Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice came to an abrupt halt after Kyle Busch suffered a terrifying wreck at Iowa Speedway.

While mired in a 79-race winless streak, Busch has not shied away from discussing Richard Childress Racing’s misfortunes during the 2025 campaign. Last week, he was handed yet another tough break upon getting caught up in a stackup during the Brickyard 400.

In the latest stroke of bad luck, Busch was running second-fastest in Group A when his right-rear tire stepped out on corner entry at Turn 1. When he attempted to correct the issue, his No. 8 Chevrolet overcorrected and went barreling into the outside wall at an alarming speed.

Flames and a plume of smoke quickly began bellowing out of the front of Busch’s car, which suffered severe damage from the hard collision, leading to the session being red flagged. Fortunately for the 40-year-old, he was able to exit the vehicle under his own power and head to the infield care center before being released with no serious injuries.

Assessing what went wrong, Busch told reporters: “[We were] just continuing to make changes to make improvements to the rear grip and getting the rear of the car more secure everywhere around the corner. Literally, anywhere that I would push a little bit harder [and] I would feel rear chatter. I felt really good about the changes that we made.

“Came out of Turn 4 really hot and heavy, and on it, and went off into Turn 1 with too much trust. Chattered the right rear, and then overcorrected and smacked the fence. Not really sure how to find more trust, or when you feel something good in one corner, it’s not there in the next.”

When asked if the track felt especially slick, Busch replied: “Each time I got out there and I got some laps under me, I felt stickier and stickier, and better and better. So I just tried to feel like the right rear was there off of 4 and trust it getting into 1, and it wasn’t there. So I don’t know, it’s a little bit treacherous but not as bad as when we were here testing.”

Heading into the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, Busch had finished P11 or better in three of his last four races. Yet following Saturday’s crash, he will now have to pilot a backup car from the back of the pack.

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“It’s tough for the guys,” Busch said. “Hate it for the guys. Everybody at RCR — especially the No. 8 crew here. I’m sure we’ll rely on some of the No. 3 guys [teammate Austin Dillon] to get the backup car prepared overnight.

“Obviously, we had decent speed. Just trying to work on up to it and consistently just get better and better with laps. That’ll be about the same thing we got to do tomorrow. I was probably built up to about 75%, 80% trust, and now I’m back to zero.”

In May 2024, Corey Day drew high praise from Kyle Larson for his impressive performances in the High Limit Racing Series and Late Model Stock Car Racing, with Larson noting, “I feel like he’s kind of a lot like me.”

Soon after, the young driver found himself under the microscope in ARCA for his aggressive style, yet his name has remained a steady topic in NASCAR circles as he juggles in the Truck, Xfinity, and ARCA Menards Series this season. Larson recently reaffirmed his confidence in Day after a string of promising runs.

Driving for Hendrick Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, Day has made five starts this year so far, finishing inside the top-20 twice, at Texas and Nashville. However, his results in the Truck Series have been more eye-catching. Behind the wheel of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST, he has logged seven starts so far in 2025, earning two top-five and two additional top-15 finishes.

In his last two Truck outings at Nashville and Indianapolis Raceway Park, Day finished fifth and second, respectively. Reflecting on that progression ahead of the Iowa race, Larson said, “It was good to see him have a strong run there. It was a track that I thought may, you know, suit his style, being able to move around and search for grip and things.”

“He was probably one of the first, if not the first, running below the apron that night and found some speed that way. So, it just lends itself to a dirt guy’s background, probably. But yeah, he’s been slowly getting better here lately in the stock car stuff, and I’m sure gaining confidence. So yeah, I’m hopeful and excited to see how he keeps going in the #17 car,” he added.

Larson emphasized that the Hendrick Motorsports team is fully behind Day, but also acknowledged the vertical learning curve for young drivers like him in today’s NASCAR environment, where limited practice and a lack of real-world testing leave them heavily reliant on simulators. The No. 5 HMS driver said he’s encouraged to see Day starting to figure it out.

Coming from a dirt and High Limit Racing background, Day faces the natural adjustment of learning NASCAR tracks, adapting to heavier cars, and enduring longer race distances. His run at Indianapolis highlighted that learning curve and his ability to rise to the occasion.

At Indy last week, with qualifying washed out by lightning delays, Day started 16th based on NASCAR’s grid metrics. He finished the 200-lap race in second, 1.864 seconds behind Layne Riggs.

Day was the biggest mover of the race, gaining 14 positions from start to finish. He advanced to eighth by the end of Stage 1, slipped to 13th at the close of Stage 2, and then stormed through the final 80-lap green-flag run to claim the runner-up spot, showing the adaptability that has quickly made him a name to watch.

Chase Briscoe’s done it again.

One week after claiming the pole for the Brickyard 400, Briscoe laid down a quick lap of 136.933mph (23.093s) to take the top spot again for the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway.

The result is Briscoe’s sixth pole of the 2025 season, triple the two he had in four seasons before arriving at Joe Gibbs Racing. He’ll hope continuing that trend won’t lead to a repeat of his race results on Sunday. Briscoe has yet to take a win from any of his pole runs this season.

“It’s definitely been great on Saturdays for our Bass Pro Shops Toyota,” Briscoe said. “I would love to convert that to Sundays. We’ve been fast on Sundays, too – just haven’t been able to come out on top.”

After a Toyota-led practice, qualifying saw contenders from all three manufacturers. William Byron was second for Chevrolet with a speed of 136.435mph. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson followed in third at 136.429mph.

Ford drivers took the next three spots, led by Austin Cindric (136.358mph). Brad Keselowski (136.252mph) completed the top five, with inaugural race winner Ryan Blaney (136.063mph) coming home sixth.

From there, it was all Chevrolet. Carson Hocever (136.016mph), Chase Elliott (135.981mph), AJ Allmendinger (135.928mph) and Justin Haley (135.788mph) wrapped up the top 10. Regular season championship contender Denny Hamlin slotted in 11th.

It was a tight session, with 0.629s separating 35 of the 37 potential qualifiers. Garage 66’s Joey Gase was 2.169s off in 36th. Kyle Busch failed to complete a lap after crashing hard during the preceding practice session. His Richard Childress Racing team will roll out a backup car for Sunday’s race.

With the field so close together, small mistakes carried big consequences. Playoff bubble driver Chris Buescher was a distant 27th at session’s end. Thankfully for him, the driver he’s racing for the final playoff spot – RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece – was even worse in 33rd.

The driver Buescher is chasing should another winner move the cutline up, Alex Bowman, qualified 16th.

No accidents during the session, though Keselowski lost the nose of his No. 6 and had to chase his car up the track during his run, but managed to make the save.

The Iowa Corn 350 will go live Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA. It’s the first race of NBC Sports’ 2025 Cup slate.

RESULTS

NEWTON, Iowa. – Three Hendrick Motorsports drivers are 1-2-3 in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with four races left in the regular season—the closest competition for the 15-Playoff-point bonus that goes to the regular-season winner since the current system was installed in 2017.

Chase Elliott has a four-point lead over teammate William Byron in second, with Kyle Larson 15 points back in third.

Byron finished second in last year’s Iowa race, and Elliott ran third, but Larson, despite his 34th-place finish, arguably had the fastest car in the field.

Larson won the pole for the inaugural Cup race at the 0.875-mile track and scored a stage win before contact from Daniel Suarez’s Chevrolet spun Larson’s No. 5 Camaro into the outside wall and ruined his race.

“I feel like our team was really, really strong to start the year (this season),” Larson said. “We had those five or six weeks where we had fallen off a bit, but these last two have gone well. We were competitive here at Iowa last year…”

In all probability, the teammates will battle for the regular-season title until the final regular-season race at Daytona. If there’s a spoiler, it’s likely to be Denny Hamlin, who trails Elliott by 20 points despite missing a race for the birth of his son.

“It’s great to see Hendrick Motorsports atop the standings right now—at least three of us are—with just a few races left till the end of the regular season,” Larson said. “That’s something to be proud of, but there’s still a lot of racing left, and the Playoffs can be crazy.”

Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service

Chase Elliott leads the NASCAR Cup Series onto Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 350 for the second ever race in the state of Iowa.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads into Iowa Speedway for the 23rd race of the regular season. Chase Elliott leads the field into the Iowa Corn 350 with a slight lead over the rest of the field in the season points standings. This is the second edition of the Iowa Corn 350, which is the first on Iowa Speedway and in the state of Iowa in NASCAR Cup Series history. In the first edition of the Iowa Corn 350 last year Ryan Blaney became the inaugural champion. He held off William Byron, Elliott, Christopher Bell, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the win. 

How to Watch Iowa Corn 350 today:

Game Date: Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025

Game Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: USA Network

Location: Iowa Speedway

Live stream Iowa Corn 350 on Fubo: Start watching now!

Heading into this race Blaney is seventh in the points standings. He has one win this season and is coming off back-to-back top eight finishes to build momentum. Blaney has 14 total wins in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

Elliott leads the field with 726 points, just four ahead of the rest of the field. Byron is right behind him 722 points with Bell in third place (664 points). Those four drivers, Blaney, Byron, Elliott, and Bell head into the second edition of the Iowa Corn 350 with momentum and experience on the track.

After this race there are just three more regular season races for the drivers to earn points and qualify for the playoffs. Up next is the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International in New York.

What Time Is the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Race?

The Iowa Corn 350 race will take place on Sunday, August 3, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Tune in and catch some great NASCAR action.

What Channel Is the Iowa Corn 350 Race On?

Looking to watch this game? Fans can tune into USA Network to see the action. Make sure you subscribe to Fubo now to watch this matchup, as well as numerous other sports leagues.

Live stream Iowa Corn 350 on Fubo: Start watching now!

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Bubba Wallace turned down a contract extension that would have given him an ownership stake in Richard Petty Motorsports before joining Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing from the 2021 season. Wallace, 31, completed three full NASCAR Cup seasons at Richard Petty Motorsports before joining the NBA legend Jordan’s new team, which was co-owned by Denny Hamlin.

Richard Petty Motorsports had hopes of retaining the then-26-year-old NASCAR star, and at one point, were confident Wallace would remain with the team beyond the 2020 season. Wallace was SportsPro’s 2018 list of the world’s 50 most marketable athletes and a trailblazer in NASCAR as an African-American driver.

Richard Petty Motorsports even offered Wallace an ownership stake in the team to keep their racing and marketing powerhouse. However, it wasn’t enough to deter Wallace from joining Jordan’s 23XI, where he has won three Cup races, including the recent Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, which NASCAR legend Petty refused to congratulate his former driver on.

“We’re in discussions with him about an extension that includes ownership in the team,” Andrew Murstein, an owner of Nascar outfit Richard Petty Motorsports at the time, told Forbes. “There’s a plethora of drivers. There is only one Bubba.”

Wallace remained grateful to his former team for giving him his first Cup opportunity. He debuted in the Cup Series in 2017.

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“This was not an easy decision as I have nothing but the utmost respect for Richard Petty and his family, but I believe it’s time for someone else to take over the reins of the No. 43,” Wallace said in a statement.

“Thank you to the King and everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to start my Cup Series career. I’ve grown so much as a driver and as a person since joining them. We’ve got nine more races together, and I hope we can finish the 2020 season on a high note.”

Wallace, now in his 30s, a father, and a three-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, will compete in this year’s playoffs. His win in Indy booked his place in the postseason after missing last year’s playoffs following a winless 2024.

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Before the Brickyard 400, Wallace’s last NASCAR win came in Kansas in 2022. “Oh, my gosh, I’m just so proud of this team,” Wallace said after taking the chequered flag following double overtime. “That adrenaline rush is crazy, ’cause I’m coming off that right now — and I’m worn out.”

“It’s unbelievable,” he added. “To win here at the Brickyard, knowing how big this race is, knowing all the noise that’s going on in the background, to set that all aside is a testament to these people here on this 23 team. It’s been getting old right around the cut line (for the playoffs).”