Ryan Blaney Dominates, Wins at Iowa

Ryan Blaney celebrates his win in the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Photo: Patrick Vallely | The Podium Finish)

NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Blaney made history when he won Sunday night’s inaugural Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway over William Byron by 0.716 seconds.

Blaney, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, won at Iowa Speedway in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series. Those wins at the 0.875-mile track were in 2012 and 2015.

However, the 30-year-old Hartford Township, Ohio, native looked forward to winning the much anticipated NASCAR Cup Series race at the Rusty Wallace designed track. Fittingly, Blaney’s No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang Dark Horse resembled Wallace’s black and gold No. 2 from 1991 to 1996.

In the early going, Kyle Larson, the polesitter, and Blaney, the outside polesitter, established themselves as the early favorites. Together, Larson and Blaney led on nine different occasions for a combined 281 of 350 laps.

Even with Larson and Blaney’s cumulative domination, leading over 80% of the race, the passing was plentiful at this short track in The Hawkeye State.

Blaney bested Larson for the Stage 1 win while Larson captured the Stage 2 win after pitting early for a reported vibration and making his way from 35th.

The complexity of the race changed on Lap 221 when Larson was sent into the frontstretch wall, tangling with Daniel Suárez and Denny Hamlin. Larson’s No. 5 team managed to repair their wounded ride, relegated to a 34th place finish.

From that point, it appeared as if Josh Berry would capture a sentimental, maiden Cup win for his Stewart-Haas Racing effort. Then, Chris Buescher‘s Turn 1 incident on Lap 261 resulted in the final pit stops of the night.

Ryan Blaney salutes the fans after winning the inaugural Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway, in Newton, Iowa, on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Photo: Patrick Vallely | The Podium Finish)

When it counted, Blaney’s pit crew executed with a two tire pit stop called by crew chief Jonathan Hassler.

Unlike the race at World Wide Technology Raceway earlier this month, Blaney and his No. 12 team were on the right side of the box score. Besting Byron to the stripe, Blaney celebrated his win in the same colors synonymous with the University of Iowa.

“What a cool way to win here,” Blaney said. “This place means a lot to me and means a lot to my mom. We had a lot of people here tonight cheering us on, so they willed us to that one. Overall, I really appreciate the whole 12 boys.  I mean, our car was really fast all night and we got a little bit better through the night and two tires was a good call there.

“I didn’t know how well I was gonna hold on. I started to struggle a little bit at the end, but had enough to hang on. I’m super proud of the effort. I appreciate Advance Auto Parts, Ford, Ford Performance, Menards, Discount Tire, Wurth, Snap On, DEX Imaging, Wabash – everything they do. It makes up a little bit from a couple weeks ago.”

Save for Larson’s late accident, it was a stellar evening for Hendrick Motorsports, led by Byron and his runner-up result. Even with the speed, Byron acknowledged that Blaney was the driver to beat.

“No, he had a really good car, so he was up front and contending a lot, and him and the5 were really good,” Byron said. “So, we were just a step off of that, you know? I feel like I just needed to turn the center just a hair better and still kind of maintain the long run.

“Proud of the effort. It was a really good night, and I feel like we can learn from this and build from it to be a little bit better.”

As for Chase Elliott, Sunday night’s race at Iowa offered a glimpse into their potential while looking toward more speed to contend for wins.

“Yeah, I mean I definitely think we have been closer than we have been,” Elliott said. “That is good and nice to have some consistency across some different styles of racetracks, so happy with all that. We need just a little bit to be where we need to be to lead laps and kind of set the pace. We will keep working at it.”

Ryan Blaney made sure that smoke got in the eyes of the Iowa Speedway faithful after winning the inaugural Iowa Corn 350 in Newton, Iowa, on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Photo: Patrick Vallely | The Podium Finish)

Nobody left Iowa smiling wider than Blaney, winning at The Hawkeye State, where his mother, Lisa, was born and raised. The typically mild mannered racer did a burnout and he hoped it did not upset a legendary crew chief.

“Yeah, home track. I’ve got to. It means a lot,” Blaney said. “It’s cool to win in a Truck here, an XFINITY car here and now a Cup car. That was cool. I’m worn out. It was a long race and driving hard. I figured I deserved a burnout, so hopefully Dale Inman isn’t too mad at me.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Ryan Blaney
2. Kyle Larson
3. Daniel Suárez
4. William Byron
5. Josh Berry (R)
6. Joey Logano
7. Corey LaJoie
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Chase Elliott
10. Kyle Busch

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Kyle Larson
2. Josh Berry (R)
3. Chase Elliott
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Bubba Wallace
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Chris Buescher
8. Todd Gilliland
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Justin Haley

Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway Race Results