What Happened?
A family-fueled drive provided just enough motivation in the tank for Ryan Blaney, who dominated much of the night and claimed victory in the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway.
Blaney took two tires to gain the lead on the final pit stop and matched lap times to fend off William Byron and Chase Elliott, who occupied the next two spots.
Early in the race, Blaney faced the biggest challenge from Kyle Larson, who equaled Blaney in speed earlier in the race. Larson ran into issues to start the final stage and Blaney ran off, leading the rest of the laps on the way to the win.
What Really Happened?
When photos surfaced of the new Iowa repave, I was first sad, then I was skeptical, then I was angry. We were supposed to have a great race on a wide, worn-out short track that seemed destined to put on a great Next Gen event.
Then they had to go and repave it. On top of that, they only partially repaved it. They ruined the track for this car, which struggles on short tracks and tracks with narrow grooves.
Iowa shattered these lowered expectations.
The racing all evening provided plenty of side-by-side action. The narrowed groove still allowed for three-wide racing, but drivers had to be careful not to go too high and risk losing tons of positions.
Rather than guys getting stuck in dirty air, cars showed the ability to move around, gain time and make passes for most of the race.
On top of that, the new track and tight spaces led to plenty of guys making mistakes that led to contact and incidents.
Part of this credit should go to the progressive banking. Iowa has long had progressive banking, and on the old surface we saw the groove migrate to the top on long runs. While the repave didn’t quite go to the top, the broadcast made mention of slight variation from the low lane to the higher repaved grooves.
Another point scored for the progressive banking tracks.
But the other big difference from other short tracks showed up in the lack of shifting throughout the race.
Shifting has been a point of contention with this car on short tracks. The gearing ratio allows drivers to grab a gear and keep up their momentum when they make a mistake in the corner. While super forgiving to the racer, it adds an extra layer of difficulty to passing.
The speed and driving conditions on the fresh surface at Iowa led to many mile and a half comparisons. Where does this car race well at? Mile and a half racetracks.
It certainly seems like these newer repaves with progressive banking in the Next Gen era have made a difference. After all, North Wilkesboro Speedway also had new pavement, progressive banking and no shifting during the race.
Not every track with struggles should be repaved to tailor itself to the Next Gen car, but hopefully NASCAR is taking notes.
Progressive banking should always be considered for the future, and removing extra shifts from the equation should be tested as soon as possible.
Who Stood Out?
The Stewart-Haas Racing cars showed some speed in practice and qualifying, but Josh Berry carried it over into the race. For much of the evening, he had a top-10 and even top-five car. Though he wound up in sixth, he showed legitimate speed, especially on the short run. Berry continues to impress on the short tracks.
Somehow, someway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. quietly finished in the top five. A strategy call returned the No. 47 back to the front of the field, and the second time around, Stenhouse avoided extra contact and held his position on the restart.
The good restart turned to good track position, and Stenhouse, a driver with great experience at Iowa, took advantage of it to hold his place and finish fifth.
The third nominee for standout driver goes to Christopher Bell. So what? Bell, a two-time winner this season, drove a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the top five. Well, Bell stood out because …
Who Fell Flat?
The Toyotas completely disappeared from the race in the early going. The green flag dropped and then Denny Hamlin’s green car dropped as well, and he lost a lap in the first stage.
The Toyotas, outside of Bell, lacked a surprising amount of speed. Behind Bell, the second-best Toyota finished in 15th with Martin Truex Jr. Iowa does technically fall into the short track category, but its speed and newness should not concern the Toyotas too much.
If they fall flat again at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, then alarms might start to sound.
Better Than Last Time?
I guess the answer is yes? There wasn’t a last time, at least not for the Cup Series. But given what we’ve seen on short tracks, this race has to be near or at the top of best Next Gen short track races.
If any changes had to be made, NASCAR or the network should first consider moving up the start time. The cars get harder to pass once the sun goes down. Sure, Iowa gets hot in the daytime, but those fans stay dedicated. After all, just an hour or two couldn’t hurt too much.
Second, hopefully NASCAR completes the repave. Even with half of the corners paved, the groove widened for some great racing. Imagine if guys could drive all the way out to the wall. Is six-wide racing an option?
Paint Scheme of the Race
The 23XI Racing duo donned the double McDonald’s character cars again, bringing the iconic characters of Grimace and the Hamburglar back. Not only did they have great schemes, Tyler Reddick also had the firesuit and the costume of the race.
However, this section is titled paint scheme of the race. The sole honors for top livery has to go to Ross Chastain’s corn-covered Busch Light car. We’ve seen corn on cars at Kansas Speedway before, but it matches up even more perfectly in Iowa.
What’s Next?
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Northeast to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The USA TODAY 301 starts at 2:30 p.m. on the USA Network on Sunday, June 23.
About the author
Caleb began sports writing in 2023 with The Liberty Champion, where he officially covered his first NASCAR race at Richmond in the spring. While there, Caleb met some of the guys from Frontstretch, and he joined the video editing team after graduating from Liberty University with degrees in Strategic Communications and Sports Journalism. Caleb currently work full-time as a Multi-Media Journalist with LEX 18 News in Lexington, Kentucky and contributes to Frontstretch with writing and video editing. He's also behind-the-scenes or on camera for the Happy Hour Podcast, live every Tuesday night at 7:30!
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Can’t remember the last time I saw a regularly scheduled race that late on a Sunday night, but I really enjoyed the new time and new track. (Yes I remember Monday races from World 600).
I wonder if Father’s Day had anything to do with it, as they had late starts on Mother’s Day in previous years.
Of course, it’s all about the TV slot they get.
usa had a bunch of other shows prior to race. olympic trials for one and since nbc is the home of the olympics and i’m sure nbc must of had golf, that was why i started when it did.
The race was a lot better than I thought it would be. Likewise the tires held up a lot better than I thought they would based on practice. While there were issues, you’d have to conclude it was the result of specific teams pushing the limit too far.
Very true, I was expecting bad things based on how many tire issues the XFINITY race had.
“Sure, Iowa gets hot in the daytime, but those fans stay dedicated. After all, just an hour or two couldn’t hurt too much.“
The Southern 500 is run on Labor Day weekend. You can get cremated by the Sun just watching the race. Buck up, Iowans.
Ha yes we were at Darlington on a Labor Day for a daytime race. It was hot indeed.
While progressive banking has improved the racing at Homestead and Kansas, I think it’s hurt Bristol, and it didn’t do anything to help New Hampshire (though the only thing that might help New Hampshire would be to tear it down). And didn’t Texas previously have progressive banking they removed? After only one race on a partially repaved track, it might be just a little early to declare Iowa’s progressive banking a success?
There’s a fine line in progressive banking in making the lanes are equal. Too much and you make the higher groove the better one. I think that’s what Bristol did.
I enjoyed the race. Glad Blaney won. It was a late start and I was surprised I was still awake for the end. They could race side by side and pass. I was amazed!
I agree with you. I enjoyed the race and the network showed 3 wide racing all over the track. Not just the leaders.
Echo yes that was another nice change. No just showing the leaders or only the popular drivers