2026 Iowa Corn 350
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | August 9, 2026 | ||
| Location | Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.875 miles (1.408 km) | ||
| Distance | 350 laps, 306.25 mi (492.862 km) | ||
| Average speed | 103.337 miles per hour (166.305 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 23.474 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 129 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Time | 24.158 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 1.929 million | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Iowa Corn 350 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 9, 2026, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. Contested over 350 laps on the 0.875-mile (1.408 km) oval, it was the 23rd race for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Ty Gibbs won the race. Christopher Bell finished 2nd, and Ryan Blaney finished 3rd. Josh Berry and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five, and Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, A. J. Allmendinger, William Byron, and Austin Dillon rounded out the top ten.
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of Des Moines. The track was designed with influence from Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond Raceway, a short track where Wallace was very successful. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered Recreational Vehicle viewing area along the backstretch. The track hosts the NTT IndyCar Series and NASCAR events.
After the 2020 race was canceled due to the pandemic, the race was removed from the 2021 schedule.[7][8][9] In 2024, it was announced that the Xfinity Series would return to Iowa with a Cup Series race.[10][11]
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
[edit]Erik Jones was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 23.710 seconds and a speed of 132.855 mph (213.809 km/h).
Practice results
[edit]| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 23.710 | 132.855 |
| 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 23.766 | 132.542 |
| 3 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 23.778 | 132.475 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
[edit]Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 23.474 and a speed of 134.191 mph (215.959 km/h).[12]
Qualifying results
[edit]Race
[edit]Race results
[edit]Stage Results
[edit]Stage One Laps: 70
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 140
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Final Stage Results
[edit]Stage Three Laps: 140
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 350 | 69 |
| 2 | 22 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 350 | 50 |
| 3 | 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 350 | 47 |
| 4 | 13 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 350 | 33 |
| 5 | 29 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 350 | 37 |
| 6 | 20 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 350 | 40 |
| 7 | 9 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 350 | 43 |
| 8 | 25 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 350 | 29 |
| 9 | 19 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 350 | 32 |
| 10 | 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 350 | 33 |
| 11 | 8 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 349 | 29 |
| 12 | 26 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 349 | 25 |
| 13 | 27 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 349 | 24 |
| 14 | 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 349 | 41 |
| 15 | 32 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 349 | 22 |
| 16 | 14 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 349 | 24 |
| 17 | 15 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 349 | 20 |
| 18 | 16 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 349 | 19 |
| 19 | 21 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 349 | 18 |
| 20 | 35 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford | 349 | 17 |
| 21 | 28 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 349 | 16 |
| 22 | 17 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 349 | 15 |
| 23 | 33 | 7 | Daniel Suárez | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 349 | 14 |
| 24 | 31 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 349 | 13 |
| 25 | 11 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 349 | 12 |
| 26 | 24 | 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 349 | 0 |
| 27 | 4 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 348 | 10 |
| 28 | 36 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Racing Team | Chevrolet | 348 | 9 |
| 29 | 12 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 348 | 8 |
| 30 | 23 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 347 | 7 |
| 31 | 18 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 347 | 6 |
| 32 | 34 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 347 | 5 |
| 33 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 332 | 12 |
| 34 | 30 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 194 | 3 |
| 35 | 10 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 3 | 2 |
| 36 | 5 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 3 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
[edit]- Lead changes: 9 among 6 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 7 for 45
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 57 minutes and 49 seconds
- Average speed: 103.337 miles per hour (166.305 km/h)
Media
[edit]Television
[edit]USA covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon and Marty Snider handled pit road, while Trevor Bayne provided analysis from the pace car for the television side.
| USA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | Pace car |
| Lap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Dave Burns Kim Coon Marty Snider | Trevor Bayne |
Radio
[edit]Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Mike Bagley Announcer: Todd Gordon | Turns 1–2: Dave Moody Turns 3–4: Kurt Becker | Steve Post Jacklyn Drake Jason Toy |
Standings after the race
[edit]
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References
[edit]- ↑ "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ↑ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 3, 2026. Retrieved August 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Iowa Corn 350 Results". Racing-Reference. August 9, 2026. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 9, 2026. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
- ↑ Page, Scott (August 13, 2026). "Iowa TV ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
- ↑ Weaver, Matt (June 13, 2018). "Minimal Change For 2019 NASCAR Trucks And Xfinity Series Schedules". Autoweek. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ↑ Leistikow, Chad (May 14, 2020). "In realigned schedule, NASCAR cancels its Iowa Speedway events for 2020 season". Des Moines Register. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ↑ Crandall, Kelly (October 30, 2020). "33 races on tap for 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series". Racer. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ↑ Sturniolo, Zach (October 4, 2023). "NASCAR reveals 2024 Cup schedule as Atlanta, Watkins Glen move to playoffs". NASCAR. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ↑ Glover, Luken (October 4, 2023). "2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Schedule Revealed". Frontstretch. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ↑ DeGroot, Nick (August 8, 2026). "NASCAR Cup Iowa starting lineup: Ryan Blaney earns pole over Kyle Larson". Motorsport.com. Hampton, Iowa: Motorsport Network. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
