Ryan Blaney entered Sunday night’s (June 16) race at Iowa Speedway as one of a handful of drivers with wins in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Xfinity series there.
He didn’t waste any time capping off the trifecta.
Blaney returned to victory lane for the first time in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, cashing in with a dominant performance in the Iowa Corn 350. The Team Penske No. 12 driver led a career-high 201 laps, holding off a hard-charging William Byron down the stretch to win by a little less than a second.
Blaney had a strong car from the drop of the green flag to the checkered. For most of the race’s first half, his main rival was Kyle Larson, but a wreck during the final stage involving Larson, Daniel Suarez and Denny Hamlin took the No. 5 car right out of contention. From there, it was Blaney utilizing a late two-tire stop to jump to the front of the field, leading the final 88 laps of the race.
Byron, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completed the top-five finishers. Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Suárez, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ debut race at Iowa Speedway was physical from the drop of the green flag. The first caution would fly on lap three following a stack-up consisting of all three Spire Motorsports cars. In the middle of turns 1 and 2, Zane Smith got into Carson Hocevar, who then turned Corey LaJoie.
The second caution flew on lap 51 after AJ Allmendinger blew a right front tire, hitting the wall and ending his day.
Although Larson had dominated stage one, building a three-second lead at one point, following the caution for Allmendinger, Blaney used the momentum of the outside line to chase Larson down and claim an unexpected stage one win.
Suárez, Byron, and Berry completed the top five, while Logano, LaJoie, Keselowski, Elliott, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10.
In stage two, it didn’t take long for the caution to return, coming back out on lap 80 after John Hunter Nemechek drove deep into turn 4, turning Noah Gragson in front of Martin Truex Jr.
Blaney dominated stage two following an unexpected pit stop by the No. 5 of Larson, who was concerned about potential tire issues. Larson restarted from the rear of the field but drove all the way back to the lead, taking the stage two win from Blaney, who faded after Larson passed him late.
Berry, Elliott, Blaney, and Bubba Wallace finished in the top five, with Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Todd Gilliland, Keselowski, and Justin Haley completing the top 10.
The final leg of NASCAR’s return to Iowa continued to entertain with hard racing. Only one lap after the restart, Suárez lost grip out of turn 4, hooking the left-rear quarter panel of the No. 5. Larson turned into Hamlin before making contact with the outside wall.
From there, there was just one caution the rest of the way as concerns about tire wear faded throughout the night. Although Friday’s practice session created some concerns around long runs on this short track Goodyear tire, tire issues played only a small role in the outcome of this race, impacting cars in the middle and back of the field.
Iowa Speedway Cup Series Results
Next Sunday (June 23), the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Loudon for the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Coverage will be provided by USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM, and NBC Sports beginning at 2:30 p.m. E.T.
About the author
Ty joined the Frontstretch team in February of 2024 as a Contributor covering Sunday news. He has two books available on Amazon: A Perfect Sundae and Chartreuse: Crime & Horror Short Stories.
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