NASCAR Preview: 3x Iowa Winner Brad Keselowski Headlines Cup Series Drivers With Prior Victories at the Upcoming Venue
Some Cup Series drivers will race at the Iowa Speedway for the first time on Sunday and some know the track fairly well. RFK Racing driver, Brad Keselowski is a part of the latter as he is the most successful NASCAR driver to compete there on Sunday. He has three wins at the track from the Xfinity Series and now will be itching to win in the Cup Series as well.
The 0.875-mile track has seen a partial repave which makes the surface unknown to everyone. However, considering the statistics, some drivers seem confident over others. In Keselowski’s case, his last win at the track came in 2014.
By comparison, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe have more recent successful experiences. Both drivers won at the Iowa Speedway in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series. That was the last time when NASCAR visited the venue.
Overall, Bell holds a better success rate with a couple of wins at Iowa and will also have a better-performing racecar on Sunday. Other drivers have also won at the track, including Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Despite that, the JTG Daugherty Racing driver isn’t sure how the track will behave come Sunday.
Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson are testing tires at Iowa Speedway today (two weeks from race).
Bell and Keselowski are multi-race winners at Iowa in Xfinity, while Larson has two fifth-place finishes. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/PIVsEMMEPA
— Cole Cusumano (@Cole_Cusumano_) May 28, 2024
Two-time Iowa race winner in the dark after track repave
The partial repave has left a lot of drivers confused, drivers who otherwise would have known all about the track like the back of their hands. Stenhouse has had good memories at the Iowa Speedway but about how things will go on Sunday, he does not have the slightest idea.
The partial repave has left a lot of drivers perplexed about Sunday’s running. While speaking with the media, Stenhouse Jr. shared his thoughts regarding the racing action.
“I’m not sure how it’s going to race or drive. We didn’t do the test, and we don’t get data from the test. I haven’t really seen many videos of it. We are gonna get to do some sim on it, but I’m very excited to get back. I hope it races well,” he told The Athletic.
Drivers will hope that the partial facelift will yield an interesting racing product. But at the end of the day, they will have to wait till Sunday to find out what exactly will transpire during the innaugral Iowa Corn 350 event.
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