In the Heartland, there is a certain idyllic quality of Americana that colors summers in the state of Iowa. With agriculture dominating the state, and cornfields as far as the eye can see, Iowa is something of a peaceful place that harkens to the tranquility and simplicity of a traditional American life. But even as the NASCAR Cup Series gets to experience Iowa for themselves, the minds of much of the field is far from easy.
This weekend’s Iowa Corn 350 at the Iowa Speedway marks just four races remaining in the regular season, with a scant three playoff spots currently available on points for drivers who have yet to win a race. If the pressure wasn’t already on the drivers on the playoff bubble, it certainly is now after last week’s race at Indianapolis, where Bubba Wallace went from being the last driver above the playoff cut line to winning the Brickyard 400 and ensuring that he’ll be among the 16 drivers with a shot at the Cup championship in a few weeks’ time.
Bubba Wallace, through self-growth and perspective, wins over Indianapolis with Brickyard 400 victory
Steven Taranto
Where to watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Iowa
When: Sunday, Aug. 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Iowa Speedway — Newton, Iowa
TV: USA Network | Live stream: Fubo (Start watching, save $20!)
Starting lineup
Chase Briscoe continued his Rocketman streak in qualifying on Saturday, earning his Cup Series-leading sixth pole of the 2025 season with a lap of 23.004 (136.933 MPH). While Briscoe will lead the field to the green flag, Kyle Busch will have to come from shotgun in 37th starting spot after a hard crash in practice, which saw him hit the outside wall head on after overcorrecting his car on the entry to turn 1.
- #19 – Chase Briscoe
- #24 – William Byron
- #5 – Kyle Larson
- #2 – Austin Cindric
- #6 – Brad Keselowski
- #12 – Ryan Blaney
- #77 – Carson Hocevar
- #9 – Chase Elliott
- #16 – A.J. Allmendinger
- #7 – Justin Haley
- #11 – Denny Hamlin
- #21 – Josh Berry
- #71 – Michael McDowell
- #22 – Joey Logano
- #23 – Bubba Wallace
- #48 – Alex Bowman
- #20 – Christopher Bell
- #3 – Austin Dillon
- #41 – Cole Custer
- #54 – Ty Gibbs
- #88 – Shane van Gisbergen (R)
- #45 – Tyler Reddick
- #38 – Zane Smith
- #35 – Riley Herbst (R)
- #43 – Erik Jones
- #99 – Daniel Suarez
- #17 – Chris Buescher
- #1 – Ross Chastain
- #42 – John Hunter Nemechek
- #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- #4 – Noah Gragson
- #10 – Ty Dillon
- #60 – Ryan Preece
- #34 – Todd Gilliland
- #51 – Cody Ware
- #66 – Joey Gase
- #8 – Kyle Busch
Storyline to watch
One week ago, the NASCAR playoffs’ bubble battle completely changed when the checkered flag waved in the Brickyard 400. Wallace had entered Indianapolis with a scant 17-point advantage on Ryan Preece for the final spot on the playoff grid, but he made it all a moot point by winning the Brickyard 400 and putting himself in the playoffs outright as the 13th different winner so far this season.
With Wallace now locked into the playoffs, Preece’s job in trying to make the playoffs on points becomes far more difficult. Not only is he now 42 points below the cut line, but he is in a direct battle with his RFK Racing teammate, Chris Buescher, for the final available playoff spot. Besides Buescher, Tyler Reddick (+138) and Alex Bowman (+63) are the other two drivers currently in the playoffs on points, and both — barring a slew of new winners or an inexplicable collapse between now and the regular season finale in Daytona — hold relatively comfortable points advantages.
Preece is still in a position to make the playoffs on points, and two short tracks at Iowa and Richmond in the final four races of the regular season could be just the ticket for him to make the playoffs for the first time in his career. In 2017, Iowa was the site of a seminal moment in Preece’s career when he earned his first Xfinity Series win — Which likely fueled his confidence in making a declaration over his team radio following a fourth place finish in the Brickyard 400.
“Let’s go to Iowa. I want to f—ing kick their ass there,” Preece told his team on the cooldown lap.
Other than the driver of the No. 60, the rest of the drivers below the cut line, led by Kyle Busch (-81), Ty Gibbs (-95) and A.J. Allmendinger (-124) are faced with the likelihood that a race win between now and Daytona is their only avenue to racing for a Cup championship in the fall.
NASCAR news of the week
NASCAR Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen in serious but stable condition after scary dirt modified crash
Steven Taranto
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen was seriously injured in a crash while racing dirt modifieds in Quebec, suffering “extensive” injuries including an unstable/open-book pelvic fracture, a large hematoma in the area, and a fractured right leg. Per an update from his wife Jessica, Friesen returned to the United States on Thursday and has been transferred to a Level One Trauma Center in New York, where he is set to undergo multiple surgeries.
Friesen will likely be out of action indefinitely, and his absence affects the battle for the Truck Series playoffs considering he had qualified by virtue of his win at Michigan in June. His team, Halmar Friesen Racing, has yet to name a substitute driver.
- NASCAR has issued a one-race suspension to Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill after ruling that he intentionally wrecked Aric Almirola in the closing laps of last Saturday’s race at Indianapolis. Hill appeared to make an abrupt hard left into Almirola’s right rear after Almirola had gotten him loose on the exit of turn 3, sending Almirola head on and hard into the outside wall.
Austin Dillon will take Hill’s place behind the wheel of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 21 Chevrolet this weekend at Iowa.
- Kaulig Racing has made a driver change on their Xfinity Series team, as they announced this week that they have released Josh Williams as the driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet effective immediately. Kaulig’s No. 11 will be driven this weekend by Carson Hocevar.
Williams, a very popular figure in the Xfinity Series both in the garage and in the grandstands, got the opportunity to drive for Kaulig beginning in 2024 after demonstrating his talent with the way he performed for lesser race teams. Unfortunately, his tenure at Kaulig did not produce the results that were hoped for — In a year and a half with the team, Williams had just six top 10 finishes to speak of.
- According to a report by The Athletic, NASCAR is not expected to return to Mexico City in 2026, as the upcoming FIFA World Cup makes the mid-June race date from 2025 unavailable. NASCAR will reportedly turn its attention to finding a suitable date for Mexico City in 2027, ideally at a time where the logistics of international travel are less challenging for race teams than they were this past June.
With Mexico City dropped from next year’s schedule, NASCAR is expected to return to Chicagoland Speedway, which last hosted a Cup race in 2019. A return to Chicagoland, about 50 miles from downtown Chicago, will also fill the void left by the departure of the Chicago Street Race.
- Legacy Motor Club has gained a temporary restraining order against Rick Ware Racing, preventing Ware from closing a deal to sell the entire team to former Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J. Puchyr over the next 10 days. The restraining order is the latest development in a dispute between Legacy and Rick Ware Racing over the terms of a failed charter sale, which concerns a charter Legacy had been trying to purchase from Ware to field a third Cup team.
Pick to Win
William Byron (+900) — Byron batted 1000 in his Truck starts at Iowa with a win in 2016, and then got his first Xfinity win there in 2017 before running ninth in the return trip not long afterwards. One year ago, Byron ran second in Iowa’s inaugural Cup race to Ryan Blaney.
Byron continues to feel like a candidate to get another win before the beginning of the playoffs, but he’s had a stretch of rough races and finishes to try and overcome. Byron has three DNFs in his last five starts, and last week missed out on a top five finish when he ran out of fuel on the final lap.
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