Posted on by Dustin Albino

NEWTON, Iowa — Christopher Bell has seen this song before in 2026: So close, yet so far from victory.

Once again, Bell had a hot rod capable of winning, this time at Iowa Speedway. He led 108 circuits, only to watch another Joe Gibbs Racing teammate celebrate in Victory Lane, leaving him with his seventh runner-up of 2026 and fourth in the last five races. Bell has now tied Harry Gant (1981) for most runner-ups in a season without a win.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Iowa

Why was this one particularly more difficult to accept than most?

“Because we had control of the race and we were leading laps, had the pace to do it, had the track position to do it and we didn’t do it,” Bell said.

As Bell became the dominant driver in the second half of the race, Adam Stevens, crew chief of the No. 20 car, called his driver to pit road for the final time on Lap 291 with Ty Gibbs in pursuit. Stevens opted to go with four fresh Goodyear tires while Tyler Allen, leader of the No. 54 bunch, gambled with a two-tire strategy.

In a caution-filled opening two stages, Stevens could almost guarantee there would be at least one additional caution to bunch the field together. There wasn’t, and while Bell got within striking distance of Gibbs, he finished 0.253 seconds from glory.

“I felt that was the right move,” Stevens told NASCAR.com. “Obviously, none of us knew it was going to stay green the rest of the day. Once [Ryan Blaney] took four (tires), which we expected him to because he did rights at the stage, and seeing how he fell off, I didn’t think that was the winning move.

“I knew that the only car that could pass us with two (tires) was (Gibbs). Everybody else, if they chose to take two, would have still come out behind us, so we tried to open up the biggest gap we could knowing that we would come out in proximity even if he did take two. I thought that would have been enough, and that covered our bases on [Blaney] and set us up better for a downstream caution.”

Allen informed Gibbs when he was hitting pit road that the No. 54 car would be on pit road for a limited time.

“At that point, I thought it was the only thing that was going to get us around [Bell],” Allen said in the winner’s post-race press conference, “and then hopefully we could get enough laps where the tires equalized, and they couldn’t get by us.”

When asked if the No. 20 team should have elected to take two tires, Bell simply said, “Yeah.”

Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell shake hands in Victory Lane at Iowa after Gibbs won a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Bell was not surprised that two tires hung on for the victory. He did it earlier in the race, and even stayed out on track while the bulk of the field pitted during a Lap 140 caution. He hung on for the duration of Stage 2 to bank his fourth stage victory of the season.

Stevens had the notion of taking two tires during the final green-flag pit sequence. But ultimately, being the closest car to the lead on four fresh tires was hard to pass up, thinking it would pay off over the final stint.

“Sure, it was a thought, but it wasn’t the decision I made,” Stevens said. “It was probably a 50-50 call, especially not expecting it to go fully green. I can’t say that was the wrong call to do that, but it’s not the one I made, and it didn’t work out for me.”

The tone of Bell’s 2026 campaign could be completely different had he visited Victory Lane on a few of his near misses. Instead, he has finished as the bridesmaid to all three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates this season and will enter next weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway (Sat., 7 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on a 30-race winless drought.

Bell leaped four positions on The Chase grid at Iowa alone, however, and Stevens believes the fortune will soon flip.

“It sucks not to win,” Stevens said. “It sucks not to win every week, but you’re not going to win them all, and you’re not necessarily going to win them because you have the best car, and you’re not necessarily going to win them because you have the best car and call the best race or vice versa or one out of the two. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter.

“Some things have to go your way, and by and large on the year, they haven’t gone our way. But the year is not over. I’m hoping the math evens out before it is.”

Bell is only four markers behind Chase Briscoe for fifth in the standings. But he’s growing weary of finishing second, though still thinks a 176-lap-led stomping at Phoenix Raceway in March was tougher to digest.

“It’s bad that I can start ranking them,” Bell said.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

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

Posted on by Staff Report

Tyler Reddick’s tumultuous summer continued just moments after taking the green flag Sunday at Iowa Speedway, crashing at Lap 4 and heading behind the wall with severe front-end damage.

Battling Erik Jones for eighth, Reddick got loose entering Turn 1, washing up the track and nosing into the outside wall. He also collected Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, who suffered right-side and front-end damage on his No. 43 Toyota.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Iowa

Reddick led the NASCAR Cup Series points standings through the first 17 races this season, winning five of the first nine races and pacing Denny Hamlin by as many as 129 markers after the Watkins Glen International contest in May. But entering Iowa, Reddick had finished 25th or worse in five of the last eight races, including crashes at Michigan and North Wilkesboro and mechanical gremlins at Sonoma Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway.

Hamlin’s points lead surged to 84 points after Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weeks ago, and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team now looks to capitalize as his 23XI Racing driver Reddick faces yet another summer setback.

MORE: Watch replays

“Just gut-wrenching on a lot of levels,” Reddick told USA Sports. “I thought we kind of figured out what we needed to do for the race today, and I made a killer mistake.

“I hate it for my team, but Erik Jones and everybody at Legacy, they needed a strong day, and it’s just not ideal. Obviously, if I’m going to take myself out, that’s one thing. But I took out a Toyota teammate that needed to have a good day, so 100% it’s on me. Something I normally don’t do, normally don’t make those kind of mistakes, so very disappointed.

Neither Jones nor Reddick continued and will be credited with finishes of 35th and 36th, respectively. Each was evaluated and released from the infield care center. For Jones, it’s a significant hit to his postseason hopes, entering Iowa 18th in points, 44 markers below the Chase cutline.

“I think Tyler just got loose and crashed,” Jones told reporters. “There’s nothing more to say. I know he didn’t mean to do it. He took himself out, too, but it’s frustrating.

“It’s gonna be a long shot from here. I mean, we’re gonna be deep after today … we needed three really good weeks — and it had to start today.”

Posted on by Dustin Albino

NEWTON, Iowa — With just four races remaining before the 2026 Chase field is set, Ross Chastain knows making the 16-driver contingent will be an uphill battle. He admitted as much Saturday during practice at Iowa Speedway, acknowledging that a lack of speed has made the task increasingly difficult.

“It’s the realization of speed,” Chastain said to a group of reporters on Saturday, after clocking in with the ninth-best time in qualifying. “Points are the points, and that comes with going fast and finishing up front in stages and races. We just haven’t done it. That’s why it feels insurmountable.

“You can go grab 76 points in a single race if you are the best. Definitely it feels insurmountable because of the speed, is what I meant.”

Chastain, who finished runner-up in the 2022 championship battle, has a single top-five finish through the opening 22 races of the 2026 season. It came 20 races ago at EchoPark Speedway in the second week of the season.

The pace deficit predates the 2026 season, however, as Chastain has scored two top-five finishes total since winning last year’s Coca-Cola 600, some 45 races ago. Meanwhile, Chastain’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen is fighting for a Chase berth, sitting 15th on the grid, 57 points above the cutline with a trio of tracks measuring 1-mile or less on the horizon.

Chastain enters the 23rd race of the season 21st in the driver’s standings. The No. 1 team is 82 points below bubble driver Austin Cindric — and 101 markers behind van Gisbergen. Time is running thin to make a Chase push.

Outside of Chastain’s four stage victories in 2026 — tied with Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson for the third-most in the series — the No. 1 team has totaled just 16 stage points in the remaining 40 stages. But the ninth-place starting position for Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is his best qualifying effort at a non-drafting track oval since Bristol Motor Speedway, nearly four months ago.

MORE: Full lineup | Best Iowa photos

“Off throttle more, slowing down for the corner,” Chastain said of why he feels comfortable this weekend. “This aero package, horsepower package feels similar to me, and the speed seems to come with it.”

Yet Chastain was stunned to realize he secured a top-10 starting spot. He was battling a loose condition and ended the session less than one-tenth of a second behind polesitter Ryan Blaney.

“The [23.566-second lap] we ran could have been so much better, and we just missed the balance,” Chastain stated. “I’m pumped.”

Chastain believes his No. 1 Chevrolet feels similar to Nashville Superspeedway, which was trending in the right direction before blowing a brake rotor late in Stage 1. There is optimism within the Trackhouse camp at Iowa, as Connor Zilisch tallied the best oval start of his career thus far (eighth).

Until Chastain is officially eliminated from Chase contention, the gritty journeyman competitor will go down fighting.

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

Track: Iowa Speedway
Location: Newton, Iowa
Track length: 0.875 miles
When: 3:30 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,233,037
Race distance: 350 laps | 306.25 miles
Stages: 70 | 210 | 350
Sunday’s starting lineup | Pit-stall assignments

Chase seeding a big emphasis in final four regular-season races

NEWTON, Iowa — For those that qualify for The Chase in September, any position inside the top 10 will mathematically put a driver in position to compete for the championship from the jump. However, each seed gained comes with a plus-five gain to the points leader in The Chase format and a battle royale is taking shape from positions fifth to tenth.

From Carson Hocevar (fifth) to Christopher Bell (10th), there is just a 29-point gap, meaning the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver could leap all the way to fifth with a strong result Sunday. And Bell very well could as one of the Cup Series’ hottest drivers off of the bye week.

MORE: Weekend schedule | At-track photos

“It’s a huge deal, man,” Bell said of Chase seeding. “Wherever we end up, all of us are in a dogfight right now. Super important to get everything that we can and it’s going to come down to the bitter end for sure. I’m optimistic. We have a great chunk of races coming up between here, the next couple short tracks. Daytona. Who knows? But I’m excited about the change there.”

Another driver carrying a huge chunk of momentum into the final month of the regular season is three-time champ Joey Logano.

The No. 22 Team Penske driver dominated North Wilkesboro for his first win of the season, followed up by a third-place run in the Brickyard 400 to balloon his position from as low as 20th in points to 13th.

Iowa continues as a good string of tracks for Logano, who is currently riding a seven-race, short-track top-10 stretch.

MORE: Goodyear tire notes: Iowa

“I look at these next few races where there’s a lot of opportunities to score a ton of points for us if we can capitalize on the opportunities there,” Logano said. “I mean we’re out the windshield right now. Just got to keep the attitude that way. But yeah, I feel like we can get ourselves into position to set ourselves up to go win The Chase. Like we have a chance to do it and be the comeback story of all-time. But I think we can do it.”

On the downturn, though, is Bubba Wallace, who after placing 11th in practice on single-lap speed and top 10 in consecutive lap average, missed it in his qualifying setup and will roll off the grid 26th on Sunday.

Wallace entered the media center after qualifying dripping in sweat and frustrated as his 60-point cushion to the cutline is far from safe.

“I don’t know. I’m so [expletive] pissed off from qualifying,” Wallace said. “I think we’re okay. I mean, look at what we did last year. I’m guilty of it. You know, ‘oh we’ve got a bad qualifying draw from last weekend or from last race,’ and that’s just a poor excuse. We got to just be better and I needed to give better feedback to get the car better. I thought we were pretty good in practice. Just missed a little bit.”

The Toyota camp as a whole has some questions Sunday as the Nos. 11, 19 and 35 had brake rotor issues during practice. Points leader Denny Hamlin, who is slated to start 29th on Sunday, has little idea how the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will react into Turn 1 on the opening lap.

“I just have to give it some educated guesses and go off laps that I did get to run and go from there,” Hamlin said. “Truthfully, we’re gonna have to put a thumb in the air and make a few guesses.”

iowa speedway
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

In the details …

What if the 2026 Cup Series stats sheet showed you that a part-time driver would have just as many victories as the entire Hendrick Motorsports camp in August? You’d probably think it’s straight out of a video game, but that’s the reality for Hendrick as the organization has struggled in all major categories compared to where they were last year.

Chase Elliott is the only driver to reach Victory Lane for the team this season (Martinsville, Texas), but has just a single top 10 since, while Alex Bowman, William Byron and Kyle Larson remain winless just a month out from the start of The Chase. Here is how this year’s stats compare to last year’s after 22 races:

Season20252026Difference
Starts84840
Poles50Minus-5
Wins52Minus-3
Top Two's114Minus-7
Top Five's3020Minus-10
Top 10's4932Minus-17
Laps Led2,1761,053Minus-1,123
Stage Wins169Minus-7
DNFs812Plus-4

Speed reads

Race-day essentials:

• Iowa hub: Key information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more
• Sunday Setup: See what crew chiefs have in mind in the Hawkeye State | Read more
• Rules update: Details on new stage-break procedure if a caution comes out late | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh looks ready for the Iowa cornfields | View gallery
• Hauler Talk: NASCAR wants to tighten caution periods | Listen now
• NASCAR Classics: Dig into the video vault for full-race replays from Iowa | Watch now
• Power Rankings: Will Logano continue fresh momentum after off weekend? | This week’s ranks

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

NEWTON, Iowa — A Saturday O’Reilly Auto Parts Series melee at Iowa Speedway has created a gripping battle at the Chase cutline with just one regular-season race to go at Daytona International Speedway.

A trio of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers are all separated by one point as William Sawalich and Brent Crews hold the final two spots by a fraction over teammate Taylor Gray.

Just lurking behind them is Rajah Caruth, the JR Motorsports driver who skirted through eight final-stage cautions to bring home a career-best runner-up result as JRM teammate Carson Kvapil secured his second consecutive checkered flag at the Midwest short track.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Iowa

Caruth, now just 15 points below the JGR impasse, said his “common sense” prevailed amid the start-stop tempo of the final stage.

“Like those restarts, I just was choosing closest to the front because you never know how it’ll shake out,” Caruth said. “Like you can give up a row to maybe be on the inside and dive-bomb in the corner, but you’ll get loose. I got loose. Other people got loose, so it wasn’t uncommon that that would happen in the race, and that was kind of where I was trying to make the most logical decisions and it worked out for us. I was probably not close enough to get a run at Carson. I’d say that I lost a lot of ground there being top of (Turn) 3 and into Turn 1, and I stayed that distance the whole time.”

Sawalich, Gray and Crews struggled most of the afternoon around Iowa.

They battled on the fringe of the top 10 and the three combined for just eight stage points, with Sawalich being the only one tallying points in both stages.

The No. 18 Toyota driver recovered from a Lap 159 spin, pulling off a third-place result for his third consecutive top-five finish to hold a sliver of an edge above his teammates.

“Those restarts were definitely crazy,” Sawalich said. “The bottom lane prevailed most of the time if you didn’t get yourself in trouble. It was also really easy to pack the air on the guy in front of you and get him in trouble. Poking three-wide was also an option, so you kind of got to do what you got to do, and we had a lot of fortune at the end to get us third.”

Crews had himself a day, getting involved in a handful of incidents — most notably triggering a multicar wreck on the first overtime restart that collected front-runners Justin Allgaier and Ryan Sieg.

MORE: Crash prompts double OT | Allgaier expresses frustration

The No. 19 rookie wheelman ultimately finished 16th, but he already has sights set on the regular-season finale in three weeks.

“Our goal at the end of the day is to just win races,” Crews said. “Ultimately, the air just got too loose under the 39 (Sieg) and had that move work out a ton of times this year, and that’s the first time it’s not. Definitely feel like I kind of learned a valuable lesson there, but continue to move forward. All eyes are on Daytona just to move forward and think how we can have the best day possible there to be able to try to find ourselves in the [Chase].”

Daytona offers a tricky task for the JGR drivers as they’ll likely need to work together for track position, as well as race hard for their own points to lock in a Chase berth.

Meanwhile, Caruth will have the benefit of his JRM teammates and a handful of other Chevrolet drivers already locked into The Chase to get the help he needs to pull off a three vs. one stunner akin to that of Joey Logano’s 2018 championship performance in the “Big Three and me” battle.

“I guess we’ll have a meeting about that or something, but in any racing, the last lap’s the last lap so teammates are kind of out the window,” Sawalich said. “But you know, Brandon’s (Jones) safe in The [Chase], so it’ll be interesting to see what he’s going to do and if he chooses anybody. We don’t really work together too well on speedways anyways so I think we’re just gonna have to do our own thing.”

Said Caruth: “I feel like I’m at my best when I’m aggressive — aggressive like using common sense, not being an idiot. But I feel like I’ve done a good job of that at the speedways this year, and I’m excited to go race (three) weeks from now. There were things I probably needed to do better as well (Saturday), but didn’t make any mistakes and just overall executed to the best that I felt like I could and it worked out.”

Posted on by Staff Report

For the third time, the NASCAR Cup Series visits the Hawkeye State for Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 0.875-mile short track is prone to raising tempers with close-quarters racing — all while postseason pressure continues to heighten.

Just four races remain until the 16-driver field for The Chase is set, and Iowa kicks off three consecutive stops at tracks measuring a mile or so in length or shorter. Richmond lies on the schedule next Saturday night, followed by an annual stop in New England at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The common denominator among all three? Team Penske thrives at each.

RELATED: Starting lineup | Saturday recap

This four-race stretch will determine who earns the No. 1 overall seed for The Chase, with Denny Hamlin currently holding an 84-point advantage over Tyler Reddick. Could this be where the No. 45 23XI Racing team turns its summer slide around, or could the ever-lurking Ryan Blaney (minus-120) close in on both of them? Further down, could the RFK Racing duo of Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski, along with Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones, make a last-ditch push for a final postseason position?

Iowa serves as a key turning point for the 2026 season. Read on to see drivers worth keeping an eye on, as well as Racing Insights’ full projections for Sunday’s corn-country showdown.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

RYAN BLANEY: The 2023 Cup Series champion is the gold standard on short tracks right now and has arguably been the best in two Iowa visits. He won the inaugural Cup Series race in Newton two years ago before backing it up with a fourth-place effort last summer, posting a 3.9 average running position across the two races. Blaney has finished no worse than 11th in the last 14 short-track races and rides incredible momentum to the Midwest with an EchoPark Speedway victory in July and eight top 10s in the last 10 events. Better yet, he starts from the pole position on Sunday, so if anyone’s the bar here, it’s certainly Blaney — and he can use that as leverage to leap up the standings.

BRAD KESELOWSKI: After going 11 consecutive races without a top 10, the No. 6 RFK Racing driver finally seems headed in the right direction after top-seven showings at North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis. Keselowski has earned top 10s in both previous trips to Iowa — one of five drivers with that accomplishment — as well as four top 10s in the last seven short-track races. Sitting 50 points below The Chase cutline, the 2012 titleholder is in massive need of a strong points day — and Sunday could very well make or break his postseason hopes. A crash during Saturday’s qualifying may not bode especially well, but Keselowski has proven poise at the Heartland oval.

CARSON HOCEVAR: Hurricanes aren’t known to make landfall in Iowa, but Hocevar is certainly an exception. Now up to fifth in points after an Indianapolis top 10, the Cup Series is seemingly the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team’s oyster as the 23-year-old continues his meteoric rise to stardom. His Iowa record is solid, averaging an 11th-place finish with an eighth-place result last year. At short tracks this season, he has the fifth-best average running position (9.43) and the eighth-most points scored (93). Finishing the regular season inside the top six is crucial for Hocevar’s championship hopes, and he now enters the most pressure-packed portion of his budding Cup career.

MORE: At-track photos | What to Watch: Iowa

FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR IOWA CORN 350 POWERED BY ETHANOL (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network)

POSITIONNUMBERDRIVER
112Ryan Blaney
222Joey Logano
324William Byron
420Christopher Bell
511Denny Hamlin
619Chase Briscoe
754Ty Gibbs
85Kyle Larson
977Carson Hocevar
1045Tyler Reddick
1123Bubba Wallace
129Chase Elliott
131Ross Chastain
146Brad Keselowski
152Austin Cindric
1621Josh Berry
1748Alex Bowman
1817Chris Buescher
193Austin Dillon
2043Erik Jones
217Daniel Suárez
2234Todd Gilliland
2371Michael McDowell
2442John Hunter Nemechek
2560Ryan Preece
2647Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2797Shane van Gisbergen
2838Zane Smith
2916AJ Allmendinger
304Noah Gragson
3135Riley Herbst
3210Ty Dillon
3341Cole Custer
3488Connor Zilisch
3533Austin Hill
3651Cody Ware
Posted on by Reid Spencer

NEWTON, Iowa — The “new” Carson Kvapil is now 2-for-2.

In his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race since claiming his first career victory July 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kvapil once again found his way to Victory Lane — this time in two overtimes at Iowa Speedway.

Grabbing the lead from Ross Chastain on the first overtime restart in Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 at the 0.875-mile short track, Kvapil held the top spot through the second extra period after an eight-car wreck in Turn 2 on Lap 252 wiped out a handful of potential contenders.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Iowa

Winless in his first 63 O’Reilly Series starts, Kvapil has now remade himself as a contender for the series title with just one race remaining in the regular season.

The driver of the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet heads to the Aug. 28 race at Daytona International Speedway second in the standings with a 28-point advantage over third-place Sheldon Creed, who finished fifth on Saturday.

In a race that went 10 laps beyond its scheduled distance of 250 laps, Kvapil crossed the finish line 0.343 seconds ahead of runner-up Rajah Caruth, who took advantage of the top lane on the final restart on Lap 259 to surge into second place.

William Sawalich ran third, followed by Chastain and Creed. Nick Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Dean Thompson, Harrison Burton and Brennan Poole completed the top 10.

For practical purposes, it was the penultimate restart that decided the issue. Chastain, leading in the top lane, spun his tires on the restart and surrendered the lead to Kvapil. Behind them, the Toyota of rookie Brent Crews washed up the track and sideswiped the No. 39 Chevrolet of pole winner Ryan Sieg, launching Sieg’s car into the outside wall.

Crews’ Supra then collected the No. 7 Chevrolet of Justin Allgaier, who had charged from 24th to third after pitting for fresh tires on Lap 185. The ensuing caution was the 12th of the afternoon, tying the race record.

“I knew we had a really fast car,” Kvapil said of the restart on Lap 252. “I knew the 7 (Allgaier) was on fresher tires, so that was my biggest concern there … It all worked out. We had the restart we needed, and we got the win.”

MORE: Allgaier frustrated with Crews after crash

With Kvapil in pursuit, Chastain was cruising toward his second victory of the season when Jeb Burton spun in Turn 2 to cause the 11th caution and send the race to overtime.

“I think the 9 (Chastain) probably had it (before) the yellow came out there at the end,” said Kvapil, the ninth driver to earn his first two O’Reilly victories consecutively. “We were fast running him down there — we just didn’t have enough to fill the gap.”

Three JR Motorsports drivers — Kvapil, Caruth and Chastain — finished in the top four, marking the 80th straight race at least one JRM driver has finished in the top 10, breaking a tie for the series record with RFK Racing (2008-2010).

The race also tightened the battle for the final spots in the Chase. Crews and Sawalich are tied for 11th and 12th in the standings, the last two Chase-eligible positions. Their Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Taylor Gray, is one point back in 13th.

Caruth in 14th trails Crews and Sawalich by 15 points heading to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ regular-season finale, the Winn-Dixie 250 Powered by Coca-Cola scheduled Friday, Aug. 28 at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, ESPN Unlimited, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Weekend schedule: Iowa

Notes: Allgaier won the second stage and proceeded to lead a race-high 83 laps but stayed on the track when most other contenders pitted on lap 161 — only to have his strategy spoiled by a rash of cautions. … Carson Brown and Derek Lemke finished 15th and 26th in their respective O’Reilly Series debuts. … Defending series champion Jesse Love found early trouble when his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet slowed with a transmission issue on Lap 35. After contact and a near spinout, Love eventually steered his car to the garage area for repairs, returned to the race 59 laps in arrears and placed 35th in the 37-car field.

NOTE: Post-race inspection concluded without issue, confirming Kvapil as the race winner. The Nos. 00, 54 and 21 cars will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

RACE-DAY UPDATE: NASCAR announced Sunday afternoon that the Nos. 6 (Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing), 9 (Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports) and 11 (Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing) will start from the rear after unapproved adjustments.

Two NASCAR Cup Series teams failed pre-race technical inspection on Saturday afternoon, leading to penalties ahead of Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350.

The No. 60 RFK Racing Ford for driver Ryan Preece and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford for driver Todd Gilliland both failed inspection twice on Saturday. As a result, both teams’ car chiefs were ejected for the balance of the weekend and lost the ability to select their pit stalls for Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Car chief Jerry Cook was ejected from the No. 60 team alongside the No. 34 car chief Joe Marra.

MORE: Iowa weekend hub | At-track photos

Preece enters the weekend 17th in the points standings, 38 points outside the 16th and provisional final spot in The Chase with just four races remaining in the regular season. Preece earned his first win in Cup competition through the exhibition Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in February but is still seeking his first points-paying victory at the sport’s top level. He finished fifth in his first Iowa appearance with RFK Racing last season and earned his first career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win in 2017 at Iowa.

Gilliland returns from the off weekend with a fresh $1 million in tow. The Front Row racer won the second annual In-Season Challenge by beating Ryan Blaney at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to claim the million-dollar prize. Gilliland is 23rd in the Cup Series standings and has a best finish of 12th at Iowa in 2024.

Gilliland posted the fourth-fastest lap in Saturday’s 50-minute practice while Preece was 35th of 36 entrants.

Posted on by NASCAR Foundation Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 8, 2026) — The NASCAR Foundation announced the four NASCAR fans named as finalists for the 16th annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award for the work they do through local children’s organizations in their communities.

The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award, named in honor of the foundation’s late founder and chairwoman Betty Jane France, recognizes inspiring NASCAR fans who volunteer for children’s causes across their regions. Each finalist receives a minimum $25,000 donation for their organization, with the overall winner receiving a $100,000 donation from The NASCAR Foundation to further their efforts.

“These four finalists embody the heart of the sport through not only their passion for NASCAR, but also their unwavering dedication to serving their communities,” said Nichole Krieger, Executive Director and Vice President of The NASCAR Foundation. “Mary, James, Lyette and Jim support remarkable organizations that are changing lives every day, and their selfless efforts perfectly capture the values celebrated by the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award.”

The 16th annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award finalists include:

  • Mary Caruso of Corning, N.Y., executive director and volunteer of Corning Community Food Pantry, an organization that focuses on eliminating hunger in the region through the distribution of food and information. Mary has been a volunteer with CCFP for 23 years and has served as Executive Director since 2020. Under her leadership, 1.25 million pounds of food have been distributed to more than 85,000 individuals.
  • James Ford of Richmond, Va., a volunteer with Ronald McDonald House Richmond, supporting its mission of providing essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare. James has been a volunteer with RMHC for eight years, after the organization supported his family during his siblings’ illnesses.
  • Lyette Reback of North Palm Beach, Fla., founder and volunteer of Believe With Me, an organization that supports families of fallen military service members by providing financial help and emotional support. Under Lyette’s leadership, the organization has delivered more than 25,000 gifts to 12,000-plus children of the fallen. In addition to her work with Gold Star Families, Lyette is the mother of 16 children and is a prominent advocate for foster care and adoption awareness.
  • Jim Osborn of Apison, Tenn., founder and volunteer of The Austin Hatcher Foundation, supporting its mission of providing a lifetime of free, comprehensive support to pediatric cancer patients and their families. Jim, a U.S. Air Force veteran and trained spinal surgeon, has been a volunteer with The Austin Hatcher Foundation for 19 years. His commitment to supporting families navigating pediatric cancer intensified after his first child tragically passed away from cancer as an infant.

The overall winner will be determined by an online vote, which is open now through Sept. 6. Those who wish to vote for their favorite finalist and their impact on the community may vote once a day.

The overall winner will be announced during The NASCAR Foundation Honors Gala in New York City on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

To learn more about The NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award and the 2026 finalists, visit www.NASCARfoundation.org/Award.