NASCAR
Ty Gibbs Grabs Second Cup Triumph on Two-Tire Call at Iowa Speedway
NEWTON, Iowa – One of the best short track drivers all season left it all on track at Iowa. Ty Gibbs out-dueled teammate Christopher Bell over a long final run to the checkers for a second Cup triumph. A very timely win vaulted the No. 54 Toyota up to second in points, as the Chase is now only three races away.
Past Iowa Speedway winner Ryan Blaney was the man to beat early on. From the pole, Team Penske’s No. 12 led the opening 93 circuits, winning Stage 1 in the process. The opening segment saw a very early issue for Tyler Reddick, who spun and wrecked out on lap three. Also collected as an innocent bystander here was Erik Jones, whose Chase hopes took a big hit with this DNF.
There’s trouble on Lap 4!
Reddick and Jones are in the wall. pic.twitter.com/Le5XO7B5XS
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2026
Midway through Stage 2, Christopher Bell stalked down Blaney and made the pass on the outside for these bonus points. The No. 20 appeared to be on rails en route to a long-awaited maiden 2026 win, until the final trip down pit road. With 60 laps left, Bell came in to change four tires. Gibbs was hot on Bell’s tail, following him down pit road. The No. 54 opted to only take two right side tires, cycling ahead of Bell on track. Despite Bell’s 20 getting close enough to taste victory, he could never get by Gibbs. While Bell had to settle for a seventh runner-up of the season, Gibbs grabbed a second checkered flag. Rallying from an early pit road issue that sent him to 28th, Gibbs ultimately led only the final 20 laps en route to this win.
“I just had to keep my head down, gel up and stay with it,” Gibbs said. “I appreciate my team, Tony Hirschman [spotter], all glory to Jesus Christ.”
“Just people that want to support each other. We made a big step from last year, obviously, and I really appreciate it. 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 [Bell] for all their help, obviously.”
Behind Gibbs and Bell at the checkers were: Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin’s fifth-place outing is no small feat, as the points leader battled brake issues all race. Hamlin was also Iowa’s hard charger, digging in after starting in the rear. The rest of Iowa’s top-10 were: Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger, William Byron, and Austin Dillon.
This second win on the 2026 campaign launches Gibbs’ No. 54 up to second in points, trailing Denny Hamlin by 103 points. The rest of the current Chase grid after 23 races can be seen below.
New #NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings after @iowaspeedway.
Winner @TyGibbs is now 2nd, @TylerReddick drops to 4th, and runner-up @CBellRacing is now 6th.
Cut line battle is still @AustinCindric by 29 over @RyanPreece_ pic.twitter.com/x2UvgL0Jin
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) August 9, 2026
From one short track to another, Cup cars now head to a Commonwealth clash around Richmond Raceway. The 3/4-mile bullring is another historically great spot for Toyotas, as JGR chases back-to-back victories in the Cook Out 400. The Virginia green flag will fly Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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