Ryan Blaney becomes first NASCAR Cup Series winner at Iowa Speedway
NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Blaney led 201 of 350 laps Sunday in the Iowa Corn 350 and became the first NASCAR Cup Series winner at Iowa Speedway.
Crew chief Jonathan Hassler put two fresh tires on Blaney’s car and vaulted him to the lead with 88 laps to go. He never let go, even with William Byron charging to within seven-tenths of a second of him at the checkered flag.
Blaney, Byron, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Logano, Josh Berry, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski comprised the top-10 finishers.
Blaney has now won at Iowa Speedway in each of the top three NASCAR national series.
STAGE ONE
Polesitter Kyle Larson was the defending champion’s closest competitor. Although Blaney took the lead from him on lap two and led eight laps, Larson took it back and was out in front for 47 of the next 51 laps.
On lap 61, Blaney’s car came to life. He passed Larson and went on to claim stage one on lap 70.
STAGE ONE TOP-10: Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Josh Berry, Joey Logano, Corey LaJoie, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch
STAGE TWO
When the race went green again on lap 77, Larson took the lead back from Blaney but only for six laps. On lap 84, under caution for Noah Gragson and John Hunter Nemechek wrecking in turn three, Larson pitted as he felt a vibration. He believed it was a tire issue from contact with Blaney on the previous restart.
As Larson fell back to 32nd, Blaney took control again but handling became an issue. Chase Elliott even passed Blaney on track as he came to pit road on lap 171.
When pit stops cycled around, William Byron with a strategy play and Elliott was ahead of Blaney. Larson was behind Blaney after making a remarkable run through the field.
After a caution fell on lap 183 for Daniel Hemric hitting the wall in turn two, Larson took the lead and claimed stage two on lap 210.
STAGE TWO TOP-10: Larson, Berry, Elliott, Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Todd Gilliland, Keselowski, Justin Haley
STAGE THREE
Chris Buescher and Todd Gilliland stayed out and led the field to start stage three. In third was Brad Keselowski who took two fresh tires while Larson was in fourth with four.
Mired in traffic, Daniel Suarez bumped into Kyle Larson exiting turn four on lap 221. Larson spun and slammed into Denny Hamlin and the wall. Larson broke a toe link and then had the brakes go out. After clearing the DVP clock, he went to the garage and lost 31 laps, ending his chances at a win.
Up front, Josh Berry passed Buescher after a fierce battle. Then, a caution for Buescher popping a tire reset everything on lap 261.
Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took two tires and ran 1-2-3 on the restart. Behind them was Josh Berry, Chase Elliott and William Byron on four tires in fourth through sixth.
Blaney set sail on the final restart while Logano and Stenhouse slowly faded back. Byron got through traffic with Elliott in tow. They set their sights on Blaney who hoped everyone’s tires would last – and his fuel would last – to keep the race green.
As drivers like Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Michael McDowell all pitted with tire issues, and Blaney faced lap traffic, Byron and Elliott started to close in. To add to the suspense, Christopher Bell also charged from 10th to fourth.
But, in the final 88 laps, no one had anything for Blaney. He led that whole way, racking up a career-high 201 laps led Sunday and his 11th NASCAR Cup Series win. The win puts him in sole possession of 62nd on the all-time wins list.
Berry finished seventh after also racking up a career-high laps led total (32). His previous career-high was 25 laps led at Bristol in March.
POINTS AND RESULTS
Five drivers are within a race worth of points of the playoff cutline: Chris Buescher (+27 points), Bubba Wallace (+6), Joey Logano (-6), Kyle Busch (-31) and Chase Briscoe (-44).
Logano had the biggest gain, making up 10 points on Wallace. Buescher lost five points while Briscoe lost 17 and Busch lost 23.
Logano finished sixth after getting five stage points. Wallace finished 17th after earning six stage points. Buescher finished right behind Wallace with four stage points earned. Briscoe ran up front early but struggled as the night went on, finishing 28th, two laps down, with no stage points earned.
Kyle Busch finished 35th after earning one stage point.
MORE: Mechanical issues take Kyle Busch out at Iowa
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com