Last time out, Bubba Wallace punched his playoff ticket courtesy of a Crown Jewel win in the Brickyard 400. Now, NASCAR heads from Indiana to Iowa for the 2025 Iowa Corn 350. With just four races remaining in the NASCAR regular season, can another driver punch their playoff ticket, or will we see a repeat winner?
Let’s dive into the field for this week.
2025 Iowa Corn 350 Entry List
Joey Gase makes a start in the Garage 66 entry this weekend as the lone open entry outside of 23XI and Front Row Motorsports. 23XI and FRM continue to battle in the courts with NASCAR over the charter system.
Of note for this week, NASCAR and Goodyear bring a new tire compound to Iowa Speedway. This tire aims for more durability. Unfortunately, that may end up hurting the racing more than helping it. NASCAR’s NextGen car still struggles with passing on short tracks. A more durable tire likely means the strategy also suffers as a race factor.
Wake up, it’s the weekend!#HyVeePerks250 pic.twitter.com/aheRJ1c4qI
— Iowa Speedway (@iowaspeedway) August 2, 2025
My expectations for this race suffer as a result as well. I expect those passing issues to continue at Iowa, but we’ll see.
Playoff Picture Heading into Iowa
13 drivers locked themselves into the NASCAR postseason courtesy of wins this season. With four races remaining on the schedule, the possibility of another surprise winner punching a playoff ticket looms large. The points battle will definitely make for a big talking point through the next four weeks.
Winning the first Cup Series race at @iowaspeedway?
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 1, 2025
That's definitely worth a burnout. 😏 pic.twitter.com/nzPWhLySZ6
Check out the playoff picture below:
- Denny Hamlin – Four Wins
- Kyle Larson – Three Wins
- Christopher Bell – Three Wins
- Shane Van Gisbergen – Three Wins
- Chase Elliott – One Win
- William Byron – One Win
- Ryan Blaney – One Win
- Chase Briscoe – One Win
- Bubba Wallace – One Win
- Joey Logano – One Win
- Ross Chastain – One Win
- Austin Cindric – One Win
- Josh Berry – One Win
- Tyler Reddick +138
- Alex Bowman +63
- Chris Buescher +42
- Ryan Preece -42
- Kyle Busch -81
- Ty Gibbs -95
- AJ Allmendinger -124
Of the drivers currently below the cutline, Ryan Preece sits closest to the postseason on points. 42 points separate Preece from his RFK teammate, Chris Buescher, and if one driver below the cut line might make a run, I expect it to be Preece.
However, several other drivers might win their way in. Carson Hocevar makes mistakes, but the #77 has shown speed at times. Hocevar’s teammate at Spire, Michael McDowell, has won on both road courses and superspeedways. Watkins Glen and Daytona both might see McDowell in Victory Lane.
In short, no one without a win is truly safe – this battle will come right down to the end.
2025 Iowa Corn 350 Race Predictions
Ryan Blaney claimed victory last year in the first-ever Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway. Spoiler alert: I think Blaney likely wins a second straight Iowa race. Penske’s speed at the short tracks is still there, and I think the #12 sees the checkered flag first once more.
Elsewhere in the field, the four previous short track races (including non-point races) in 2025 were won by four different drivers. Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell all hope to unseat Blaney at Iowa. However, none of the short tracks NASCAR has run are super comparable to Iowa. Bristol is a high-banked half-mile, while Martinsville is a super flat paper clip. Bowman Gray at a quarter-mile is a completely different animal.
Heading to a short track?
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 31, 2025
These are the three drivers to keep your eyes on. 👀 pic.twitter.com/SU9jHv9sMA
North Wilkesboro may be our best indicator here, as the 0.625 oval is closest in length to Iowa. NWB also has similar banking in the corners at 14 degrees. Christopher Bell won the All-Star Race there, and so I lean toward Bell if anyone were to unseat Blaney.
Check out the schedule below so you don’t miss any on-track action.
Saturday 08/02
NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying – 11:05 a.m. CT on the CW App
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 1:40 p.m. CT on TruTV
HyVee Perks 250 (NASCAR Xfinity Series) – 3:30 p.m. CT on the CW
Sunday 08/03
Iowa Corn 350 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 2:30 p.m. CT on USA and HBO Max
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