell close behind him.
Bell tried everything. Arcing high into the corner. Running the bottom. Crowding up to the bumper of Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota and trying to force a mistake. But with Gibbs repeatedly taking his line, Bell couldn’t find a way past his 23-year-old teammate, who claimed his first career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway in April.
Before he could get to a race-winning position, Gibbs had to rally from a blown pit stop that cost him 25 positions at the first stage break. With a cool head after the miscue, he maneuvered his way back to the front.
“We made a big step from last year, obviously, and I really appreciate it,” said Gibbs, who has finished in the top four at all four short tracks so far this season. “But I really appreciate all my teammates, too.
“I wouldn’t be here without all my teammates as well, week in and week out, just help keep developing the program. And, obviously, we’re all up front for a reason. I really appreciate Denny (Hamlin) and Chase (Briscoe) and Christopher for all their help, obviously.”
SHOP: Winner gear
For the seventh time this season, and for the fourth time in the last five races, Bell had to settle for second. That he climbed from 10th to sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with the runner-up result was of little consolation.
“This is what you call a bad second-place finish, for sure,” Bell said. “I don’t know what else to say. Ty did a really good job. He did a great job managing the race.
“I could tell that he was slipping and sliding around. Similar to last week or two weeks ago with Corey Heim (at Indianapolis Motor Speedway), he just didn’t make a mistake. So P2.”
Pole winner Ryan Blaney came home third after leading the first 93 laps and winning the first stage. Josh Berry finished fourth in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, scoring his first top five of the season.
Overcoming brake problems and a start from the rear of the field, series leader Hamlin ran fifth and extended his advantage in the standings to 103 points over Gibbs, who jumped from fourth to second with the win.
“Just had to white-knuckle every lap,” said Hamlin, who complained of a “long” brake pedal early in the race. “Obviously, not knowing where my car was going to land when I got into the corner, obviously you want to have brakes, and that was a crazy race to have to do it the whole time without it.
“But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. The team did an amazing job. I would take that day 100 out of 100 times.”
Chase Briscoe finished sixth, followed by Chastain, AJ Allmendinger, defending race winner William Byron and Austin Dillon. Rookie Connor Zilisch was 11th, matching his best Cup Series result on an oval track (2025 at EchoPark Speedway).
Shane van Gisbergen ran 30th, three laps down after spinning, but remained 15th in the standings with a 47-point margin over the current cutline for the Chase.
The race wasn’t five laps old when a slip by Tyler Reddick ignited a wreck that had profound implications for the series standings.
With both cars running in the top seven, Reddick’s Toyota broke loose in Turn 1 on Lap 4 and collected the Camry of Erik Jones. Both cars slammed the outside wall and sustained damage that knocked them out of the race in 35th (Jones) and 36th place (Reddick).
The accident cost Reddick two positions in the standings and dimmed his hopes of overtaking Hamlin for the regular-season title. He’s now fourth in points, 120 behind Hamlin with three races left before the Chase field is set.
“Just got out of shape in an area — corner entry — where I thought we were pretty secure all weekend,” a chagrined Reddick said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “For us to take ourselves out is one thing, but to take out a fellow Toyota teammate when they are racing for the Chase … pretty much ended their day as well.
“It’s the type of stuff you don’t do to yourself, and you don’t do to a teammate.”
The early exit was a crushing blow to Jones, who came to Iowa 18th in the standings, 44 points below the Chase cutoff. He leaves the Hawkeye State 20th in points, 50 behind Austin Cindric in 16th, the last Chase-eligible position.
“Yeah, we needed a few perfect weeks, and it needed to start here today, and obviously that didn’t happen,” Jones said. “Just unfortunate with how early it is. I’m just trying to settle in and get going.
“You don’t expect it either in the top 10, top five. You don’t think you are going to get caught up in something crazy like that. It’s a bummer. It’s a huge mountain now from here on out to get to The Chase, so we’ll see.”
Iowa once again proved a Waterloo for Kyle Larson, who started second and finished third in Stage 1, only to get collected with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman in a Lap 149 accident after John Hunter Nemechek forced Larson’s Chevrolet up the track and created an untenable four-wide situation on the frontstretch.
Larson finished 18 laps down in 33rd, two spots below his average finish for the first two Cup Series races at Iowa Speedway.
Blaney led three times for a race-high 129 laps. Gibbs led the final 20 laps of the final stage, which ran completely green.
Stage 2 recap
Christopher Bell jumped to the Stage 2 victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.
Joey Logano was second, 3.757 seconds behind Bell, with Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe completing the top five. Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Zane Smith and Connor Zilisch made up the rest of the top 10.
MORE: Full Stage 2 results
Bell has led over 70 laps since collecting the lead at Lap 144.
The second stage of Sunday’s race had plenty of full-contact action.
Shane van Gisbergen was the first to go for a ride in the stage when his No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet spun sideways through Turns 3 and 4 at Lap 91. A two-time winner this season, SVG had fallen outside the top 30 after the stage-opening restart before he broke traction. Van Gisbergen made no contact and was able to continue, fending off Bell at the stage end to remain the final car on the lead lap in 29th.
On the ensuing restart, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. paid the price for entering Turn 3 on the high side of a four-wide situation. With Todd Gilliland to the far left, Austin Hill nicked Michael McDowell, who then slid high into Stenhouse. Stenhouse then backed his No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet into the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4. Stenhouse was able to continue and raced into the top 25 following the incident, concluding the stage 21st.
Carson Hocevar was the next to suffer an issue, snapping loose entering Turn 4 and spinning at Lap 140. Hocevar had already been battling mechanical issues in his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet before his car darted out of control. Entering Sunday’s race fifth in points, Hocevar finished the stage 32nd, one lap down.
Under that caution, Chase Elliott encountered a slow stop that sank him to the rear of the field. His front-tire changer was slow to get the left-front wheel off and didn’t get the new one on before the jackman dropped the jack. That resulted in fender damage to his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after an earlier strategy gamble to inherit the lead had seemingly paid off.
Bubba Wallace had vaulted to the lead at Lap 108 after working past Elliott for the top spot. But leading the field under the Hocevar caution, Wallace sped on pit road and incurred a penalty, sinking him to the rear of the field for the restart.
That restart lasted just one lap before trouble struck for two Hendrick Motorsports teammates at Lap 149. Defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was shoved high in Turns 3 and 4 by John Hunter Nemechek and was at the top of a four-wide situation with teammate Alex Bowman to his left alongside Ryan Preece and Riley Herbst. The four cars collided, resulting in heavy damage to Bowman and a broken right-rear toe link on Larson’s car, necessitating multiple laps’ worth of work. Larson was able to continue and returned to action three laps down while Bowman went to the garage for further repairs.
Wallace, who led 35 laps through the opening stages, recovered to finish the stage 16th.
Stage 1 recap
Ryan Blaney led each of the opening 70 laps from pole position to win Stage 1.
Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs and Austin Dillon completed the top five. Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Connor Zilisch and Zane Smith rounded out the top 10.
Bubba Wallace finished the stage in 12th place, surging 14 positions from his 26th-place starting position. Defending Iowa winner William Byron ended the opening stanza in 14th.
The race began with early calamity for Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones. Reddick entered Turn 1 low at Lap 4 in a battle for eighth when his rear end broke loose. Reddick slid up the track and spun into Jones, sending both Toyotas hard into the outside wall. Neither driver was able to continue, leaving Jones credited with a 35th-place finish and Reddick 36th. Jones entered Sunday’s race 18th, 44 points out of the 16th and final provisional spot in The Chase. His deficit will grow with just three races remaining in the regular season after Sunday’s contest.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results | Watch crash unfold
After myriad brake issues on Saturday, series leader Denny Hamlin soared to 18th place by the time the green-checkered flag waved after starting the event from the rear of the field.
Chase Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, started 32nd after a Saturday crash in practice and ended the stage 30th, the first car one lap down. Elliott received the free pass to return to the lead lap to begin Stage 2.
Among those remaining a lap down to begin the second stage was RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece, who ended Stage 1 in 32nd.
Despite finishing the first stage in fourth, Gibbs sank to 28th during pit stops due to an issue while changing the right-rear tire.
NOTE: Post-race technical inspection concluded in the Cup Series garage with no issues, confirming Gibbs as the Iowa winner.
Contributing: Staff report