By Reggie Gatlin-Holt

NASCAR National Series News & Notes – Iowa Speedway

ASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol

The Place: Iowa Speedway

Track Length: .875 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Sunday, June 16

The Time: 7 p.m. ET

The Purse: $8,881,630

TV: USA, 6 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 306.25 miles (350 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 70),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 210), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 350)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: Hy-Vee PERKS 250

The Place: Iowa Speedway

Track Length: .875 Mile Asphalt Oval

The Date: Saturday, June 15

The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

The Purse: $1,408,568

TV: USA, 3 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 218.75 miles (250 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 75),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 150), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 250)

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Next Race: Rackley Roofing 200

The Place: Nashville Superspeedway

Track Length: 1.33 Mile Concrete Oval

The Date: Friday, June 28

The Time: 8 p.m. ET

The Purse: $897,631

TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 199.50 miles (150 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 95), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 150)

NASCAR Cup Series

Iowa Speedway sets the stage for NASCAR Cup Series debut

Located in Newton, Iowa just outside Des Moines, sits the .875-mile short track known as Iowa Speedway. The track will play host to the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time in its existence with this weekend’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol on Sunday, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Iowa Speedway will become the 176th different track to host a NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race since the inception of the series in 1949.

Iowa Speedway was built between 2005-2006, by then owner Paul Schlaak of the U.S. Motorsports Entertainment Corporation. International Speedway Corporation purchased the property in 2013, and it is now owned by NASCAR.

The first race held at Iowa Speedway was an ARCA Menards Series event on October 15, 2006, and the race was won by Steven Wallace driving a Dodge for Rusty Wallace Inc., a team owned by his father NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace.

The speedway is measured at 0.875 mile (1.4 km), with 10 degrees of banking in the frontstretch, four degrees in the backstretch, and a progressive banking system utilized from 12 to 14 degrees in the turns.

All the on-track NASCAR Cup Series action at Iowa Speedway will begin with a 50-minute practice at 5:35 p.m. ET on Friday June 14, and followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 15. Both events will be broadcast on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Iowa Speedway winners

Although this weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway will be a first for the NASCAR Cup Series, there are some drivers entered in the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol who have conquered the .875-mile track in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Race to the Playoffs: Four of last season’s Playoff drivers are outside the points cutoff

Through the first 16 races of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, nine different winners have secured their spot in the Playoffs by virtue of their victory. At the other end of postseason outlook, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace holds the 16th and final transfer spot into the Playoffs by a slim eight-point lead over Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch as the series heads to Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol this Sunday, June 16 (7:00 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The nine drivers that have earned a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by virtue of wins this season are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suárez, and Austin Cindric. Seven spots are still up for grabs in the hunt for the championship.

The seven drivers currently occupying the remaining postseason spots on points are Martin Truex Jr. (+128 points ahead of the Playoff cutoff), Ty Gibbs (+86 points ahead of the cutoff), Ross Chastain (+73),  Alex Bowman (+65), Ryan Blaney (+64), Chris Buescher (+32) and Bubba Wallace (+8).

2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Outlook – Drivers Without Wins This Season

Currently four drivers that made the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs last season are below the cutline this year – Kyle Busch (17th, -8 points), Joey Logano (18th, -16 points), Michael McDowell (20th, -93 points), and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (27th, -152 points).

NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.

Hamlin looking for third short-track win this season – Since 1997, the NASCAR Cup Series has run six races each season on tracks that measure less than a mile in length (two races at each short track) – Richmond (0.75-mile), Bristol (0.533-mile), and Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile). The only season since 1997 to not have six total races on tracks less than a mile was the 2020 season. Due to Covid restrictions, the series only ran five races that season. Iowa Speedway, this weekend’s facility, measures 0.875 miles.

This year, Hamlin has won two races on short tracks and will be looking for his third this weekend.

Since 1997, the most wins by a driver on tracks measuring less than a mile in a single season is four by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson in 2007.

Three other drivers have been able to win three races in a single season since 1997 – Denny Hamlin (2010), Kyle Busch (2009, 2018) and Martin Truex Jr. (2019).

Crew Member Spotlight: Iowa Speedway Weekend – A handful of teams boast crew members who are from the surrounding areas of the Iowa track.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Heading back to Iowa Speedway

After a five-year hiatus, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading back to Iowa Speedway for the Hy-Vee PERKS 250 on Saturday, June 15 at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, the NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio.

The Newton, Iowa track has hosted 21 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, producing 14 different race winners and 12 different pole winners. The inaugural race was won by Brad Keselowski in 2009 driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

Only two races have been won from the pole or first starting position – Elliott Sadler (2012) and Ryan Preece (2017).

Sadler also holds quite a few records at the track – most poles (four), top fives (seven), top 10s (14) and lead lap finishes (15), while Keselowski is tied with Ricky Stenhouse Jr for most wins (three).

Xfinity Series drivers will kick off the weekend with practice at 4:35 p.m. ET on Friday, June 14 followed by qualifying on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. ET on the USA Network and streamed on the NBC Sports App.

The return of Iowa Speedway (for some)

Given that the NASCAR Xfinity Series hasn’t raced at Iowa Speedway since 2019, only some drivers entered in this weekend’s Hy-Vee PERKS 250 have given the track a go:

Justin Allgaier: 16 starts – One win (2018), four top fives, 12 top 10s, 449 laps led

Brandon Jones: 10 starts – one top five, three top 10s

Cole Custer: Six starts – three top fives, four top 10s, 169 laps led

Riley Herbst: Two starts – one top 10

Ryan Sieg: 12 starts – one top five (runner up finish in 2017)

Jeremy Clements: 19 starts – one top 10

Garrett Smithley: Eight starts – one top 10 finish

Josh Williams: Four starts – best finish of 15^th (2019)

Joey Gase: 17 starts – best finish of 17^th (2018)

Ross Chastain: Eight starts – two top fives, three top 10s

David Starr: Nine starts – best finish of 14^th (2017)

The Kiwi goes back-to-back

Shane van Gisbergen got his first taste of victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Portland International Raceway and was hungry for more. He went on to Sonoma Raceway to show off his road course expertise, earning his first career pole and leading a race high 32 laps on route to his second consecutive win of the season.

Van Gisbergen joins Austin Hill as one of only two drivers this season to win back-to-back races. He will look to become the first driver in the Xfinity Series since Noah Gragson in 2022 to win three or more consecutive races (Darlington, Kansas, Bristol, Texas).

Playoff picture following Sonoma

With another win by Shane van Gisbergen last weekend at Sonoma Raceway, six spots have been filled for the Playoffs. Van Gisbergen joins Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love and Sam Mayer on the list of drivers who have clinched their spot by virtue of win, leaving six spots up for grabs.

Let’s take a look at how the field is shaping up as the series heads into week 15 of the season:

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