2024 Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol Predictions

The Cup Series makes its long-awaited debut in the Cornhusker State tonight with the 2024 Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway. First opened in 2006, Iowa Speedway is a 0.875 mile D-shaped oval with 12-14 degrees of banking in the turns, 10 degrees of banking on the frontstretch and 4 degrees of banking on the backstretch. A long-time mainstay of both the Xfinity Series and the NTT IndyCar Series, Iowa Speedway will be hosting the Cup Series for the first time this evening and will certainly put on a show for the sellout crowd.

To find success tonight, drivers are going to have to do an excellent job of managing their tires. As we saw during yesterday’s Xfinity Series race, you have to manage your tires well. If you drive it too hard early in a run, your tires will blister and make the back half of you run next to impossible to manage. The tire will fall off very quickly and you will sink like a stone through the field. The recent partial repave of the track will also wreak havoc with driver strategy. Early in the race yesterday, the bottom of the track was the preferred line, but as rubber was laid down, the racing groove gradually moved up over the course of the race. By race end, it was impossible to make hay going around the bottom. If there is a late race restart, you’ve got to weigh the pros and cons of starting on that inside groove. A chance to start on the front row, in this case, does not equal out to a chance to win. Ultimately, you’re going to want four fresh tires all night long, if possible, and do your best to remain patient as you try and work your way to the front of the field.

Since this is the debut race for Iowa Speedway in the Cup Series, that means that tonight’s winner will be the inaugural winner of this race. With 10 races to go until the playoffs begin, that late season push is on for drivers to try and secure their playoff spot. Will we have a repeat winner this season? Will we have a first-time winner this season? Will we have an upset winner to throw the playoff picture into further chaos? We’ll know here soon enough.

Coverage of the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol can be seen on the USA Network, with pre-race coverage beginning at 6:30 PM EST and green flag coverage beginning at 7 PM EST.

Driver to Fade:

Carson Hocevar has an average finish of 19.6 across the past six races, and I don’t see that getting any better today. Fading Hocevar is a safe bet today.

Dark Horse:

Ryan Blaney has not been too hot as of late, with only two Top 10 finishes across the past six contests. Who knows what will happen at Iowa today, but I think Blaney could get back on track with a Top 15 finish.

Top 10:

Chase Elliott has the highest average finish across the past six races, finishing in an average seventh place with four Top 10’s. Today, he’ll make it five out of the last seven races with a Top 10 finish.

Winner:

Kyle Larson has been on a tear as of late, winning two of the last six Cup Series races.  We predict Larson will continue his winning ways and win the inaugural race at Iowa tonight!