NASCAR is heading to Hawkeye State for its first-ever Iowa Corn 350 Cup Series race this Sunday at 6 p.m. But that’s not all. The weekend roars to life on Friday, June 14th, with the ARCA Menards Series Atlas 150 race. Through Saturday, June 15th, the highly anticipated return of the Xfinity Series race to the ⅞ mile oval after a five-year hiatus. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series remains on pause for the next two weekends and will return to the Nashville Superspeedway on the 28th of this month.
With fresh new pavement gracing both ends of the Iowa Speedway, this track throws a curveball for all drivers involved in the 17th points-paying weekend of the NASCAR calendar. Regardless, the excitement outweighs the uncertainties. And if you’re watching the main event on TV, don’t forget to tune into the USA Network. Their parent company, NBCUniversal, takes over NASCAR coverage for the rest of the season from FOX Sports, starting in Iowa this weekend. Meanwhile, the ARCA race will still be aired on FS2 at 7 p.m. EST.
Sunny skies and potential thunderstorms are on tap for race weekend
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On the other hand, track-going fans will be happy to know that even Mother Nature’s giving the green to a sunny weekend with just a sprinkle of rain possible early in the AM on Saturday. Commercial weather forecasting provider, AccuWeather predicts a 24% probability of thunderstorms in Newton, IA, that may or may not coincide with the Xfinity and Cup Series qualifyings announced to take place around 11:05 AM and 12:05 AM, respectively. Barring any unexpected delays, the Xfinity race is expected to roar off the grid at 2:30 p.m.
Projections of cloudy skies and a moderate breeze during the Iowa Corn 350 should make for a comfortable finish to the festivities on June 16th. ️Expect an average temperature ranging from 86°F at the highest to a low of 68°F over the weekend. That said, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Iowa Speedway for the first time. This makes the potential winner a guessing game for most due to the lack of comparable results. While the oddsmakers at FanDuel and a few others still favor Kyle Larson at +55o odds after his Sonoma triumph, many would be surprised to know the #5 driver is only the second favorite for a debut win at Iowa.
Goodyear tire tests & past experiences could give birth to a wildcard win
It is important to remember that Larson was one of three drivers that undertook the Goodyear tire test at repaved Iowa, a few days after the Coca-Cola 600. That intel could prove to be a game-changer. But what about the other two drivers?
Ford Performance representative Brad Keselowski at +1300 is also its winningest driver in active competition. The RFK veteran is known to adapt to new tracks, but this is barely a new track for Keselowski. As it happened, he won the first-ever Xfinity race held at Iowa Speedway in 2009. With some extra knowledge about how the tires will react on the newer surface, Brad could be a serious threat to steal a win for the Blue Oval brigade.
Over at Toyota Racing Development, Christopher Bell has been coasting at around +380 as the top pick for the Iowa triumph after his tire test. That comes as a little surprise, as he has consistently been the driver to watch at Joe Gibbs Racing this year (apart from Denny Hamlin). Coming off a resurgent P10 at Sonoma, coupled with some additional insights gathered at Iowa, Bell could upset the field, yet again, for what could be the third time this season.
Of course, his veteran teammates won’t go down without a fight either. Denny Hamlin (+700) is still reeling from his Lap 3 Sonoma heartbreak, and that will serve as definite motivation for a win at the 0.825-mile racetrack, just like his teammate Martin Truex Jr (+1000), who was robbed of a Sonoma podium finish by an unfortunate late-race gas shortage.
And let’s not forget the underdogs! Mike McClure’s predictive model for Sportsline predicts several drivers with past victories at Iowa could potentially pull off a shocker. Our picks would have to be William Byron (11-1), Erik Jones (250-1), and Ryan Blaney (15-2), who have all tasted victory at Iowa in both the Xfinity and Truck Series (the latter ran alongside the former during the track’s previous run as a NASCAR venue from 2009-2019). They know the track’s rhythm and a longshot bet on one of them could pay off handsomely for those willing to dare.
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However, McClure informs fans that the model suggests the real wild card is Ross Chastain (28-1). Riding the waves of a contentious P5 at Sonoma, the Trackhouse Racing driver will pull double duty this weekend, running DGM Racing’s #92 Chevy in the Xfinity Series race. That’s more or less most of the action that one could predict heading to a brand-new weekend with very few data points to assess. But besides the racing action, there is a lot more waiting for those attending the high-speed festivities at Iowa Speedway.
Don’t miss a thing at the Iowa Speedway.
On Friday at noon, fans can catch Xfinity Series driver Sammy Smith for a meet-and-greet at 1 PM, followed by a Q&A session with hometown hero Joey Gase at 1:30. Later at night, Iowa-based Neva Alden will entertain spectators with a pre-race concert before the ARCA race.
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The excitement continues on Saturday with the Fan Zone opening early, around 8:00 a.m., with the “Joey Logano SiriusXM NASCAR Experience” scheduled only an hour later, followed by an autograph session at 9:30. Grandstand gates swing open at 10 for the real action, however. After a whole afternoon of racing action, ultimately chronicling the Hy-Vee Perks 250 set to go green at 2:30 PM EST, those in attendance can keep the party going at country singer Tim Dugger’s post-race concert. Time? That’s TBD for now.
Sunday is about the main event—the NASCAR Cup Series, adorned with a whole round of driver appearances throughout the day. Christopher Bell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney will all be ready to meet their fans, right before a Flatland Ridge concert at 4 p.m. Josh Berry follows up on all that action with another Q&A session at 4:15 p.m. Finally, everything culminates in the Iowa Corn 350 NCS race, with the drivers making their first laps no later than 6 p.m.
