William Byron looks to end winless streak at Iowa Speedway this Sunday
After a rare week off, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action at Iowa Speedway this Sunday for the Iowa Corn 350, and defending race winner William Byron is betting on the Newton short track to break his 23-race winless streak.
Byron, the 28-year-old driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, has not won a Cup Series race since last year's victory at Iowa. That win capped a six-season run with at least one victory each year, but 2025 has been a different story. With just five top-five finishes and nine top-10s in 22 races, Byron sits 12th in the standings, 88 points above the playoff cutline.
“Iowa is just a track that has always clicked for me and that I really love,” Byron said. “I've had success there in all three series, and last year's win really felt great to complete the sweep. I think having the off time, and this being the next track we go to, really gives our team confidence in what we can accomplish. I'm looking forward to it.”
Byron's history at Iowa is strong. He won there in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2016 and picked up his first O'Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at the track the following year. The 0.875-mile short track, designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, has been kind to Byron, who finished second in the 2024 race before winning last year.
Short track specialists and playoff implications
Sunday's race is the fourth of seven short-track contests this season. Byron is the only driver to have won twice in the last 10 short-track races, but the last six have been won by six different drivers, underscoring the competitive depth of the field.
Ryan Blaney, the 2024 Iowa winner, boasts the best average running position at the track at 3.9, with Byron second at 5.6. Blaney led 201 of 350 laps in his victory, while Byron led 141 of 350 last year. Blaney is third in the standings, 120 points behind series leader Denny Hamlin, and holds a clear edge over Hamlin and second-place Tyler Reddick at Iowa. Hamlin finished 24th in both Iowa races, and Reddick posted finishes of 22nd and 19th.
For Iowa fans, the race offers a chance to see top drivers like Hamlin, Blaney, and Reddick battle on a track that rewards precision and patience. Byron, Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, and Joey Logano are the only drivers to finish in the top 10 in both Cup races held at Iowa.
Kyle Larson seeks turnaround at Iowa
Kyle Larson enters Iowa on a 46-race winless streak, but his track record at Newton is a major concern. Larson's average finish at Iowa is a dismal 31.0, making a breakthrough unlikely without significant improvement.
For Byron, the path to victory is clearer. “I think having the off time, and this being the next track we go to, really gives our team confidence,” he said. With four races remaining in the regular season, including Richmond, New Hampshire, and Daytona after Iowa, Byron has a solid cushion above the cutline but needs a win to secure his playoff spot and restore momentum.
New stage-break procedure debuts at Iowa
Following a review of the NASCAR weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, all three national series will use a new stage-break procedure for the rest of the season. If a caution occurs with 10 or fewer laps remaining in a stage that precedes a scheduled break, the stage will be deemed official at the time of the caution. The leader will return to the start/finish line for the green-and-white checkered flag along with the yellow, and the caution process that follows will serve as the stage break. The stage finishing order, with the top 10 receiving points, will be determined using all available resources.
The Iowa Corn 350 airs Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.