After the dramatic Brickyard race that saw a new winner with Corey Heim, the NASCAR garage moves to the Iowa Speedway in Newton for what will be the 23^rd race of the regular season.

Last year, William Byron won the Iowa Corn 350, leading 141 laps. Ahead of the 2026 race, let’s take a look at the entire weekend schedule, weather, and more.

Weekend schedule

Friday, August 7, will be an all-ARCA day. Practice begins at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET. The main race, JR&CO 150, goes green at 7 p.m. ET.

Saturday, August 8, begins with O’Reilly practice and qualifying that starts at 11:30 a.m. ET onwards. Afternoon will see Cup practice and qualifying, starting at 2:05 p.m. ET. The day will end with the O’Reilly race, HyVee Perks 250, at 5 p.m. ET.

Sunday, August 9, will see the pre-race events start at 3 p.m. ET, while the main race, Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, will go green at 3:30 p.m. ET, as reported on NASCAR.com.

How does the weather look?

According to AccuWeather, Friday's weather is humid and sunny. Temperatures will go up to 83 degrees and lowest up to 65. Precipitation percent is just 7.

Saturday will be humid and have even more sunshine. The temperature range will be 84 to 68 degrees. UV index is at a high (9.0), and the RealFeel is 97 degrees.

Sunday will be 'uncomfortably humid' according to the forecast. Weather will be mostly sunny, and there's an 18 percent chance of rain. RealFeel is 99 degrees, and the UV index remains high like Saturday.

Where the drivers stand before Iowa

Denny Hamlin leads the standings with 886 points, 84 ahead of his 23XI driver Tyler Reddick. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney also joins them in third place, and the fight for the No. 1 position heading into the Chase is between these three contenders.

Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Kyle Larson fill the ranks four to eight. Gibbs becomes the fourth driver to clinch the Chase spot.

Hocevar is another big name in the rankings, enjoying his best Cup season. The Hendrick men Elliott and Larson haven’t shown their best yet, but their consistency has kept them alive in the top-10.

Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace fill the spots from ninth to 14^th.

But the battle for the cutline begins with Shane van Gisbergen from 15^th, as reported on NASCAR.com. He can stay alive in the race if he manages to run well the next four ovals.

This is because the drivers below him are not to be taken lightly. Austin Cindric is on the bubble at 16th, followed by Ryan Preece at 17th.

The next three drivers, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski and Michael McDowell, need very high-scoring finishes to stay alive in the postseason.

Written by

Suyashdeep Sason

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason