NASCAR in Iowa: Weekend schedule, viewing information, favorites for Iowa Corn 350

NASCAR in Iowa: Weekend schedule, viewing information, favorites for Iowa Corn 350 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

NASCAR on NBC is back.

Starting this weekend in Newton, Iowa, the remaining 20 races of the 2024 season will air on NBC or USA Network. The coverage also begins with a complete unknown as the Cup Series visits Iowa Speedway for the first time ever.

The oval short track is just under a mile long and has hosted races for NASCAR’s lower series from 2009 to 2019. Now Iowa Speedway gets a shot at the big leagues.

Who’s racing in Iowa? What is the schedule for TV and streaming? And which drivers could fight for victory on Sunday? Here’s everything you need to know for this weekend’s Iowa Corn 350:

NASCAR on the Iowa entry list

Thirty-six drivers will race in Iowa – the 34 full-timers, plus two others.

Kaz Grala will pilot the No. 15 for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time endeavors. Then there’s AJ Allmendinger, who will make his sixth start of the season for Kaulig Racing.

Here is the full list of participants for Iowa:

When is the NASCAR race in Iowa?

The Iowa Corn 350 is scheduled for Sunday, June 16 at 7:00 PM ET.

There will be practice and qualifying sessions before the race on Sunday. All 36 drivers will receive an hour of training on Friday.

The field will then compete in a two-round qualifying round on Saturday. This is how it works:

• The 36 drivers are divided into two groups (found here).

• Each driver completes two laps on the first lap, with the five fastest cars continuing at one lap speed in each group.

• In the final round, the remaining drivers will be given two laps each to determine the starting order of the top 10, with positions 11 through 36 determined based on the times on the first lap.

What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?

Rick Allen (play-by-play), Jeff Burton (analyst), Steve Letarte (analyst) and Brad Daugherty (analyst) will be on NBC all weekend. Marty Snider, Dave Burns and Kim Coon will serve as pit reporters, while NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarrett will be a special reporter and studio analyst for pre- and post-race coverage.

Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:

Friday, June 14 (USA Network and streaming)

Saturday, June 15 (USA Network and streaming)

Sunday, June 16 (USA Network and streaming)

• Countdown to Green: 6:30 PM ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app

• Iowa Corn 350: 7pm ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app

• NASCAR Post-Race: 10:30 PM ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App

NASCAR Iowa past winners, racing history

Well, there’s no racing history here. This is the first Iowa Corn 350 and the first Cup Series event ever held at the track. However, there are plenty of past Iowa winners in the field.

Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones and William Byron have victories in both the second-tier Xfinity Series and the third-tier Truck Series. Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. lead the Xfinity Series stats, with three Iowa wins each.

Here are all the past winners in Iowa racing on Sunday:

XFINITY SERIES

• Brad Keselowski (2009, 2013, 2014)

• Kyle Busch (2010)

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2011, 2011, 2012)

• Chris Buescher (2015)

• Ryan Blaney (2015)

• Erik Jones (2016)

• William Byron (2017)

• Ryan Preece (2017)

• Christopher Bell (2018, 2019)

• Chase Briscoe (2019)

TRUCK SERIES

NASCAR in Iowa picks, favorites, drivers to watch

This is a total shot in the dark given the lack of history in Iowa.

But there are three questions you can answer to help make your choice this weekend, in this order of importance:

1. Who was fast on the short track this season?

Iowa will be the sixth race this season to be held on a track one mile or shorter. In those first five events, Hamlin has three wins (Bristol, Richmond, Dover), Bell has one win (Phoenix) and Byron has one win (Martinsville).

All of the Toyota drivers from Joe Gibbs Racing (Hamlin, Bell, Truex, Gibbs) and 23XI Racing (Reddick, Wallace) were particularly fast on this track type, but the Chevys of Hendrick Motorsports (Byron, Larson, Elliott) claimed the top three spots in Martinsville.

2. Who tested at Iowa Speedway?

NASCAR held a tire test in Iowa last month with one representative for each manufacturer: Bell for Toyota, Larson for Chevy and Keselowski for Ford.

While it may not seem like much, spending a full day doing laps on a new track can be an invaluable experience. The drivers only have an hour to practice on Friday, but these three go in with a better idea of ​​what to expect.

3. Who won at Iowa Speedway in the lower series?

Most importantly, you can look at the aforementioned past winners to determine who could perform well on Sunday. However, it does not deserve as much attention as the previous two questions. In the lower series, drivers with larger teams have a huge advantage. So don’t put too much value into this, but don’t ignore it completely.