Iowa Speedway Competition Notes
TEAM AND RACE NOTES:
After a pair of Top-10s, Front Row Motorsports looks to carry the momentum to Iowa Speedway, for the inaugural Cup Series race at the track.
The NASCAR Cup Series will make their debut at the 0.875-mile D-shaped oval, but for Todd Gilliland, this will be his third trip to the track, competing there in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2018 and 2019, finishing as high as 10th in the two previous starts.
Gilliland heads to the short track after notching his second Top-10 finish of the 2024 season with a 10th-place result at the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Gilliland now sits 21st in the Driver Championship points standings and is in a fierce points battle with fellow competitor, Carson Hocevar.
Coming off a second-place finish at the Sonoma Raceway, the first Top-5 of the season, Michael McDowell returns to a track he's familiar with. No stranger to the Iowa Speedway, McDowell has made several starts in the NASCAR lower series in his career. He made eight starts in the Xfinity Series, including six straight Top-10s, including a runner-up in 2014, and earned two second place finishes in the ARCA Menards Series in 2006, 2007.
The Cup Series will have practice on Friday, June 14th at 5:30 p.m. ET and qualifying on Saturday, June 15th at 1:00 p.m. ET. The inaugural Iowa Corn 350 will be Sunday, June 16th at 7:00 p.m. ET on USA Network. Fans can also listen in on the action live from Sirius XM and the Motor Racing Network.
CUP SERIES COMPETITION NOTES:
No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
DRIVER MICHAEL MCDOWELL:
"Iowa is going to be a fun race. I've had multiple starts there in a Xfinity Series and ARCA car, so I'm familiar with the track. It will be interesting to see how the Next Gen runs with the recent repave and grip levels, tire wear. We have a lot of momentum after Sonoma, it’s great to be disappointed with second, but that’s just the way this playoff format is. A win is so important, and we came up a little bit short, but we're all really excited about going to Iowa."
CREW CHIEF TRAVIS PETERSON:
"Iowa is going to be a very interesting weekend, it’s the first time we’re going with Cup cars and a partial repave. I haven’t been to Iowa since I worked on a K&N Series car there a long time ago, so it's going to be an all-new experience with a lot to learn and adapt to fast. We have some momentum right now and hopefully we can use that to capitalize on a unique race."
No. 38 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Ford Mustang Dark Horse:
DRIVER TODD GILLILAND:
"I’m very interested to see how Iowa is. I’ve seen pictures and it’s like there’s one lane paved here, and it goes to two lanes and then back to one lane. From my side of it, when I last raced at Iowa it was extremely worn out, so I think the difference between the old pavement and the new pavement is going to be on a different level."
CREW CHIEF RYAN BERGENTY:
"We don't have much data on Iowa other than what we know from the test, so practice is going to be crucial in terms gathering data on tires and which lane is best. It's exciting, though. We have a lot of good momentum from Sonoma, we just have to capitalize on it and keep building."
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