2026 Iowa Corn 350 Betting Race Picks

Date/Time: Sunday August 9th, 2026. 3:30PM (EST)
Where: Iowa Speedway
TV: USA

On Sunday, NASCAR’s Cup Series returns to “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet” for racing at Iowa Speedway in the running of the Iowa Corn 350. While many of the lower touring series have visited Iowa Speedway for nearly two decades, Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 will be just the 3rd race in Cup Series history. Ryan Blaney won the inaugural race at Iowa in 2024 and William Byron became just the 2nd winner at Iowa last year. Ironically, both drivers started from the 2nd position in each of those races. With that said, Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 will provide the opportunity for another first-time winner at Iowa Speedway!

From a betting perspective, I am still entering Sunday’s main event with caution. Despite having several strong picks in Saturday’s HyVee Perks 250, we struck out with our betting card due to numerous late race cautions and chaotic restarts that disrupted the natural flow of the evening. Obviously, any type of short track racing has the risk of producing several late race cautions and chaotic restarts that impacts betting results. However, I would argue that Iowa Speedway is still a conundrum at the Cup Series level. In each of the first two races, we witnessed many different drivers at the front of the field and track position was way more important than many people would have expected. For that reason, I believe bettors should remain cautious despite their level of confidence going into race day.

Despite the somewhat uncertainty going into this weekend’s Iowa Corn 350 despite the wide array of outcomes in each of the first two races at Iowa, the one common dominator through both of those races was that Ryan Blaney was arguably the fastest driver in each race. Blaney dominated the debut at Iowa in 2024 by leading 201 laps en route to victory. In last year’s race, Blaney was not nearly as dominant but produced the best average running position (5.0) out of the entire field. On Saturday, Blaney continued to flex his muscles at Iowa by winning the pole for this Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350. Needless to say, Blaney has deservingly captured the overall betting favorite position by a somewhat wide margin. As a result, many believe that the driver of the #12 machine will be the driver to beat on Sunday!

Quick Iowa Facts

Through two races at Iowa Speedway

• Ryan Blaney is the only driver to lead at least 25 laps in each of the first two races at Iowa.
• Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski are the only other drivers to lead at least 1 lap in each of the prior two races at Iowa.
• William Byron and Ryan Blaney have each averaged a lucrative 130+ average driver rating through the first two races at Iowa.
• Brad Keselowski (105.5) and Chase Elliott (105.0) are the only other drivers to produce a +100 average driver rating through two races at Iowa.
• Outside of Byron, Blaney, Keselowski, and Elliott who are mentioned above, Josh Berry is the only other driver to average (9.5) a Top 10 running position through two races at Iowa.
• Outside of Byron (1.5), Blaney (2.5), and Keselowski (6.5), Joey Logano and Alex Bowman have the 4th highest average finishing position at 7.5.
• Tyler Reddick (18.0), Denny Hamlin (18.5), Ty Gibbs (18.5), and Ryan Preece (21.0) have produced average running positions metrics to warrant concern.
• The first two races at Iowa have averaged exactly 10.0 cautions.
• Both races at Iowa have been won by drivers starting from the 2nd position.

Extra Handicapping Angles

While our historical performance metrics are limited to just two races at Iowa Speedway, I would encourage bettors to evaluate our dynamic averages on the short tracks as another important handicapping indicator. Additionally, I would add that handicappers/bettors could look to tracks like Richmond as a very similar venue to evaluate performance metrics. If we wanted to extend the comparable tracks’ angle, New Hampshire, Gateway, and even North Wilkesboro all have similar comparisons to how teams prepare their setups and/or how drivers attack the corners at Iowa Speedway. Therefore, all of those tracks can be evaluated if you are looking to explore more expansive analytical metrics!

Practice Observations

Before Ryan Blaney captured the pole in qualifying for the Iowa Corn 350, he already was considered the fastest driver in Iowa from practice on Saturday. Blaney led all drivers with the fastest consecutive lap average in every category. In fact, Blaney was nearly a full tenth or more better than every driver in every consecutive lap category which is very impressive in today’s Next Gen Era. Christopher Bell was the only driver within close proximity to Blaney on overall speed. Meanwhile, Todd Gilliland and Joey Logano showed really strong fire-off speed which was evident in the early portions of practice. William Byron and Ross Chastain appeared to be among the notable drivers that were really solid on long-run speed (over 20 laps). On the other side of the speed chart, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Brad Keselowski were among the drivers that disappointed based on pre-weekend expectations. Elliott and Keselowski have both been very good at Iowa Speedway but were much further down the speed charts than anyone would have expected through both practice and qualifying sessions!

Betting Targets

Without question, Ryan Blaney enters Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 as the driver to beat. Blaney has an excellent track record at Iowa and has actually become one of the best short-flat track races in the Cup Series in the last few years. Despite Blaney’s low betting odds following his pole win on Saturday, I find it very hard to ignore a decent amount of exposure on the #12 team going into tomorrow’s main event. Behind Blaney, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano definitely deserve a lot of consideration. Logano recently dominated the race at North Wilkesboro just two weeks ago and Iowa Speedway has more similarities than many realize with North Wilkesboro. With that said, Christopher Bell is simply one of the best short-flat track drivers in the series and has shown excellent speed at Iowa so far this weekend.

If we were to look for betting value deeper into the field, William Byron and Brad Keselowski are among the drivers to seem to be slightly undervalued. Byron has been somewhat inconsistent this season which raises concern. However, Keselowski has been among the top drivers at Iowa over the last two years and is getting north of 20-1 value. As a result, I believe both Byron and Keselowski are strong betting targets in H2H formats and can also be considered in futures (win) formats as well. If you are looking for fantasy value, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman are strong considerations based on their poor starting positions and potential upside. If you are looking for longshots that could yield positive ROI in prop bet formats, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, and Todd Gilliland can all be considered as solid betting options!

2026 Draftkings Iowa Corn 350 Optimal Fantasy Lineup

2026 Iowa Corn 350 Race Picks

*FINAL*

Christopher Bell +600 (1 unit)
Joey Logano +800 (.75 unit)
William Byron +1200 (.75 unit)
Brad Keselowski +2200 (.5 unit)

H2H Match-Ups and Props

Christopher Bell -195 over Denny Hamlin (2 units)
Ford -125 over Toyota (2 units)
Josh Berry +150 finishes Top 10 (2 units)
Brad Keselowski +170 finishes Top 10 (2 units)
Todd Gilliland +400 finishes Top 10 (.5 unit)

Two Team Parlay

Ryan Blaney +215 wins Iowa Corn 350
Brad Keselowski +150 finishes Top 10
Risking 1 unit to win: +680