RADIO
Ty Gibbs Triumphs at Iowa for his Second Career Cup Series Win
Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing won the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway after overcoming mistakes and teammates. The No. 54 Toyota driver started the race from sixth and ran well throughout most of the race. Gibbs moved into the top five and stayed there for the rest of the first stage as he ended it in fourth, earning six stage points. During the stage break, Gibbs' team on pit road struggled with changing the right rear tire, causing him to drop down to 29th on the ensuing restart in stage two. Gibbs spent the rest of the second stage recovering from this mistake, and thanks to a fast car and some pit calls, he returned to the fourth position at the end of the stage. In the final stage, Gibbs went from being inside the top 10 to eventually running second after passing Ryan Blaney before his final green flag pit stop. After the completion of his pit stop, Gibbs got ahead of his teammate Christopher Bell for the lead and spent the rest of the race holding him off. Despite some close calls, Gibbs held on for his second career Cup Series victory, which helps move him into second in the Cup Series standings behind Denny Hamlin after 23 races.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Christopher Bell Finishes Second for the Seventh Time This Season at Iowa
Christopher Bell started out slowly in the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway, but went on to become one of the main contenders for the race win on Sunday. Bell started 22nd and spent the entire first stage making up positions on the track. At the end of the first stage, Bell made it up to seventh and scored four stage points. In the second stage, Bell's team made a call to stay off of pit road during a lap 140 caution while all other drivers went to pit road, leaving him with the lead on the restart. With no further cautions until the end of the stage, Bell went on to win the second stage. In the final stage, Bell started out third after pit stops and then returned to the lead midway through the stage after passing Ryan Blaney. Bell maintained the lead until having his final pit stop on lap 291, but lost the lead to his teammate Ty Gibbs in the cycle of pit stops. The No. 20 Toyota driver spent the rest of the race chasing down Gibbs for the win, but fell short of passing him in the closing laps, leaving Bell to finish in second for the seventh time this season. Although he missed out on winning, Bell's strong performance moves him up to sixth in the Cup Series standings after 23 races.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Ryan Blaney Leads the Most Laps and Finishes Third at Iowa
Team Penske's Ryan Blaney was one of the top dominators of the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. Blaney started the race in first place and began his domination right from the beginning. He led every lap in the first stage and won it without much competition. In the second stage, Blaney lost the lead after Chase Elliott stayed out on a caution and stayed ahead of Blaney after a restart. Although Blaney passed Elliott as the stage progressed, Bubba Wallace also got ahead of both drivers before another caution sent everyone back to pit road. Instead of taking two tires on lap 143, Blaney took four tires and lost a couple of positions away from the lead. Blaney went on to maintain a top-10 running position and finished eighth at the end of the second stage. In the final stage's stage break, Blaney vaulted back to the front of the field with a two-tire pit stop call and, during the restart, got ahead of Elliott to lead the race. Blaney maintained the lead until lap 254, when Christopher Bell took the lead from him. The No. 12 Ford driver then tried to beat out Bell through the final set of green flag pit stops but was unable to do so. Ty Gibbs also passed Blaney during the final pit stops, leaving Blaney to settle for third when he did not have the speed to catch Gibbs and Bell. After leading the most laps (129) and getting his third Iowa top-5 finish, Blaney is now third in the Cup Series standings after 23 races.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Josh Berry Quietly Earns his First Top-Five Finish of the Year at Iowa
Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing had his best run of the 2026 season at the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. Berry began the race from the 13th position and went on to have a clean race without any incident. The No. 21 Ford driver, however, failed to score stage points, as he placed 11th at the end of each of the first two stages. In the final stage, Berry took advantage of a caution-free final stage to take advantage of his car's long run speed and gain positions throughout the stage. Berry eventually made it past Denny Hamlin and placed fourth at the end of the race at Iowa. After earning his first top-5 finish of the 2026 season, Berry moves up to 30th in the Cup Series standings after 23 races.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Denny Hamlin Finishes Fifth After Battling Brake Issues at Iowa
Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing faced an uphill battle right from the beginning of the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. Originally slated to start from the 29th position, Hamlin began the race from the rear and contended with brake issues throughout the entire race. Despite the struggles with the brakes, Hamlin and his No. 11 Toyota team made adjustments to his car to improve its performance and be able to make moves throughout the field. By the end of the first stage, Hamlin made it up to 18th, while in the second stage, he made it to the top 10 and earned stage points after ending the stage in sixth. In the final stage, Hamlin made it as high as fourth before he eventually settled for fifth place by the end of the race. With his first top-5 finish scored at Iowa, Hamlin extends his season-wide points lead to 103 points over Ty Gibbs with three races left before The Chase begins.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Tyler Reddick Might be A Solid Contrarian Option for DFS Tournaments at Iowa
Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing will start fifth for the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. This marks the first time that Reddick will start inside the top five in a Cup race at Iowa. In his past two races at the site, Reddick has a best finish of 19th. After 22 races completed this season, Reddick has five wins, 14 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 11.8. In practice for this week's race, Reddick displayed top-10 speeds in the 15-30 consecutive lap average categories, ranking as high as fifth in 20 consecutive lap averages. Reddick does not have much upside due to his starting position, and his Iowa history is not the strongest. However, Reddick's practice speeds and performance in pre-race events are encouraging to make him a favorable contrarian DFS option for tournaments.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Ty Gibbs Could be an Underrated DFS Winner for Iowa Lineups
Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing will start in the sixth position for this week's Iowa Corn 350. It will be the first time that Gibbs will start inside the top 10 at the event's track, Iowa Speedway. In two previous races at Iowa, Gibbs had a best finish of 21st. Through the first 22 races of the season, Gibbs has one win, 14 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 12.0. In practice, Gibbs had a particularly fast car, ranking sixth in 10- and 30 consecutive lap averages. Although he does not have much upside based on his starting position, Gibbs has been strong on short tracks all year long and displayed plenty of speed through pre-race events. The No. 54 Toyota driver is a sneaky option to compete for the win this week.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Should Fantasy Managers Roster Bubba Wallace at Iowa?
Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing will start in the 26th position for this week's Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. This marks the first time that Wallace will start outside of the top 20 in a race at the site. In his previous two races at Iowa, Wallace has two top-20 finishes, including a finish of sixth in last year's race at the site. With 22 races completed so far this year, Wallace has 10 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 17.0. In practice for this week's race, Wallace ranked 12th or better in 10-30 consecutive lap averages on speed. Due to his equipment, practice speeds, track history at Iowa, and upside, Wallace makes for a great DFS option with the potential to compete for a top-10 finish.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Carson Hocevar Qualifies Inside the Top 20 at Iowa
Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports is starting from the 18th position in this week's Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. Hocevar continues a streak of three straight Iowa Cup races with a top-20 starting position. In his previous two races at the site, Hocevar has two top-15 finishes with a best finish of eighth, coming from last year's race. After 22 races so far this season, Hocevar has one win, nine top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 14.1. In practice for this week's Cup race, Hocevar ranked as high as 15th in 15 consecutive lap averages. Hocevar is a driver whose equipment could carry him to a top-15 finish, making him a solid DFS option for all formats this week.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Austin Dillon Carries High DFS Risk for Iowa Lineups
Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon will start in the seventh position after qualifying for this week's Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. It will be Dillon's first top-10 starting position in a race at the site. In his previous two starts at Iowa in the Cup Series, Dillon's best finish is 10th, which he scored in last year's race at the site. Through the first 22 races of the 2026 season, Dillon has two top-10 finishes and an average finish of 22.0. In practice for this week's race, Dillon ranked as high as 29th in 20 consecutive lap averages. Dillon's slow practice speeds with his high starting position make him a complete fade for DFS cash lineups. The low upside for Dillon only makes him playable in tournaments, but even then there are other options with less risk and higher upside available.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Ryan Blaney Trending Towards Another Dominating Win at Iowa
The stars are aligning for Ryan Blaney this weekend, as the Team Penske driver has a perfect path to domination in Sunday afternoon's Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. We saw Blaney absolutely dominate the first Cup Series race here back in 2024, and it's looking likely to happen again. Blaney won the pole on Saturday and will lead the field to the green on Sunday. He also had the best practice speeds of anyone in the garage, ranking best in 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-lap average during the session. To put it bluntly, Ryan Blaney has a rocket ship of a race car this weekend, and many of the presumed contenders that could challenge him qualified deep in the field. In DFS, Blaney ($10.5K on DraftKings) should absolutely be an anchor of your daily fantasy lineups at Iowa.
Source: ifantasyrace
Source: ifantasyrace
Christopher Bell Qualifies 22nd at Iowa
Christopher Bell is one of the best at short, flat tracks, and Iowa Speedway should be no exception. However, after the first two Cup races here, it's looking as though Bell hasn't quite figured out this short, flat track. He finished fourth here back in 2024, but had a driver rating of just 97.2 and only led seven laps--not quite the dominating effort we're used to out of Bell. Last season, he started 17th and finished there as well. This weekend for the Iowa Corn 350, Bell will roll off the starting grid from 22nd place, and the No. 20 Toyota looked great in practice on Saturday, ranking second-best in all major lap categories behind Ryan Blaney. Heading into Sunday's race, Bell ($10.7K on DraftKings) looks to be a great Place Differential DFS pick, but you could make a case for staying away from him. The big question is, which Christopher Bell will show up on race day?
Source: ifantasyrace
Source: ifantasyrace
Chase Elliott Wrecks in Practice at Iowa
Chase Elliott got loose during his practice run at Iowa Speedway on Saturday afternoon and backed his No. 9 Chevrolet into the wall, sustaining damage to the front and rear of the left side of the race car. His Hendrick Motorsports crew will have to repair the damage before the race starts on Sunday, and Chase will have to drop to the rear when the Iowa Corn 350 goes green. That's not too much of a disadvantage, though, as Elliott was already slated to start near the back after qualifying 32nd on Saturday. Unfortunately for Chase fans, he didn't have much speed before the wreck either (30th-fastest in practice), so it may be a long race day on Sunday for the sport's most popular driver. With finishes of third and 14th here at Iowa in the two Cup Series races ran here, Chase Elliott may look like a grand Place Differential pick for DFS, but be cautious, because that No. 9 team is struggling to find speed right now.
Source: Motorsport
Source: Motorsport
Brad Keselowski Wrecks in Qualifying After Posting Fast Lap
It was a great day for Brad Keselowski on Saturday at Iowa Speedway, and then it wasn't. In practice, the No. 6 Ford showed some respectable speed (14th-fastest), but once qualifying came around, Keselowski was one of the best, and he actually ended up fourth-fastest in the session. Unfortunately, he will have to drop to the rear of the field on Sunday at the start of the Iowa Corn 350, as the No. 6 Ford got loose heading into turn one and slammed the wall. The Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing team decided to repair the race car, but because of those modifications, Brad will have to go to the rear at the start. That's not insurmountable, though--just inconvenient. Keselowski has been one of the best at Iowa Speedway in the Cup Series, with 10th- and second-place finishes to his credit. As long as he can work through the field and get track position back on Sunday, another top-10 result is possible. Keselowski ($7.9K on DraftKings) is a very risky DFS play, though, as he now has very limited dominator potential and a high chance at negative Place Differential.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Austin Cindric Needs a Mistake-Free Race at Iowa to Keep Chase Hopes Alive
Austin Cindric is currently sitting 16th in points with four races to go until the Chase cutoff. He has a comfortable 38-point cushion over 17th-place, Ryan Preece, but we all know how quickly that can evaporate. Thankfully for Cindric, though, the NASCAR Cup Series is at Iowa Speedway this week, and the Team Penske Fords have plenty of speed. The short, flat tracks are where Penske (and Cindric) show their power, and that was true last season when Cindric started fourth here at Iowa, finished top three in both Stages, and went on to finish 12th when the checkered flag flew. This weekend, Austin qualified 12th for the annual Iowa Corn 350, and the No. 2 Ford showed top-10 speed during practice on Saturday. As far as DFS goes, Cindric makes for an interesting tournament pick, but he shouldn't be anchoring the majority of your lineups. A top-10 finish is possible for this No. 2 team, but that's about the ceiling.
Source: Driver Averages
Source: Driver Averages
