Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Iowa Corn 350 — Iowa Speedway
Sunday, August 3, 2025

Ford Unofficial Finishing Order

3rd – Brad Keselowski
4th – Ryan Blaney
5th – Ryan Preece
9th – Joey Logano
12th – Austin Cindric
13th – Josh Berry
22nd –Chris Buescher
26th – Cole Custer
29th – Noah Gragson
32nd – Cody Ware
34th – Todd Gilliland
36th – Zane Smith
37th – Joey Gase

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We had so many yellows in stage three that it got the 24 and the 19 where they could make it on fuel pitting way outside the window. We just couldn’t get back by them. Got back by a lot of guys. Restarted 24th there I think after we pitted. Got all the way back up to third but that was as far as I could get. Great run for both of our RFK cars. Obviously, we want to win but we’re in contention, that’s for sure. We will keep putting solid runs on the board and I think this will come to us. We have some pretty strong Ford Mustangs right now. Blaney was really fast there at the end. He had a little bit newer tires and he was running us down. I feel like I was going to get the 19 but Blaney was going to pass me. It was a solid day, we just needed a few more things to go our way.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Wabash Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I just restarted a little further back than those guys and it took me longer to get in a decent spot. Honestly, it sort of surprised me just how hard those guys tanked at the end and my car kept chugging along. I ran Brad down but everyone is so free it is hard to pass anybody. You are scared of spinning out and you are creeping around the bottom but it was a fun race. I am really proud of our group for sticking with it. I appreciate Wabash and Ford and Menards for doing what they do. Really good showing and just keep going. It has been a good last few weeks for us. I think the speed is there, just have to keep putting these races together. We had a good shot to win today but it just didn’t work out. The strategies just got really weird with all those cautions. We were on the back end of it and it just kind of cycled me behind. We were covered really nicely. Really proud of the 12 group.”

RYAN PREECE, No. 60 Mohawk Northeast Inc. Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I am super proud of everyone at RFK for making solid adjustments. We had a little bit of luck there when that caution came out and allowed us to take another shot at it. So, thanks for RFK. Thanks to Mohawk Northeast and everybody with this Ford Mustang. I thought if we had a bunch of restarts we were going to be okay because we were so, so good in that third lane. But it just seemed that long run, that last run, wasn’t the best thing for us. On that restart when we were able to get to third, I thought we were going to have a shot at it. It seemed we could close in on the 19 and the 24 a little bit and then I just got loose. When Brad was catching me I thought ‘what is the best thing to do for a teammate and for the company?’ and wanted to give him the opportunity even if it was at a deficit for us. Ultimately, I look forward to Watkins Glen, Richmond and Daytona. All three of us [RFK Ford Mustangs] can still get in [to the Playoffs]. It is going to take a lot of perseverance and a lot of luck but we have fast race cars and we can get the job done.”

BRISCOE NOTCHES RUNNER-UP FINISH IN IOWA
The Joe Gibbs Racing Driver Scores Third Runner-up Finish in the Last Four Races

NEWTON, Iowa (Aug. 3, 2025) – Polesitter Chase Briscoe added another runner-up finish to his résumé in Sunday afternoon’s Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was unable to catch race winner William Byron during the final run, but still secured his third second-place finish in the last four races. Briscoe continues to build momentum with just three events remaining before the playoffs begin.

Bubba Wallace followed up last weekend’s victory at Indianapolis with a sixth-place finish Sunday at Iowa. Wallace’s day was eventful – contact with another car resulted in a broken toe link – but his 23XI Racing team was more than up to the task. Despite having to take two free passes, Wallace rallied to earn his 10th top-10 finish of the season.

Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Iowa Speedway
Race 23 of 36 – 306.25 miles, 350 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, William Byron*
2nd, CHASE BRISCOE
3rd, Brad Keselowski*
4th, Ryan Blaney*
5th, Ryan Preece*
6th, BUBBA WALLACE
15th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
16th, ERIK JONES
17th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
19th, TYLER REDDICK
21st, RILEY HERBST
24th, DENNY HAMLIN
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Did you have anything for William Bryon during the last run of the race?

“First off, I just want to apologize to the 45 (Tyler Reddick) and the 20 (Christopher Bell), that was just a boneheaded move on my part. Got in there and got loose and ruined their day, that was 100 percent on me. In the end I was running William (Byron) down and I thought I was in the catbird seat there. I got there and kind of stalled out. I experienced that when I was leading earlier, I caught the back of the field and it was the same thing, as soon as I got there it just kind of died. It’s unfortunate, you are limited in where you can go with the repave. Overall a great finish for our Bass Pro Shops Toyota, it was cool. Johnny (Morris, Bass Pro Shops owner) was here and I was wanting us to win with him here, to end up second was a good recovery. Our day got kind of got flipped upside down when that caution came out and trapped us, but I was able to rebound. Congrats to William, he did a really good job and we’ll go onto the next one.”

Your team has finished runner-up in three of the last four races. Is there something that you’ve identified to be able to close these races?

“I don’t know. Sonoma we were just – nobody had anything for SVG, and then Dover I definitely felt like I could have eventually won that one if I was a little more aggressive, and then today I felt like I was kind of the second best there at the end. It just kind of died there at the end of the run. I don’t know, we’ve been in position enough, running second like that, you’re going to end up winning some of them. It just hasn’t went our way the last three or four of them, so hopefully next week it’ll be that way.

Did you think you were going to have anything for William Byron at the end?

“It kind of died once I got there. I ran him down and I thought I was going to be really good. I was better in (turns) 1 and 2 and I kind of struggled in (turns) 3 and 4 compared to him. Once I got there, he started taking my air and my car just kind of died as soon as that happened. I thought I was going to be able to still be good, especially as he caught lapped traffic there. I still just didn’t quite have enough there. It’s unfortunate, I was trying everything I had, I just didn’t have anything left in the tank. Good recovery for our Bass Pro Shops Toyota, I would have loved to win. William did a great job, it’s just the way it goes today.

BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 Alltroo Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

You came back from two laps down and a broken toe link. What kind of fight was in this team today?

“I was just relaxed the whole time, really. It was interesting to see how things shake out. We had an up and down day as you mentioned. I was ready to just debrief the whole car mid-race and figure out what we need to do to just wholesale it. We had our issues and just fought really hard to get our Alltroo Camry back in the top-10. I felt really good firing off and I was really hesitant on how that was going to last and here with are P6 after all of that. After the middle part of the race if you would have told me we would finish sixth I would have told you alright.”

What is the No. 23 team focused on the next three weeks before the playoffs?

“It was interesting because I told them don’t bring this setup because it’s a little reminiscent of Richmond every time we come here. I ran well at the end, so there’s some things to take from there. I thought our crew did an amazing job making all the repairs. I said earlier this weekend that we have to expose our weaknesses and I think we put everyone to the test today. It will be nice to see where we did fall, because I didn’t see anything there. Just a hell of a team effort.”

About Toyota

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For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Team Show Speed for Top-10 Result at Iowa Speedway

Finish: 10th
Start: 18th
Points: 28th

“Top-10 for our Get Bioethanol Chevrolet. That feels like a win with the way things have been going. We had a really fast car today. Cautions did not go our way. I feel like we had a top-five car for sure if things had played out a bit differently. It was a blast out there and felt good to race up front with those guys and be in contention.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Team Rebound for Top-20 Finish at Iowa Speedway

Finish: 20th
Start: 37th
Points: 15th

“We started the weekend in a deficit after going to a backup car on Saturday, and spent most of the day Sunday just battling for track position in our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet. Crew chief Randall Burnett made some race strategy calls that got us into the top-10 and earned us some stage points, but we lost that track position in Stage 3 and struggled to return to the front. Our Chevy couldn’t turn in traffic, even with the freshest tires and dirty air didn’t help. We busted our behinds out there today but didn’t have enough.” -Kyle Busch

NASCAR CUP SERIES
IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
AUGUST 3, 2025

Byron Drives Chevrolet to First NASCAR Cup Series Win at Iowa Speedway

•  A strategy-filled final stage setup for a wild 140-lap race to the checkered flag at Iowa Speedway – ending with William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team earning their second trip to victory lane this season. The victory – Chevrolet’s first in NASCAR’s top division at Iowa Speedway – makes the Bowtie brand the first manufacturer to hit a double-digit win count this season with Byron driving Chevrolet to its 10th triumph in 23 points-paying races.
• Taking the green flag from a front-row starting position, William Byron quickly took his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the top of the leaderboard on the opening lap of the Iowa Corn 350 Presented by Ethanol. Leading the charge around the Iowa short-track, Byron approached lap traffic just prior to the halfway mark of Stage One – producing an intense battle with Brad Keselowski for the stage win. Fighting tight conditions on the long run in his Chevrolet-powered machine, Byron held onto the lead for all but the final three laps of the stage – ultimately collecting third-place points to lead six Team Chevy drivers to top-10 finishes in the opening stage.
• Taking the second position in the race off pit road during the stage break, Byron rejoined the front-row for the start of the 140-lap Stage Two. Remaining a steady fixture in the top-five were the pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Williams Byron and Kyle Larson, until the green-flag pit cycle began at the midway point of Stage Two. Amidst the green-flag pit cycle, the first natural caution of the day flew – shaking up the running order of much of the lead pack. Among those who had yet to hit pit road included Kyle Busch, putting the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team in position to earn the shot at a strong points finish in Stage Two. With the ultimate rebound from Saturday’s practice incident, the two-time champion went on to maneuver through a series of cautions to lead the Bowtie brigade to the end of Stage Two from the sixth position.
• Battling for his first career regular season championship in NASCAR’s top division, Byron found himself fourth on the leaderboard for the top stage point-getters with a combined eight points tallied in the first two stages. With his win, the 27-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native will enter the final three-race stretch of the regular season back atop the drivers points standings with an 18-point lead over Chase Elliott.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER

1st – William Byron
7th – Alex Bowman
8th – Carson Hocevar
10th – Austin Dillon

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 23 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 10
Poles: 10
Top-Fives: 46
Top 10s: 99
Stage Wins: 20

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Watkins Glen International with the ‘Go Bowling at the Glen’ on Sunday, August 10, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Finished: 11th

“That was a long day in our Busch Light Farming Chevy. The race went green for so long and then we had bunch of cautions strung together. That really played a role in all the different strategies. Phil and the guys continued to work on the car all day and we got it better and just kept clicking off spots to finish 11th. We’ll take it and move on to Watkins Glen next weekend.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 10th

“Top-10 for our Get Bioethanol Chevrolet. That feels like a win with the way things have been going. We had a really fast car today. Cautions did not go our way. I feel like we have a top-five car for sure if things had played out a bit differently. It was a blast out there and felt good to race up front with those guys and be in contention.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 20th

“We started the weekend in a deficit after going to a backup car on Saturday, and spent most of the day Sunday just battling for track position in our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet. Crew chief Randall Burnett made some race strategy calls that got us into the top 10 and earned us some stage points, but we lost that track position in Stage 3 and struggled to return to the front. Our Chevy couldn’t turn in traffic, even with the freshest tires and dirty air didn’t help. We busted our behinds out there today but didn’t have enough.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 1st

Walk us through the last 20 laps of the race and the relief when you crossed that finish line.

“Yeah, it was just a big relief. I feel like we have been on the bad side of some fuel races, and everybody has been working super hard and that was every ounce it took there at the end. Man, just so damn proud of this team. I feel like we have been through so much this year, and everybody has been working super hard and it showed there at the end.”

How important was it to get back to the winning side and get things pointed in the right direction as we get closer to the playoffs?

“Yeah, it’s been tough results-wise, but man we have had speed. It’s just been a couple of things here and there that just didn’t go our way and today we got the cautions that we needed. I think the real play was when we took four tires there on the last pit stop, which felt like an eternity ago. We just were on the good side of tire life as well; able to have some good restarts and just get our way forward.”

What does it mean to be on the positive side of the playoffs as we head toward Daytona?

“Yeah, it’s good, but wins trump everything in this sport. I have heard other drivers talk about that. Man, you work so damn hard to win and get that feeling. To do that today was awesome. Just going to enjoy this one and keep it rolling.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 7th

What more did you need for the win?

“I got the right-rear tire really hot on that last restart and hurt myself there. I got a bad restart. We came down in second gear and William really slowed the pace down, but I knew he was in second too so I thought it would be OK. The No. 19 (Chase Briscoe) just hammered him and got him going. I got pinned on the bottom; slid the right-rear a couple of times and got it hot. That was on me. I just need to do a better job there. But overall, just proud of this No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team. Once this tire seems to get hot, it seems like it just tanks and you can’t really get it back. I just tried to take care of it from then on. Honestly, I needed to just not speed on pit road early in the race. That hurt us, but it was a good day overcoming that.”

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 8th

How would you summarize the day for your team?

“It was just another work of art from Jeff Dickerson, wanting us to fight through adversity and be able to come out with a good result. That’s what he’s preached and that’s what we’ve been focusing on. We were turned around at one point and just struggling go anywhere. We were just able to reset and regroup. Luke (Lambert, crew chief) did a really good job for this No. 77 Miner Docks Doors and More Chevrolet team to at least put something on the board and be able to go into next weekend with a little momentum with two top-10s in a row.”

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 31st

Van Gisbergen on the first incident when he got into the fence:

“We just ran long and I was getting looser and looser. I just made an error and it finally bit me. We were just damaged, but the No. 88 Red Bull Chevrolet team did a great job repairing it. They got us back on the lead lap, but it was ultimately too damaged to get a good result.

What have you been able to do to improve on your restarts?

“I felt like on most restarts, that’s where we were making our gains. We had good speed and were getting right in the mix. That’s been a weakness of mine, and I feel like we’re getting better and better every week. We just need to get building on that. It’s not a great result, but there’s a lot of positives that have come out of today.”

About General Motors

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By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

NEWTON, Iowa — Sam Mayer took control of Saturday’s Hy-Vee Perks 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway after a Lap 221 restart and maintained it the rest of the way to record the first victory for the Haas Factory team and the first in the series for Ford this season.

Mayer won at Iowa for the second straight year, having triumphed in a JR Motorsports Chevrolet last season. The eighth victory of his career ended Sunoco rookie Connor Zilisch’s three-race winning streak.

Driving the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford, Mayer edged ahead of pole winner and runner-up Jesse Love on Lap 223 before Brandon Jones spun in oil from Matt DiBenedetto’s Chevrolet to cause the eighth caution of the afternoon.

On the subsequent restart on Lap 234, Mayer streaked away and left Love and other pursuers in his wake. After taking the white flag, Mayer was cruising to the victory when Garrett Smithley’s spin caused the ninth and final caution and froze the field, with Mayer in the winning position.

“This one’s everything right here,” Mayer said. “First win for Haas Factory Team — that’s awesome. This car was fast all day long. I tried to botch it on pit road, but we didn’t.

“I can’t believe it. This is one of the most special wins I have. These guys (Mayer’s team), they love me to death, I love them to death, and we’re just some good ol’ boys trying to go racing.”

After finishing fourth in the first stage, Mayer overshot his No.1 pit stall, which sits at a difficult angle around a curve near the exit from pit road. Mayer restarted 16th on Lap 71 but worked his way back through the field and regained the fourth spot by the end of Stage 2.

“I missed my pit box, but the car was so good it didn’t even matter,” Mayer said. “We ran up through there—no problem. It was great.”

Ross Chastain finished third behind Mayer and Love, with Zilisch running fourth and Harrison Burton fifth.

For practical purposes, Zilisch’s bid for a fourth straight Xfinity Series ran into immediate trouble during the first stage break. After winning Stage 1, Zilisch brought his No. 88 Chevrolet to pit road for service, but the front tire changer failed to get all lugs tight on the left front wheel.

Zilisch restarted 25th on Lap 71 and initially made rapid progress through the field. As the second stage progressed, Zilisch stalled out in traffic, with his Camaro getting increasingly loose behind other cars.

The 19-year-old phenom finished the stage in 17th-place and restarted the final stage in the same position on Lap 130. He climbed as high as third in the running order but couldn’t find a way to prevail during a succession of late restarts.

In fact, Zilisch’s car broke loose in a three-wide scenario with teammates Chastain and reigning series champion Justin Allgaier on Lap 214. Contact from Zilisch’s car knocked Chastain sideways into Allgaier’s Chevrolet.

With Allgaier finishing 16th, he and Zilisch’s are now tied for the series lead with four races left in the regular season.

Burton took a major step toward the Playoffs with his second top-five finish of the season. He’s now 11th on the current Playoff grid, 17 points ahead of 12th-place Ryan Sieg and 19 points ahead of cousin Jeb Burton, the first driver below the elimination line.

Jeb Burton finished 29th Saturday after dealing with a cracked track bar and suffering through the afternoon with an ill-handling car.

Driving the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet after the abrupt release of Josh Williams from the ride, Carson Hocevar finished sixth, followed by Sheldon Creed, Ryan Sieg, Carson Kvapil and Christian Eckes.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Hy-Vee Perks 250
Iowa Speedway
Newton, Iowa
Saturday, August 2, 2025

(5) Sam Mayer, Ford, 250.
(1) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 250.
(11) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 250.
(4) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 250.
(17) Harrison Burton, Ford, 250.
(3) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 250.
(14) Sheldon Creed, Ford, 250.
(7) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 250.
(8) Carson Kvapil #, Chevrolet, 250.
(25) Christian Eckes #, Chevrolet, 250.
(2) William Sawalich #, Toyota, 250.
(16) Justin Bonsignore, Toyota, 250.
(28) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 250.
(6) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 250.
(9) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 250.
(15) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 250.
(36) Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 250.
(24) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 250.
(26) Nick Sanchez #, Chevrolet, 250.
(22) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 250.
(29) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 250.
(27) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 250.
(12) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 250.
(18) Corey Day, Chevrolet, 249.
(34) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 249.
(19) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 249.
(33) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 249.
(21) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 249.
(32) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 249.
(35) Patrick Emerling(i), Chevrolet, 249.
(20) Dean Thompson #, Toyota, 248.
(23) Thomas Annunziata, Chevrolet, 248.
(30) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 247.
(37) Tyler Tomassi, Ford, 240.
(13) Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, Accident, 221.
(10) Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, Accident, 200.
(31) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, Suspension, 172.
(38) Dawson Cram, Chevrolet, Vibration, 93.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 87.832 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 29 Mins, 26 Secs. Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds.

Caution Flags: 9 for 61 laps.

Lead Changes: 13 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: J. Love 1;C. Zilisch # 2-7;J. Love 8;C. Zilisch # 9-64;J. Love 65-83;R. Chastain(i) 84-124;T. Gray # 125;S. Smith 126-128;R. Chastain(i) 129-207;T. Gray # 208;B. Jones 209-211;J. Allgaier 212;J. Love 213-222;S. Mayer 223-250.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ross Chastain(i) 2 times for 120 laps; Connor Zilisch # 2 times for 62 laps; Jesse Love 4 times for 31 laps; Sam Mayer 1 time for 28 laps; Brandon Jones 1 time for 3 laps; Sammy Smith 1 time for 3 laps; Taylor Gray # 2 times for 2 laps; Justin Allgaier 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 88,2,9,41,18,1,11,10,25,7

Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,20,54,41,18,00,2,25,1,39