The Cup Series returns after a week off to race at Iowa Speedway. This is a .875-mile flat track, designed by Rusty Wallace to be to replica of Richmond Speedway. The next race on the schedule is Richmond, so it will be important for the teams to dial in their setups for the Iowa Corn 350, because the driver’s who run well this week, should dominate at Richmond too. The same can be said for our Fantasy Live lineups. We need to hit on the right drivers in Iowa, because the secret will be out after Sunday’s race. Everyone will know who the best drivers will be next week based on Sunday’s race in Iowa. I am confident in our picks this week. We just need some better luck. The Iowa Corn 350 can be seen Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network (The Cup Series moves from TNT to USA Network for the rest of the season).
STRATEGY FOR IOWA
FANTASY LIVE: There are only four races left in the regular season in the Fantasy Live game. One of the races is at Daytona. We really do not need to worry about Daytona, because we can find some drivers who we have plenty of allocations left for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. These next three races are going to be tough because they are all short, flat tracks and the same drivers run well in each of these tracks. I will use my best short, flat track drivers this week in Iowa and then make adjustments for Richmond and New Hampshire based on what we see this weekend. Ideally, you want three allocations left with Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, William Byron, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski.
Here are the picks for the race at Iowa Speedway…
RYAN BLANEY (3): I have three allocations left with Blaney and there is a good chance he will be in my lineup in the next three races. Blaney led 201 laps and won the race at Iowa in 2024. He led 29 laps and finished 4th last year. That is an average finishing position of 2.5 at Iowa Speedway. Blaney posted the fastest long-run speed in practice and the No. 12 car won the pole for the Iowa Corn 350. Blaney has a good chance to win Sunday.
KYLE LARSON (2): I wasn’t planning on having 2 allocations left with Larson at this point of the season. He ended up in the Garage at Indy, so now I have an extra allocation with the No. 5 car. Larson was fast early in practice and then he fell down the speed chart when the other teams used their second set of tires. The No. 5 car qualified 2nd for the race. Larson is just too good to fade when he has that kind of speed and that kind of track position.
JOEY LOGANO (4): Logano is starting to heat up as the Cup Series enters the final races of the regular season. He finished 9th in Atlanta, 3rd at Indianapolis and Logano destroyed the field at North Wilksboro. Logano led 323 laps on his way to Victory Lane in the last short, flat track race in North Wilksboro. Logano also finished both of his races at Iowa Speedway in the top-10. The No. 22 car has the speed and the track position to finish up front in the Iowa Corn 350.
TYLER REDDICK (3): Reddick is not known as a short track specialist, but Iowa almost drivers like an intermediate track. Reddick posted 11th fastest long-run speed in practice and the No. 45 car qualified 5th for the race. Track position is huge at Iowa and Reddick has it. I have plenty of allocations left with Reddick, so I will use him Sunday.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (3): Can this be the week when Bell finds Victory Lane, instead of finishing 2nd? Bell has finished 2nd in the Cup Series 6 times this year. He would be the best driver in the Cup Series if he simply improved by one spot in each of those races. One of his 2nd-place finishes came on the short, flat track in Phoenix. Bell posted the 2nd-fastest long-run speed in practice and the No. 20 car qualified 22nd for the race, so he may not score well in Stage 1, but I rather go down swinging with Bell than take a chance with Austin Dillon or Ross Chastain starting up front.
(GARAGE PICK) AUSTIN CINDRIC (9): Cindric was really good in this race last year. Cindric had a 6.8 average running position, ran 92% of the laps in the top-15, led 20 laps and had a 102.6 Driver Rating. Cindric also ranks 8th on the short, flat tracks over the last year. The No. 2 car posted the fourth-fastest speed in practice and Cindric qualified 12th for the race. I will take a chance with Cindric at one of the best tracks for Team Penske.
* I would use TY GIBBS over Austin Cindric if I could, but I am out of allocations with Gibbs.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.