NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying Report - Iowa

August 8, 2026


Iowa Corn 350
Newton, Iowa - August 8, 2026


Ryan Blaney, driver, No. 12 Menards/Pennington Ford Mustang Dark Horse - 1st


Joey Logano, driver, No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse - 3rd


Austin Cindric, driver, No. 2 Freightliner Ford Mustang Dark Horse - 12th


THE ROAD TO THE CHASE: The NASCAR Cup Series returned to action at Iowa Speedway this weekend following its final off week of the season, beginning a four-race stretch that will set the field for The Chase. Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire and Daytona remain on the regular-season schedule, with Team Penske entering the stretch with a strong recent record across all four tracks.

Team Penske has been particularly consistent through the first two Cup Series races at Iowa Speedway, earning five finishes of 12th or better across six starts and scoring a victory with Ryan Blaney in the inaugural event in 2024. Blaney followed his win with a fourth-place finish last season, while Joey Logano has also finished inside the top 10 in both Iowa races, placing sixth in 2024 and ninth in 2025. In Saturday's qualifying session, Blaney scored the pole position and will lead the field to green on Sunday.

The organization's success extends throughout the remainder of the regular-season schedule. All three Team Penske drivers finished inside the top five at Richmond last season, while Blaney won at New Hampshire in 2025 and at Phoenix earlier this year - another low-banked, one-mile oval. The regular season concludes at Daytona, where each of Team Penske's current drivers has previously visited victory lane, including Blaney in the summer race one year ago.


BRINGING CONSISTENCY: Logano enters Iowa with top-10 finishes in each of his last three races, a stretch highlighted by his victory at North Wilkesboro. He has also finished inside the top 10 in seven consecutive short-track races, the longest active streak in the Cup Series.

Blaney has been equally consistent on the shorter tracks. The 2024 Iowa winner has finished 11th or better in each of his last 14 short-track starts, while recording just one finish outside the top 11 over his last 12 races this season.


HONORING A COMPETITOR: This weekend, Blaney is paying tribute to the late Kyle Busch by wearing a custom, commemorative helmet designed to highlight key moments from Busch's illustrious career.

"Helmets are a unique thing in our sport. We design them and a lot of them have special meaning. It's my way of showing my respect for Kyle Busch and the Busch family….I hope to run it for one race and give it to Brexton and the Busch family and they can do what they want with it." - Ryan Blaney


UP NEXT: Sunday's Iowa Corn 350 is scheduled to get underway at 3:30 p.m. ET, airing live on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.