NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Take on Round Two at Iowa Speedway?
For the first time in almost three months, NASCAR Cup Series cars head to a short track. The 7/8-of-a-mile bullring of Iowa Speedway is up next for its second-ever showing. Two of the sport’s best combined for over 250 laps led here a year ago. Who can outlast the competition to take home the Iowa hardware this time around? Here’s a few drivers who hope to make Newton, Iowa the Infield of Dreams.
Denny Hamlin
Nobody’s been more consistent on short tracks this season than Denny Hamlin. A win and two runner-ups are Hamlin’s short track 2025 stats, punctuated by a dominant 274 laps led at Martinsville. In Iowa last year Hamlin explained that he was sick, battled through it, but was taken out in a crash.
“[Iowa] was interesting because that track is like a short track, and we were not good,” Hamlin said. “Now, I had some health issues. I was not feeling well to start that race. We went straight to the back. I think we got lapped. I felt a little better after halfway, and we got back on the lead lap. Actually, got to top five and then crashed. Not really sure about that track. It’s one of the ones that I’m a little uneasy about kind of where we are but I’m sure year-over-year, taking the notes that we learned from last year. I was supposed to do the Iowa test this year, (but) didn’t obviously because of (the birth of son) Jameson, so missed out on all my tests this year. Hope I go there and run well. Should, anyway.”
Hamlin’s hot summer stretch roars onward, with a solid third-place outing at the Brickyard 400. The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 has now seen six top-fives in the last eight weeks. Responsible for half of JGR’s series-leading 10 short track wins across the last two seasons, Hamlin is deservedly co-favorite for Iowa.
Kyle Larson
Tied with Hamlin as favorite entering the weekend is Kyle Larson. The Hendrick No. 5 appeared to be on rails to start Iowa’s inaugural Cup race, going on to lead 80 laps before running into trouble. Despite adapting well to Iowa’s surface a year ago, Larson believes the track will see a unique transition this time.
“We had a good weekend going there last year securing the pole, a stage win, and leading a lot of laps before getting caught up in an incident,” Larson said. “I think it’s going to be quite a bit different this year. I watched the IndyCar race, and it appeared the new pavement has changed quite a bit, and I imagine the grip level has changed quite a bit more. I don’t really know yet but it’s going to be different. But as I said before, we were good last year so hopefully we’ll be good again.”
Runner-up in the Brickyard 400 may signal a return to normal dominant form for Larson. Indianapolis marked back-to-back top-fives for the 5, possibly putting summer inconsistencies behind them. Can the man who looked to be unstoppable in Iowa earn a win that got away from him? Expect Larson to be a man on a mission come Sunday.
Ryan Blaney
Larson’s misfortunes opened the door for Ryan Blaney to have a very dominant Iowa night. Leading 201 laps in a short track clinic, Blaney became the Hawkeye State’s maiden Cup Series winner. Now returning to defend this victory, Blaney is optimistic for another strong showing.
“Hopefully Iowa goes well,” Blaney said. “I’ve been really proud of our speed this year and I think we’ve had some great pace. We haven’t really finished many races as I would have liked, but I just try to always look for where our speed is at. Our team is working together properly and they’re doing a great job. Some bad finishes we can’t control, but I think our group is really firing on all cylinders right now. I think we got the pace and the teamwork to do it and our pit crew’s in a great spot.”
Since winning Nashville in June, Blaney’s only seen three top-10s in eight weeks. Two of those came in the last two races, however, showing recent speed from team 12. Once Larson was out of contention, nobody had anything to hang with the 2023 champ at Iowa 12 months ago. Penske short track pace is never to be overlooked, giving Blaney a great shot at back-to-back Iowa wins.
Chase Elliott
Coming into Iowa as the points leader, Chase Elliott has a new target on his back. Since his dominant day at Dover two weeks ago, Elliott’s No. 9 has been leading the charge in the regular season championship fight. Should Elliott hold this spot four weeks from now, the reward would be an impressive 15 Playoff bonus points. Still without a finish worse than 20th this year, Elliott has the lion’s share of postseason help at the top of mind.
“They’d be huge for sure,” Elliott said on the 15 bonus points. “I’ve been on both sides of the coin there. We’ve been (in) years where we have not had many Playoff points and I’ve had a couple years where we’ve had a bunch. I promise, it is a lot easier when you have a lot in the bank. That’s a much better way to go about it. The way the system is, with so many things kind of being out of your control, it’s nice to have something to fall back on. So of course, yeah, we want it all.”
Elliott saw a quiet third-place run develop at Iowa last year, giving this Hendrick team ample notes to bring back an even faster Chevrolet. With a win and five top-sixes over the last seven weeks, Elliott’s methodical championship run shows no signs of slowing down.
Christopher Bell
One of very few to beat Hamlin heads up on a short track this season has been teammate Christopher Bell. The No. 20 Toyota was lights-out fast at Phoenix in March, pacing the way for over 100 laps. Martinsville also saw Bell a close runner-up to Hamlin, followed not long after by a North Wilkesboro win. Bell was likewise fourth at Iowa last summer, putting together an impressive recovery from a crash in practice.
“Iowa has been a place where I’ve done really well, obviously, in the Xfinity car,” Bell said. “The Cup car was a bummer last year, got a flat tire in practice. Felt like if we could have raced our primary, we would have had a really good shot at it. So Iowa is one I’m looking forward to.”
Iowa Speedway and Christopher Bell were seemingly a match made in Heaven for the Xfinity Series. In five Saturday starts here, Bell owns two wins, two runner-ups, and over 650 laps led. Should the 20 remain mistake-free Sunday, Bell may close out another one and join Hamlin as a four-time winner in 2025.
Ryan Preece
RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece already owns one career-defining win from Iowa Speedway. 2017’s Xfinity Series triumph put him on the NASCAR map and eventually landed him in Cup. Now on the cusp of making his maiden Playoff appearance, Preece is aiming for similar cornfield magic.
The first man on the outside looking in for the Playoff bubble, Preece is pitted against teammate Chris Buescher in this matchup. 42 points separate both RFK Racing Fords, meaning that it will likely take a win for Preece to go postseason racing. The last eight weeks have seen Preece bat a perfect .500 with four top-10s, including fourth at Indianapolis. Preece hopes to join the elite list of drivers to earn their first Xfinity and Cup wins at the same track. Is another short track triumph in the cards for Preece?
Iowa may throw Sunday’s entire field a curveball this weekend. The partial-repave that happened ahead of last year’s Cup race has already shown its age, causing different characteristics to form. In short the Iowa Corn 350 is a large unknown race ahead, with minimal time on this track beforehand. The green flag will fly Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
