Blaney Wins A-maize-ing Inaugural Cup Race at Iowa Speedway

Iowa Corn 350:

Ryan Blaney dominated the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the Iowa Speedway. Blaney, who led 201 of 350 laps, earned some redemption from the team's shortcoming at World Wide Technology Raceway a few weeks ago by outlasting and outbattling the field on Sunday evening. The win locks Blaney into the 2024 Cup Series playoffs, and gives him wins at Iowa Speedway in all three of NASCAR's national touring series. The win meant a little more for second generation star as not only was he able to celebrate with his dad, Dave, but Blaney had 80-plus other family members in attendance for the race. Blaney was so fired up after his first win of the season he bailed on his usual post race celebration and pulled off an epic burnout.

You may see that Blaney led 201 laps, no doubt a dominant performance, and think "ah he just drove away with it." But that was not the case. There were several drivers, namely Kyle Larson, that looked poised to take the win with their fast cars and strategy calls. Blaney and the 12 crew no doubt played the race perfectly. They had a fast car, Blaney was flawless on the track, the pit crew did not miss a beat, and his crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, nailed the strategy call. A bold strategy late in the race to only go with two tires was a tense call. But the driver of the Team Penske Advanced Auto Ford rocketed to the front, took care of the lead, and held off a hard charging William Byron to take the checkered flag for the first time in 2024.

The race lived up to the Iowa hype of years past. I must admit, I was excited but very skeptical going into the weekend with the partial repave. Cup practice, and to some degree the Xfinity race, made me even more cautious with my expectations going into Sunday night with the tire issues teams were experiencing. And there was a swath of tires issues, but, for the most part, NASCAR let it play out naturally. My only gripe on NASCAR's side is the caution for the 31 - still today it doesn't make sense. I am certain we'll get an explanation from Elton Sawyer at some point. However, if that is my only gripe within the 350 lap race, I am not going to complain much at all. The race was, otherwise, fantastic. Teams adjusted to the tires, adjusted to the partial repave, and adjusted to the changing temperatures and track conditions. The race had aggression, pure straight up racing, passing, comers, goers, side-by-side racing, and multiple drivers with legitimate shots at the victory. I cannot think of a better short track race in this new generation car. Bristol earlier this year is the closest competitor as far as best short track race, but Iowa takes the cake for all around racing. I just hope this is not a one-off race for the 7/8ths mile track; I hope NASCAR brings all three series back in 2025. Drop something else if NASCAR desperately wants to get to Canada, Mexico, or elsewhere, but for the love of the racing gods, keep Iowa Speedway on the schedule, and hell, don't even finish the repave. Leave it as is.

Next up we head to the Granite State and New Hampshire Motor Speedway for an Xfinity Series and Cup Series weekend while the Craftsman Truck Series enjoys another off weekend. But we are also blessed with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series this weekend. The Xfinity Series kicks off the weekend Saturday afternoon on USA at 3:30 p.m. with the SciAlps 200. The mods pick up the action on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. on FloRacing. And of course, the Cup Series caps off the weekend on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. on USA with the USA Today 301.

Picks:

Cup = Bell

Xfinity = Cole Custer

Mods = Justin Bonsignore

Header Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP