For the first time ever, the NASCAR Cup Series will be heading to Iowa to tame the short track in the mid-west. Previously a Xfinity and Truck Series exclusive, NASCAR brought Iowa Speedway to the Cup Series schedule. Along with the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series will return to the track for the first time since 2019. With the return to Iowa Speedway, NASCAR decided to repave the lower two lanes of the track in the turns. While it might have been a necessity, will the hodgepodge repave job help produce compelling racing? With the NextGen on a short track, the likelihood does not seem good. On a new track for the Cup Series, who will be the Critical Path Security 5 Drivers to Watch in the Iowa Corn 350?
A night race on Father’s Day, the Iowa Corn 350 is difficult to pinpoint who to expect greatness from. The usual suspects should be upfront, but you cannot make a firm bet. Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing would be the usual contenders, but Hendrick has struggled at the short tracks at times. Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing is coming off a disastrous race at Sonoma. Team Penske has come to life recently, with Austin Cindric as the last oval winner. RFK Racing normally runs well on short tracks, plus both drivers have won in the Xfinity Series at Iowa. Trackhouse Racing has been returning to form. Who knows, maybe a surprise will shock the playoffs again by taking the Iowa Corn 350 trophy.
If you want a statistical analysis for the week, check out Daniel Smith’s excellent breakdowns in his Outlook, Notable Starts, and (new for this year) historical and current Track Stats articles.
Joey Logano
Is the Cup Series heading to a new track, repave, or inaugural event of some sort? Well, the smart money should be on Joey Logano to win. Since 2021, Logano has been the driver to welcome the new tracks or repaves with a win. Throw dirt on Bristol? Logano, not a dirt racing expert, picks up the win. Make a track inside the LA Coliseum? Logano wins that as well. Reconfigure Atlanta Motor Speedway to be a superspeedway? Guess who wins? Logano. WWT Raceway is introduced to the Cup Series? Logano. Repave North Wilkesboro? That 22 finds victory lane.
As long as it is not a road course, Joey Logano has made it a habit to win inaugural events on the NASCAR calendar. Why not Iowa? While Logano has never made a start at Iowa Speedway, that has not stopped him from winning before. Plus, the semi-repave of the track along with the differences from the 2010s Xfinity cars to the NextGen might mean previous experience does not matter. Joey Logano and the 22 team have been showing steady improvement in recent weeks. Winning the All-Star Race, running competitively at Gateway, and qualifying on pole at Sonoma is demonstrating a revitalized team. Recent history has told fans to expect Joey Logano to be competitive to win the Iowa Corn 350.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
If previous Iowa Speedway experiences matters, then Ricky Stenhouse Jr should be in for a great weekend. During the early-2010s, no one dominated Iowa Speedway as well as Stenhouse did. In 6 starts, Stenhouse racked up 3 wins and a 7.3 average finish. Stenhouse took well to the mid-west short track. While things are different from the last time Stenhouse raced at Iowa (2012), his success should be a boost in moral at the very least. At this point in the season, Stenhouse and the 47 team could use it.
After a career season in 2023 post-Daytona 500 win, Ricky Stenhouse Jr has followed it up with a sluggish year. Only 2 Top-10s thus far in the season, with both coming at superspeedways. Away from the superspeedways, Stenhouse’s best finish is 16th at Kansas. His average finish sits at a measly 21.4 as he sits 27th in points. A quality run at Iowa could help kick Stenhouse into a rebound for the remainder of the season. Where Stenhouse has usually shined during his time with JTG-Daugherty (outside of superspeedways) have been short tracks. With that success and previous wins at Iowa, this weekend could be a great chance for Stenhouse to be a dark horse contender.
Tyler Reddick
After last season, the big area of improvement needed from Tyler Reddick and the 45 team was consistency. There was no question that Reddick was fast last year, evident by his 2 wins and Round of 8 appearance. However, wins were left on the table due to mistakes on pit road or by the driver. If Reddick was going to be a Championship Four contender, those mistakes would have to be limited. So far, the 45 team has been successful in limiting the mistakes. 2024 has been a career year for Reddick. Despite his lone win being a bit of Talladega fluke, the consistency from the team appears when looking at his statistics.
Through 16 races, Reddick has already collected 6 Top-5s and 10 Top-10s. He currently sits fourth in points, the highest he has been in any season thus far in his career. Most notably, his current average finish is 12.9. That is 2.1 positions better than his career best from 2021. The consistency is paying dividends to Reddick. Will that continue through the summer months?
Unlike Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Iowa Speedway was not the home of a plethora of success for Reddick. In his 6 starts at the short track, Reddick’s best finish was 3rd in 2017. Although Reddick did not run poorly at Iowa, it is one of few that Reddick never led a single lap. Plus, he only improved upon his starting spot twice. Once again, different car and track now compared to the late 2010s. Will Reddick’s career season continue with a winning run at a track that he has never led a lap at before?
Corey LaJoie
At this point last year, people were impressed with how well Corey LaJoie was running. Even outside of the superspeedways, it was common to see LaJoie competing in the Top-20. Through 16 races in 2023, LaJoie was averaging a 19.3 finish with 9 Top-20s. While that performance fell off as the season wore on, it was certainly impressive to see a Spire Motorsports entry looking competitive. It gave way to some expectations for the 7 team heading into this season. However, that second half falloff seems to have bled over into 2024.
Through 16 races this year, LaJoie’s average finish has increased to 23.5 with only 5 Top-20s. If you take away the superspeedways, that average balloons to 26.2 and LaJoie loses 3 of his 5 Top-20s. Doing the same to his 2023 numbers only inflates his average finish by .2 spots. While one could argue it is Spire Motorsports returning to the norm, Carson Hocevar has been impressive in the same way LaJoie was last year. So why is LaJoie struggling so much?
Maybe Iowa can offer a much needed competitive run for LaJoie. LaJoie runs well on short tracks, evident by his performances at Bristol in recent history. Likely, LaJoie will not be a factor for the win. But he will be someone to keep an eye on in the mid-pack.
Josh Berry
Amidst the silly season chaos with Stewart-Haas Racing, Josh Berry has put together a decent rookie season thus far. Obviously, there was going to be a step down in performance after the retirement of Kevin Harvick for the 4 team. However, Berry has run better than his stat line currently shows. Prior to Gateway, Berry had a nice stretch of 5 races with a 16th or better finish. Now, Berry is coming off back-to-back DNFs. No better time for a short track to hit the schedule.
When a short track is on the docket for the weekend, many will have belief that Josh Berry will put together a solid run. With his incredible success in the CARS Tour, it makes sense that there are expectations for Berry. The short track veteran has proven to do well in the NextGen car at these types of tracks as well. Plus, Berry has made 2 Xfinity Series starts at Iowa Speedway in the mid-2010s. While it is limited experience, it might give him an edge over others who have no experience on the track. Berry could be a “surprise” contender for the win. It will likely come down to how well the 4 car qualifies on Saturday.
Critical Path Security is a cyber security firm protecting clients in the United States and the world beyond. Founded in 2017, they are as dedicated as ever to providing coverage for their clients in numerous industries. Please give them a follow (X, Facebook, LinkedIn) and thank them for their weekly sponsorship of the Critical Path Security 5 Drivers to Watch.
