NASCAR is back this weekend with the Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returning to Iowa Speedway. You can sense the added intensity among drivers and teams as The Chase is just a few weeks away. Ahead of Sunday’s Cup Series race in Iowa, we’re making our NASCAR predictions this weekend for the pole winner, stage winners, one surprise results and who makes it to victory lane.
Let’s dive into our NASCAR predictions for the Iowa Corn 350.
Chase Briscoe Wins the Pole a Iowa Speedway
We’re predicting back-to-back pole wins in the Iowa Corn 350 for Chase Briscoe and the No. 19 team. A year ago, they just narrowly put down the fastest lap time (23.00 seconds) ahead of William Byron (23.09) and Kyle Larson (23.09). The gap is going to be just as close this year. However, with the cars Toyota has been bringing to the track this year and Briscoe getting to be one of the last drivers out, we think he finally earns his first pole position of the 2026 season.
Related: NASCAR Qualifying Order This Weekend for Iowa Speedway
William Byron Wins Stage 1 Under New Rule
Is William Byron and the No. 24 team in danger of missing The Chase? No. However, they arrive at Iowa Speedway in 12th place and 41 points behind 10th place. Considering the point structure for The Chase format, Hendrick Motorsports and Byron’s crew chief Rudy Fugle have to be feeling a little added pressure to start making up that distance. We already think Byron will have a top-five points day on Sunday, largely with the help of stage points. We’ll also see the new NASCAR rule regarding stages immediately come into play, with a rare caution with 9 laps to go ending Stage 1 and giving Byron the stage win.
Related: NASCAR Weekend Schedule for Iowa, Practice and Qualifying Info
Ryan Blaney Wins Stage 2
It’s going to be a great day in Iowa for Team Penske. A year ago in the Iowa Corn 350, Ryan Blaney snagged a fourth-place finish with the fourth-most laps led (29) and the most points (49) on the day. Team Penske’s cars are always built for success on short tracks and Blaney is arguably one of the best drivers in NASCAR on these tracks. The driver of the No. 12 car will win Stage 2 and pick up 40-plus points for the third consecutive race at Iowa, where he’s also finished second or better on at least one stage.
Related: Predicting Which NASCAR Drivers Make The Chase
Shane van Gisbergen Gets a Top-10 Finish
Last year at Iowa Speedway, Shane van Gisbergen qualified 21st only to finish 31st. He’s since gained a lot more experience on ovals and seems to have a real knack for racing on short tracks. We saw that at North Wilkesboro (fifth place) and he fared well enough two weeks ago in Indianapolis (16th) to not hurt his qualifying position too much on Saturday. Maybe SVG won’t lead any laps this Sunday, but we do think he’ll leave the state with another top-10 finish and further improve his odds of making The Chase.
Read More: Early 2027 NASCAR Schedule
Joey Logano Wins the Iowa Corn 350
Joey Logano finished ninth at Iowa Speedway last year and sixth in the June 2024 race. With the way the No. 22 team has been running as of late, especially on short tracks, we think a trip to victory lane is coming on Sunday afternoon. Logano dominated just a few weeks ago at North Wilkesboro and followed that up with an impressive third-place finish in the Brickyard 400. This team is heating up and that hot streak continues with a trip to victory lane in the Iowa Corn 350.
Related: NASCAR Predictions for Final Four Races
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