In a radical departure from its standard single-car qualifying format for ovals, the IZOD IndyCar Series implemented a time trial format for this weekend’s Iowa Corn Indy 250. Tonight’s qualifying consisted of three separate 30-lap ‘Heat Races’ to set the field for Saturday night’s race.
Marco Andretti started first and finished third in today’s final qualifying heat race. He was the quickest in each of the two practice sessions today and will start Saturday night’s race from the third position.
KV Racing Technology driversTony Kanaan, Rubens Barrichello and E. J. Viso technically qualified ninth, 13th and 16th respectively for tomorrow’s Iowa Corn 250 on the .875-mile Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.
There was only one pass in the first heat race of the night at Iowa Speedway, but thankfully it was National Guard Panther Racing driver JR Hildebrand making a move around EJ Viso to secure the third position in the race.
Utilizing a unique format of three 30-lap heat races to qualify for Saturday night’s running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 with the heat race fields set by times in the second and final IZOD IndyCar Series practice, seven Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 drivers posted top-10 qualifying efforts for the 250-lap race.
Dario Franchitti, who leaped into the top eight on the time chart in the final seconds of practice to qualify for the heat race, passed Marco Andretti on Lap 8 of 30 and went on the claim the pole for the 250-lap race under the lights June 23.
MARCOS AMBROSE, RICHARD PETTY AND TODD PARROTT POLE SETTER PRESS CONFERENCE - YOU WON THE POLE LAST WEEK AT MICHIGAN AT OVER 200 MPH, TODAY YOU WIN THE POLE AT UNDER 100 MPH. YOU CAN DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING OUT THERE AT JUST ABOUT ANY SPEED. “Now that I have a taste for it I think Kentucky will be about 175 mph and I will be gunning for that as well."
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 5th How was your qualifying lap? "I feel great. The car's awesome. It's been really good all day."
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED THIRD HOW GOOD WAS THAT LAP? “I don’t’ think it was all that good. Hopefully, it will hold up. Since the first lap on track just a lot of slipping and sliding."
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Qualified 13th HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING LAP? "The car was a little bit better than the driver. I may have pushed (the car) too much trying to gain a little bit more on the lap."
The two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion from Johnston, Iowa, reeled in, slingshotted and outdueled teammate Carson Kvapil on the final lap to snatch his first elusive O'Reilly victory of the 2026 season and his second national touring series victory of this weekend at Talladega.
Dean Thompson delivered an incredible save mid-race and recovered to finish eighth to lead Toyota in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe was made available to the media on Saturday after willing the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The two-time Southern 500 champion from Mitchell, Indiana, clocked in a pole-winning lap at 186.065 mph in 51.466 seconds for his first Cup pole of the 2026 season and the 10th of his career at Talladega.
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Kroger Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “That’s solid. We had a lot of speed here today. I know it’s single car, but it translated really well at Daytona..."
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in a panel with fellow Chase contenders, Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney, in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway.
