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Ty Gibbs utilizes late two-tire pit call for thrilling Cup victory at Iowa

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Ty Gibbs capitalized on a late, gusty pit call that enabled him to cycle to the front and win the third annual running of the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, August 9.

The 2022 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, led the final 20 of 350-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in sixth place and raced competitively towards the front in the early stages as he nabbed a fourth-place result following the first stage’s conclusion.

Then prior to the second stage period, Gibbs endured a slow pit service during the first stage’s break period that sent him towards the tail end of the lead lap field. Through four caution periods that ensued through the second stage period, Gibbs was able to muscle his way back to the front and settle in fourth place for a second consecutive stage period.

After spending a majority of the third and final stage period racing towards the front, Gibbs was racing in second place when he peeled off the racetrack to pit under green flag conditions right behind teammate and the leader, Christopher Bell, with 60 laps remaining. With crew chief Tyler Allen making the call for only a two-tire pit service for Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota entry, this allowed Gibbs to overtake Bell on pit road and blend back on the track ahead of pole-sitter Ryan Blaney. Once Gibbs cycled to the race lead with 20 laps remaining, he spent the event’s remainder fending off a late charge from Bell to notch his second career victory in NASCAR’s premier series in Newton, Iowa.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Ryan Blaney secured his third Cup pole position of the 2026 season with a pole-winning lap at 134.191 mph in 23.474 seconds. Kyle Larson started alongside Blaney on the front row with a lap of 134.088 mph in 23.492 seconds.

Prior to the event, a trio of names that included Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to their respective entries.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson dueled for the lead in front of a stacked field through the first two turns until Blaney, who started on the outside lane, motored his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry ahead through the backstretch. Amid the early jostling of spots within the field, Blaney cycled back to the frontstretch and led the first lap.

Blaney proceeded to lead the next three laps before the event’s first caution flew when Tyler Reddick, who was racing in seventh place, ran over a bump, got loose and veered to the right in front of Erik Jones before both wrecked hard against the first turn’s outside wall. The incident sent both Jones and Reddick to the garage and out of further contention. It also implicated Jones’ hopes of racing back above the top-16 cutline to make the Chase while Reddick was strapped with a sixth result of 30th or worse through a nine-race span.

As the event restarted on Lap 12, Blaney and Larson briefly dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Blaney used the outside lane to motor ahead entering the backstretch for a second consecutive restart. As Blaney led the next lap, Larson retained the runner-up spot ahead of Joey Logano while Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Connor Zilisch, Ross Chastain, Zane Smith, Josh Berry and Austin Cindric trailed in the top-10 mark, respectively, by the Lap 15 mark.

Through the Lap 25 mark, Blaney was leading by more than a second over Larson and by more than two seconds over teammate Logano while Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Zilisch, Chastain, Zane Smith, Berry and Cindric were racing in the top-10 mark ahead of Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Briscoe, William Byron, John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson and Riley Herbst, respectively. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin was mired in 26th place ahead of Austin Hill, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece while Chase Elliott was strapped in 32nd place behind Chris Buescher. With Hamlin only gaining a spot and Elliott retaining his respective spot over the next 10 laps, Blaney extended his lead by more than three seconds over both Larson and Logano at the Lap 35 mark.

By Lap 50, Blaney stabilized his lead to more than three seconds over teammate Logano while third-place Larson trailed by four seconds. Behind, Gibbs and Austin Dillon continued to race in the top five ahead of Zilisch, Chastain, Zane Smith, Berry and Todd Gilliland while Bell, Briscoe, Wallace, Byron and Stenhouse followed suit, respectively. Meanwhile, Hocevar, who was dealing with an alternator issue, had dropped to 22nd place behind Hamlin while Blaney, who spent the next 10 laps reeling in the tail end of the field while also lapping Cole Custer, Cody Ware and Chris Buescher, had his lead shrink to above a second on Lap 60.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 70, Blaney captured his fifth Cup stage victory of the 2026 season. Logano trailed in the runner-up spot by more than a second while Larson, Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Bell, Briscoe, Zilisch and Zane Smith were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, 29 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap while names that included Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Cole Custer were scored a lap down, with Elliott receiving the free pass for being the first competitor scored a lap down.

Under the event’s first stage break period, the field led by Blaney pitted for the first time. Following the pit stops, Blaney retained the lead by exiting pit road first while Logano, Larson, Chastain, Austin Dillon, Briscoe, Bell, Zilisch, Zane Smith and Wallace followed suit, respectively. During the pit stops, Gibbs endured a slow pit service and rejoined the track in 28th place.

The second stage period started on Lap 78 as Blaney and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, Blaney and Logano nearly dueled for the lead for a full lap as Logano, who restarted on the inside lane, managed to draw within a fender alongside Blaney, but Blaney led the next lap. As both Team Penske competitors battled for the lead just past the Lap 80 mark, Larson, Chastain, Bell and Briscoe followed suit before Wallace muscled his way up to sixth place. Wallace, who qualified in 26th place, continued his steady march to the front by overtaking Bell for fifth place before he proceeded to battle Chastain for fourth place while Blaney retained the lead.

On Lap 90, the caution returned when Shane van Gisbergen, who was racing in the midfield section, got loose from the bottom lane and spun towards the outside wall within Turns 3 and 4, where he then had issues re-firing his No. 97 Red Bull Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry. During this caution period, most of the field led by Blaney returned to pit road for service while Elliott remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Blaney exited pit road first ahead of Logano, Larson, Chastain and Wallace.

The event’s next restart on Lap 98 did not last long when Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was mixed within a four-wide battle that involved Michael McDowell, Austin Hill and Todd Gilliland through the backstretch, got clipped by McDowell and spun backward into the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4. At the moment of caution, Elliott retained the lead over Blaney, Logano, Wallace and Larson, respectively.

For the next restart on Lap 103, Elliott and Blaney dueled for the lead in front of Logano, Wallace and the field for a full lap. Then for the next lap, Blaney got briefly loose entering Turn 3, which allowed Wallace to move into the runner-up spot and challenge Elliott for the lead by Lap 105. Wallace dueled alongside Elliott until the former moved the latter up the track through the first two turns and cleared Elliott to assume the lead on Lap 108. As Wallace led by Lap 110, Blaney tried to reel in Elliott for the runner-up spot while Logano was being challenged by Austin Dillon and Larson for fourth place.

By Lap 120, Wallace was leading by two-tenths of a second over Blaney while Elliott, Logano, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Larson, Bell, Hamlin and Berry were in the top 10 ahead of Zilisch, John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, William Byron, Briscoe, Gragson, Herbst, Alex Bowman, Gibbs and Ty Dillon, respectively. Wallace proceeded to slightly stretch his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Blaney by Lap 130 and by nine-tenths of a second on Lap 140 before the caution flew when Hocevar, who was two laps down due to his alternator issue, got loose and spun by himself through Turns 3 and 4.

During the recent caution period, a majority of the field led by Wallace pitted while some, including Bell, Hamlin, Briscoe and McDowell, remained on the track. With various pit strategies ensuing, Logano exited pit road first ahead of Chastain, Zilisch, Byron and Blaney. During the pit stops,, Elliott endured a slow pit service and rejoined the track in 28th place while Wallace was penalized for speeding on pit road, which relegated him back to 30th place.

When the event restarted on Lap 147, teammates Bell and Hamlin dueled for the lead in front of teammate Briscoe, McDowell and Logano for a full lap. Seconds later, the caution returned when Larson, who made a move to the outside lane at the event’s launch before he drifted up the track after contact from Nemechek through Turns 3 and 4, was pinned in a tight four-wide battle through the frontstretch and resulted in teammate Alex Bowman getting squeezed and turned off the front nose of Larson while wrecking through the outside wall. Ryan Preece, who was also mixed in the four-wide battle, sustained damage to his entry as Herbst was also mixed within the four-wide battle.

As the event restarted on Lap 154, Bell and Hamlin battled dead even for the lead in front of Logano, Briscoe and the field before Bell motored ahead from the outside lane through the backstretch by Lap 155. While the field fanned out and jostled for spots, teammates Briscoe and Hamlin along with Logano battled closely for the runner-up spot behind Bell while Chastain, Byron, Zane Smith, Zilisch, McDowell and Gibbs trailed in the top-10 mark by Lap 160.

At the halfway mark on Lap 175, Bell extended his lead to more than two seconds over teammate Briscoe and by three seconds over teammate Hamlin while Logano, Chastain, Byron, Gibbs, Zane Smith, Zilisch and Berry. Behind, Austin Dillon, McDowell, Blaney, Gragson, Herbst, Ty Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, Wallace, Preece and Keselowski were racing in the top 20 while Nemechek, Stenhouse, Buescher, Austin Hill, Cindric, Gilliland, Elliott, Daniel Suarez, van Gisbergen and Cody Ware trailed in the top 30, respectively. Meanwhile, Larson was mired three laps down in 33rd place as Bell’s lead stood at three seconds over Logano on Lap 200 while Briscoe, Chastain, Gibbs and Hamlin pursued in the top six, respectively.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 210, Bell captured his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2026 season. Logano settled in second place by more than a second while Chastain, Gibbs, Briscoe, Hamlin, Byron, Blaney, Zane Smith and Zilisch settled in the top 10, respectively. By then, 29 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

During the event’s second stage break period, nearly the entire field led by Bell pitted for service while Elliott remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Blaney exited pit road first ahead of Bell, Chastain, Gibbs, Hamlin and Briscoe. During the pit stops, Logano had to reverse back into his pit stall to have a left-rear wheel tightened, and he plummeted back outside the top-25 mark.

With 132 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Elliott and Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, Blaney battled and fended off Elliott to lead the next lap while a variety of on-track battles and shuffling ensued towards the front. While Blaney started to slowly pull away from the field, Elliott battled Bell to retain the runner-up spot in front of Chastain, Gibbs, Byron and Hamlin before AJ Allmendinger motored his way up to sixth place. As Blaney led by one-and-a-half seconds with 120 laps remaining, Austin Dillon, Briscoe and Elliott were racing from seventh to ninth, respectively, and Byron dropped to 10th place. Meanwhile, Logano was mired in 21st place and Wallace was in 16th place while Bell, Chastain, Gibbs, Hamlin and Allmendinger were in the top six, respectively.

Down to the final 100 laps, Bell, who reeled in Blaney for the lead, trailed Blaney by three-tenths of a second while third-place Gibbs trailed the lead by more than two seconds. Fourth-place Chastain trailed by nearly four seconds and fifth-place Hamlin trailed by four seconds before Bell used the outside lane from Turn 1 to Turn 3 to assume the lead from Blaney with 96 laps remaining. By then, Elliott pitted under green for fuel as Bell grew his lead to eight-tenths of a second over Blaney with 90 laps remaining.

With 75 laps remaining, Bell stretched his late advantage to more than two seconds over both Blaney and teammate Gibbs while Chastain and Hamlin rounded out the top five ahead of Briscoe, Berry, Allmendinger, Austin Dillon and Byron, respectively. Gibbs would then overtake Blaney for the runner-up spot three laps later despite the latter two getting loose through the first two turns a lap prior, and Gibbs would trail Bell by more than two seconds with 70 laps remaining.

Then with 66 laps remaining, a late cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Blaney pitted from third place. Ty Dillon also pitted with Blaney before Hamlin and Allmendinger pitted two laps later. As Bell retained the lead by more than two seconds with 60 laps remaining, he then pitted his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry XSE entry from the lead along with teammate Gibbs before Byron, Preece and McDowell pitted another two laps later. By the time both Bell and Gibbs completed their green flag pit stops, Gibbs, who pitted for only two tires, managed to overtake Bell while both were able to blend back on the track in front of Blaney. While more names that included Briscoe, Berry and Herbst pitted, Chastain, who has yet to pit, was leading while Gibbs remained in front of Bell and Blaney as the highest-running competitor to just pit with 50 laps remaining.

As the event reached its final 45-lap mark, Chastain continued to lead by more than nine seconds over Gragson, with Zane Smith, Zilisch and Wallace racing in the top five. Behind, Gibbs, who was up into eighth place, was a tenth of a second ahead of a hard-charging Bell while Blaney was mired as the last competitor a lap down in 13th place while also trailing Gibbs by five seconds. Over the next 10 laps, Chastain remained on the track and retained the lead by 11 seconds while Gibbs, who moved his No. 54 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE entry up to third place, continued to fend off Bell while Blaney was mired in seventh place.

Then with 25 laps remaining, both Gibbs and Bell overtook Gragson to move into second and third, respectively, on the track as Chastain continued to lead by more than 13 seconds. By the time Chastain surrendered the lead to pit with 21 laps remaining, Gibbs and Bell cycled to the front, with Gibbs leading by four-tenths of a second. While Blaney trailed by more than six seconds in third place, Berry, Hamlin and Briscoe were in the top six as Chastain blended back on the track in seventh place in front of Allmendinger, Byron and Buescher. Amid Bell’s pursuit, Gibbs’ lead stood at three-tenths of a second with 15 laps remaining.

Down to the final 10 laps, Gibbs continued to fend off teammate Bell as the former led by two-tenths of a second while Blaney trailed in third place by seven seconds. As Bell continued to struggle with executing his late reel on Gibbs for the lead through all lanes, the turns and straightaways, Gibbs’ lead stood at three-tenths of a second with five laps remaining.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gibbs remained in the lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Bell. As Bell tried to mount a final lap charge, he could not execute for a final cycle as Gibbs fended off the latter to claim his second career checkered flag by two-tenths of a second.

NO. 54
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com

With the victory, Gibbs, who clinched his berth to this year’s Chase two weeks ago after Indianapolis Motor Speedway, became the 146th competitor overall to achieve multiple Cup Series victories, and he became the sixth competitor to notch multiple victories in 2026.

Gibbs also became the third winner in the Cup Series’ three-year history at Iowa Speedway while delivering the first Cup Iowa win for both Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing. In addition, Joe Gibbs Racing achieved its seventh victory of the 2026 season with Toyota also notching its 14th win through 23-scheduled events.

“I just had to keep my head down, gel up and stay in it,” Gibbs said on the frontstretch on USA Network. “[It’s] Just people that want to support each other. We have a big step from last year, obviously, and I really appreciate, but I really appreciate all my teammates too. I wouldn’t be here without all my teammates as well week in and week out. Just help keep developing the program, and obviously, we’re all up front for a reason. I really appreciate Denny [Hamlin] and Chase [Briscoe] and Christopher [Bell] for all their help, obviously. Let’s lock in. Hammer down.”

Bell, who led 108 laps compared to Gibbs’ 20, settled in the runner-up spot for a seventh time in 2026 as he also recorded his 11th top-five result through 23-scheduled events.

“This is what you call a bad second-place finish, for sure,” Bell said. “I don’t know what else to say. Ty [Gibbs] did a really good job. He did a great job managing the race. I could tell that he was slipping and sliding around. Similar to two weeks ago with Corey Heim, he just didn’t make a mistake. P2.”

Ryan Blaney, who led a race-high 129 laps, finished in third place for his fifth top-three result of the 2026 season while Josh Berry and Denny Hamlin finished in the top five, respectively. Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, AJ Allmendinger, William Byron and Austin Dillon completed the top-10 results, as all were also the only competitors to finish on the lead lap.

This event featured nine lead changes for six different leaders, and seven cautions for 45 laps.

Following the 23rd event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Denny Hamlin continues to lead the regular-season standings by 103 points over teammate Ty Gibbs, 110 over Ryan Blaney, 120 over Tyler Reddick, 260 over teammate Chase Briscoe and 264 over teammate Christopher Bell.

Results:

  1. Ty Gibbs, 20 laps led
  2. Christopher Bell, 108 laps led, Stage 2 winner
  3. Ryan Blaney, 129 laps led, Stage 1 winner
  4. Josh Berry
  5. Denny Hamlin
  6. Chase Briscoe
  7. Ross Chastain, 40 laps led
  8. AJ Allmendinger
  9. William Byron
  10. Austin Dillon
  11. Connor Zilisch, one lap down
  12. Bubba Wallace, one lap down, 35 laps led
  13. Chris Buescher, one lap down
  14. Joey Logano, one lap down
  15. Chase Elliott, one lap down, 18 laps led
  16. Zane Smith, one lap down
  17. Noah Gragson, one lap down
  18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
  19. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down
  20. Ryan Preece, one lap down
  21. Riley Herbst, one lap down
  22. Todd Gilliland, one lap down
  23. Daniel Suarez, one lap down
  24. Ty Dillon, one lap down
  25. Michael McDowell, one lap down
  26. Austin Hill, one lap down
  27. Brad Keselowski, two laps down
  28. Cole Custer, two laps down
  29. Austin Cindric, two laps down
  30. Shane van Gisbergen, three laps down
  31. Carson Hocevar, three laps down
  32. Cody Ware, three laps down
  33. Kyle Larson, 18 laps down
  34. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident
  35. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident
  36. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 15, and air at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.

Alex Palou inches closer to fifth title with dominant drive in Portland

By
Tucker White
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PORTLAND, Ore. - AUGUST 9: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, celebrates winning the NTT IndyCar Series OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway on Aug. 9, 2026, in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment

Alex Palou moved one step closer to title No. 5.

As he’s done multiple times in 2026, the driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda took the lead during a green flag pit cycle and drove on to victory in the OnlyBull Grand Prix of Portland.

“Yeah, I would say the race in general was incredible for us,” Palou said. “I think pretty much nobody expected those reds and soft tires to be that fast and to be that good, especially so many laps. That’s why we went a bit let’s say in that moment as well, also because Barry (Wanser) and Julian said, ‘We’re going to hit some traffic.’ It was a time to try and open the gap. It worked incredible.

“But that was like, man, those tires are the best. I wanted to have them more towards the end to avoid Felix (Rosenqvist) or (Will) Power or whoever we were going to be fighting with.”

It’s his 25th career victory in 110 NTT INDYCAR SERIES starts, sixth of the 2026 season and third at Portland International Raceway.

Felix Rosenqvist started on the pole and led the first 31 laps, but always cycled out behind Palou and brought his No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda home second.

“He just drove better, to be honest,” Rosenqvist said. “Not a lot quicker, but he was a little bit quicker, especially on the blacks. That first stint he outsmarted us, did one lap longer. I didn’t know he did that, so maybe we need to work on communication. I don’t think I could have kept up with that pace he did anyways, if I saved that much fuel.

“He got us in a sequence. I got kind of twisted up leaving my box because I was so close to the Schumacher crew. I think between the overcut and that, we kind of lost the position. From there on we just sat in second.

“Some stints we looked really good. The last one we were struggling a little bit. Yeah, it’s hard to pass. I think they did the right move there.

“Y”eah, from there it was just like a lapped car race, I guess. Sometimes you’re getting three seconds because of a lap car, the next time you lose three seconds.

“I think without sounding salty, I don’t think I would have won the race anyway, but I think it’s kind of time for us as a series to grow up and not have the lapped car situation. I think it makes us all look stupid.

“When you work hard and all of a sudden you lose five seconds behind a lapped car, I don’t think it’s right. I don’t think anyone wants to see that.

“Again, I don’t think I would have won anyways. I think all drivers probably agree with me.”

Will Power led with 25 laps to go, but missed pit road and cycled out over seven seconds behind Palou. Despite a soft tire advantage, the driver of the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda couldn’t pass Rosenqvist and settled for third.

“Yeah, great day for us,” Power said. “Great day for Andretti. Didn’t quite have the pace I think the top two guys. Probably about a 10th off. But yeah, solid day.

“Just seriously fast pace all day. Qualifying laps, really good quality. Such a quality field now. That’s why it’s green. People are so good.”

Rinus VeeKay and Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top-five.

Marcus Ericsson, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Christian Lundgaard and Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top-10

Alex Palou inches closer to fifth title with dominant drive in Portland

Race summary

Felix Rosenqvist led the field to green at 4:26 p.m. ET. Unlike in six of the last seven visits to Portland International Raceway, nobody wrecked in Turn 1 on the first lap. After four laps, Christian Lundgaard drove his way from 25th to 15th. Caution flew on Lap 7 when Graham Rahal went off track in Turn 12, into the tire barrier. Six drivers pitted during the caution. Also during the caution, David Malukas received a two-spot penalty for blocking on the second lap.

Back to green on Lap 10, the field settled into a green flag rhythm. Louis Foster kicked off a cycle of green flag stops on Lap 20. Rosenqvist pitted from the lead on Lap 31. Alex Palou pitted from the lead on Lap 32 and cycled out ahead of Rosenqvist. Josef Newgarden, who pitted under the first caution, cycled to the lead. He pitted from the lead on Lap 37 and Palou, on soft tires, cycled to the lead, 4.7 seconds ahead of Rosenqvist, on hards.

Ten laps after Palou took the lead, he pulled out to 6.7 seconds ahead of Rosenqvist. Pato O’Ward kicked off another cycle of green flag stops on Lap 49. Palou pitted from the lead on Lap 55, and took scuffed hard tires. Rosenqvist pitted from the lead on Lap 59, and took soft tires. Will Power pitted from the lead on Lap 60, and took hard tires. Newgarden pitted from the lead on Lap 66 and Palou cycled back to the front of the field.

With 40 laps to go, Palou’s gap to Rosenqvist progressively shrank to 3.3 seconds. With 39 to go, it shrank to 2.5 seconds. By Lap 76, the gap shrank to 1.9 seconds. Three laps later, it shrank to 1.5 seconds. During this, Kyle Kirkwood kicked off the final cycle of pit stops on Lap 78. With 31 laps to go, the gap shrank to 1.2 seconds. When Foster rejoined the race after his stop, he slowed up Palou and Rosenqvist pulled to within half a second. Then he ducked onto pit road with 30 to go, took hard tires. Palou followed suit with 29 to go, took scuffed hard tires and cycled off pit road ahead of Rosenqvist by roughly two seconds. Power, who missed pit road with 25 to go, pitted from the lead with 24 to go, took soft tires, and Palou cycled to the front with a 2.9 second lead.

With 22 laps to go, Palou stretched the lead to 4.2 seconds. With 21 to go, the gap grew to 4.4 seconds. With 10 to go, Palou pulled out to a 5.8 second lead and drove onto victory.

Alex Palou inches closer to fifth title with dominant drive in Portland

What else happened

On Lap 31, Ericsson, who ran second before pitting on Lap 24, went off track in Turn 1.

Alex Palou inches closer to fifth title with dominant drive in Portland

Nuts and bolts

The race lasted one hour, 55 minutes and three seconds, at an average speed of 112.661 mph. There were nine lead changes among four different drivers and one caution for two laps.

Palou leaves with a 110-point lead over Kirkwood.

The NTT INDYCAR Series returns to action, August 16, on the streets of Markham, Ontario, for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham.

Palou Draws Closer to Fifth Title With Masterful Portland Victory

By
Official Release
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PORTLAND, Ore. (Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026) – In a master class of tire management and pure pace, Alex Palou drove closer to his record-tying fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship and fifth overall title with a victory Sunday in the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.

Palou earned his sixth victory of the season and 25th of his illustrious career, driving his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 4.1167-second victory over the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of NTT P1 Award winner Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian.

The Spaniard increased his championship lead to 110 points over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, a gap of more than two races with just five races remaining this season.

“Everybody at CGR and Honda did an incredible job,” Palou said. “I had an absolute rocket ship today. It was very, very nice to drive every single lap.

“Chip puts the best guys around me, but then also everybody is just executing. That car is a rocket ship, and I’m just lucky enough to drive it.”

Two-time series champion Will Power finished third in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda in his first race with Andretti Global at Portland International Raceway after winning this race the last two years with Team Penske.

Rinus VeeKay capped a strong weekend by finishing fourth in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, with Kirkwood putting two Andretti Global cars into the top five in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.

The race, which had just one caution period for two laps, evolved into a chess match of tire strategy and management over its 110 laps.

Rosenqvist, Palou and Power each started on the slower, more durable Firestone Firehawk primary tire from the top three positions, respectively. Rosenqvist led the first 30 laps until he and Power both made their respective first pit stop on Lap 31, staying on the primary tires.

Palou and strategist Barry Wanser decided to stay out one lap longer on an “overcut” strategy, pitting for alternate tires on Lap 32. Palou was able to lay down a blinding lap on that extra trip around the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course and exited the pits ahead of Rosenqvist and Power.

The overcut worked for Palou, as it usually does due to his mastery of tire preservation.

“The overcut was just so powerful,” Rosenqvist said. “I also struggled a little bit on my launch (exiting the pit box). That’s basically what did it. He got ahead of us.”

Palou cycled back to the lead on Lap 37 after Josef Newgarden pitted on a different strategy in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet. From that point, Palou only trailed during pit cycles, but it wasn’t an easy canter to the checkered flag despite leading a race-high 60 laps.

The Spaniard pitted at the end of Lap 56 with a lead approaching five seconds and switched from alternate to scuffed primary tires. Meanwhile, Rosenqvist stopped at the end of Lap 59 and changed from primary to alternate tires.

“I was a little bit worried there when we put those alternates on,” Palou said. “They were so good. We didn’t expect them to be so good. I was like, ‘Man, if someone is going keep them for the end, we might have a battle.’”

The extra grip provided by the red-sidewall alternate tire helped Rosenqvist pull to within one second of Palou by Lap 80. Then Palou was able to keep the No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Louis Foster between himself and Rosenqvist, and one lap later Palou’s lead expanded to 1.7 seconds.

Palou made his final stop at the end of Lap 82, staying on scuffed primary tires. Then it appeared Power could have a shot at catching Rosenqvist and maybe reaching Palou, as Power had a set of the quicker Firestone Firehawk alternate tires waiting in his pit stall for his final stop.

But Power never heard the call from strategist Ron Ruzewski to pit at the end of Lap 86 and stayed on track. Power then got stuck behind the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Scott Dixon and the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet of Sting Ray Robb in the intervening lap before he pitted on Lap 87, ending his chances of challenging Rosenqvist for second or Palou for the win.

“I think we would have had a better shot at Rosenqvist because the reds (alternate tires) were really good at the first part of the stint,” Power said. “I never heard it (call to pits). I think I missed a call there. We certainly lost a lot on that next lap.”

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, Aug. 16 on the streets of Markham, Ontario.

Rick Ware Racing: Iowa Corn 350 from Iowa Speedway

By
Official Release
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RICK WARE RACING
Iowa Corn 350
Date: Aug. 9, 2026
Event: Iowa Corn 350 (Round 23 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Iowa Speedway in Newton (.875-mile oval)
Format: 350 laps, broken into three stages (70 laps/140 laps/140 laps)

Race Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

RWR Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 34th, Finished 32nd / Running, completed 347 of 350 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (35th with 188 points)

Race Notes:

● Ty Gibbs won the Iowa Corn 350 to score his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Iowa. His margin over second-place Christopher Bell was .253 of a second.

● There were seven caution periods for a total of 45 laps.

● Only 10 of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Iowa with a 103-point advantage over second-place Gibbs.

Sound Bites:

“It felt like everything that could go wrong, did go wrong today. Lost power steering, and that would go in and out throughout the race, so definitely a big workout there. Then, I was losing brakes for all of the last stage, pretty much. Frustrating, but just gotta move on and get ready for Richmond.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Costa Oil Filters Chevrolet

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Cook Out 400 on Saturday, Aug. 15 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The race begins at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TOYOTA RACING – NCS Iowa Post-Race Report – 08.09.26

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Official Release
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TY GIBBS SCORES SECOND CAREER NASCAR CUP SERIES WIN AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
Joe Gibbs Racing delivers four of the top-six finishers in Toyota’s first Iowa victory

NEWTON, Iowa (August 9, 2026) – After a slow pit stop early in the race, Ty Gibbs was not going to be stopped at Iowa Speedway. He drove through the field, and after crew chief Tyler Allen called a two-tire stop on the final pit cycle, Gibbs came out with the lead and held off his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Christopher Bell to score his second career victory. Bell finished second, for the seventh time this season, while JGR has added a fifth (Denny Hamlin) and sixth place finish (Chase Briscoe).

This is Toyota’s first Cup Series victory at Iowa, and Toyota now is the only OEM with victories on every current track on the Cup Series schedule.

Team Toyota now holds five of the top-six positions in the point standings with Hamlin leading Gibbs by 103 points. Tyler Reddick sits fourth, while Chase Briscoe moved inside the top-five in points for the first time this season. Christopher Bell continues his strong performance in sixth overall.

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

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, TY GIBBS
2nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
3rd, Ryan Blaney*
4th, Josh Berry*
5th, DENNY HAMLIN
6th, CHASE BRISCOE
12th, BUBBA WALLACE
19th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
21st, RILEY HERBST
35th, ERIK JONES
36th, TYLER REDDICK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TY GIBBS, No. 54 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How did you keep your composure with Christopher Bell gaining on you every lap it seemed like?

“Yeah, I just had to keep my head down, gel up and stay with it. I appreciate my team, (spotter) Tony Hirschman, all glory to Jesus Christ.”

I want to ask you about (crew chief) Tyler Allen’s two-tire call, and you and I have had so many conversations this year about how this team has gelled. What’s really spurred that on in 2026?

“Just people that want to support each other. We made a big step from last year, obviously, and I really appreciate it. But I really appreciate all my teammates too. I wouldn’t be here without all my teammates as well, week in and week out, just help keep developing the program. And obviously we’re all up front for a reason. I really appreciate Denny (Hamlin) and Chase (Briscoe) and Christopher (Bell) for all their help, obviously.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

You settle for second, your seventh runner-up finish of the season. How does this one sit with you?

“This is what you call a bad second-place finish for sure. I don’t know what else to say. Ty did a really good job. He did a great job managing the race. I could tell that he was slipping and sliding around. Similar to last week or two weeks ago with Corey Heim, he just didn’t make a mistake. So P2.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

How did you finish fifth?

“Just had to white-knuckle every lap. Obviously not knowing where my car was going to land when I got into the corner, obviously you want to have brakes, and that was a crazy race to have to do it the whole time without it, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. The team did an amazing job. I would take that day 100 out of 100 times.”

How much harder was it to drive the race car that way?

“Yeah, I’d retire at the end of the year if I had to do that every week, that’s for sure. Lesson learned from our part, that obviously we got in a box that we weren’t allowed to get out of and we just had to grind away the best we could. I’m really proud of the team for the effort they put in today.”

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

Finishing Position: 6th

Brakes caused a little trouble but overall, not a big deal. Any surprises for you during this race?

“The brakes were still a little odd. That whole first stage I had no issues and I thought we were going to be really good, and then the second stage started rising. I thought we definitely could have been better if it wasn’t for that. I thought our Bass Pro Shops Toyota was really good. We struggled a little bit on the short run, but our long run speed was phenomenal. Overall great day obviously for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), great points day for us. To be 37th in points now to be fifth with a couple to go here before the end of the regular season is a big thing for us. Got to just try to keep it going.”

Does today’s performance give you a little bit of optimism over the next two weeks?

“I hope so. Truthfully the next two weeks are probably my two worst racetracks, or my least favorite, at least. So just got to try to go there and maximize our day. Our car should be really, really fast. Yeah, just have to execute, and we’ve been doing a really good job of that over the course of the last seven or eight weeks. Looking forward to the next couple and seeing if we can keep it rolling.”

ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 35th

What did you see out there and how does this affect your Chase outlook?

“Yeah, we needed a few perfect week, and it needed to start here today for our Dollar Tree Toyota team, and obviously that didn’t happen. Just unfortunate with how early it is – lap three – I’m just trying to settle in and get going. You don’t expect it either in the top-10, top-five, you don’t think you are going to get caught up in something crazy like that. It’s a bummer. It’s a huge mountain now for here on out to get to the Chase, so we will see.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 SupplyHouse Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 36th

Can you tell us what happened?

“Yeah, there wasn’t much. It was quick or I probably could have saved it. Just got out of shape in an area – corner entry – where I thought we were pretty secure all weekend. I feel awful for our SupplyHouse Toyota team. For us to take ourselves out is one thing, but to take out a fellow Toyota teammate when they are racing for the Chase – pretty much ended their day as well. It is the type of stuff you don’t do to yourself, and you don’t do to a teammate.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

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

RCR NCS Race Recap: Iowa Speedway

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Official Release
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Strong Performance by Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Team at Iowa Speedway Culminates with Top-10 Finish

Finish: 10th
Start: 7th
Points: 27th

“I’m proud of the entire No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet team today at Iowa Speedway. We ran inside the Top-five almost all of Stage 1, and were a consistent force up front all race. We built loose, but the team was making the needed adjustments to improve that. We finished the day 10th, and probably could have finished a couple spots higher if we wouldn’t have made a mistake mid-race. I’m ready to carry this momentum into Richmond Raceway next weekend.” -Austin Dillon

Austin Hill and the No. 33 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Team Earn 26th-Place Finish at Iowa Speedway

Finish: 26th
Start: 24th
Points: 30th

“That was a long one for our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet team. We were really loose on initial fire off, but once we got into a rhythm, the balance was a little loose on entry, tight in the center and then loose on exit. Being tight in the center stayed with us for the majority of the day, no matter what adjustments we made. We fought to stay on the lead lap and did so until the green flag pit cycle in Stage 3. Proud of the guys for working hard.” -Austin Hill

CHEVROLET NCS AT IOWA SPEEDWAY: Post-Race Report

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Official Release
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NASCAR Cup Series
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol
Team Chevy Post-Race Report
August 9, 2026

Four Chevrolet Organizations Earn Top-10 Finishes at Iowa Speedway

RACE RECAP:

Stage One:

Under the hot summer sun at Iowa Speedway, an early qualifying run turned into a front-row qualifying effort for Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team. Taking the green flag for the opening stage, Larson settled into the second position behind polesitter, Ryan Blaney, and it took just 26 laps around the 7/8-mile track to clock in the fastest lap of the race. Despite a quick caution just a few laps in, a long green flag run ensued to ultimately bring the stage to a close. While then race leader, Blaney, progressively pulled away from the field, Larson was able to maintain a position within the top-three for the entirety of the run. Past Iowa Truck Series winner, Austin Dillon, put his short track abilities on full display from the start to complete the Team Chevy top-five at the drop of the first green-white checkered flag.

Stage Two:

Courtesy of a clutch two position gain in the race off pit road during the stage break, Ross Chastain made his first appearance in the top-five of the race to take the green flag for Stage Two. Buried deep in the field to start the run, a pair of early cautions saw Alan Gustafson become one of just two crew chiefs to gamble on pit strategy and make the call to stay out under the second caution period of the stage. Despite the older set of tires, track position paid great dividends with Elliott becoming a steady fixture in the top-three until the run concluded with a caution just at the halfway point of the stage. Among much of the lead pack that hit pit road for four tires and fuel, trouble on the stop ultimately ended the strong progression from the strategy call for the No. 9 team. Similar to the start of the stage, it was the McSwain-led team that saw a two-tire call put Chastain back into the top-five. In the final 15 laps of the stage, Chastain was the only mover within the top-five – driving up into the third position and just 1.7 seconds from the leader to take the second green-white checkered flag.

Final Stage:

With yet another alternate strategy call for track position by Gustafson, it was Elliott that made the jump back to the top of the leaderboard to pace the field to the green flag for the final stage. But it was the fresh set of Goodyear tires that saw Chastain quickly return as Chevrolet’s top running driver as he sat in the fourth position when the race hit 100 laps to go. Blaney kickstarted what was setting up for the final trip to pit road for the afternoon with 66 laps remaining. With varying calls among the leaders, Chastain ultimately cycled up into the top position to take control of the race just a few laps later. McSwain stayed committed to his call to stretch the run as Chastain continued to set the pace before calling his driver to pit road with 20 laps to go for right-side tires and a splash of fuel. With the green flag cycle now officially complete, Chastain still maintained a position at the front of the Bowtie brigade as he reentered the field in seventh, going on to hold the position en route to the checkered flag.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results
Pos. Driver

7th – Ross Chastain
8th – AJ Allmendinger
9th – William Byron
10th – Austin Dillon

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

Wins: 6
Poles: 5
Top-Fives: 38
Top 10s: 78
Stage Wins: 16

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Richmond Raceway with the Cook Out 400 on Saturday, August 15, at 7 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: 7th

“It was an incredible weekend for this No. 1 Busch Light Farming Chevrolet team. It was just a complete weekend from the very first lap. We made very small changes all weekend. We just made a few air pressure adjustments, a couple tenths here and a couple tenths there throughout the race, and really, we could have left it alone. To run in the top-five and take a shot at those guys, I love that Brandon McSwain (crew chief) swung for that. A seventh-place finish still feels really good. I don’t care about points unless the speed comes with it, and today was the speed we are looking for.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 10th

“I’m proud of the entire No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet team today at Iowa Speedway. We ran inside the Top-five almost all of Stage 1, and were a consistent force up front all race. We built loose, but the team was making the needed adjustments to improve that. We finished the day 10th, and probably could have finished a couple spots higher if we wouldn’t have made a mistake mid-race. I’m ready to carry this momentum into Richmond Raceway next weekend.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 8th

“Overall, I felt like it was a good day for this No. 16 Camper Inn RV Chevrolet team. We weren’t very good in practice, so Trent (Owens, crew chief) and the team made really good adjustments. Our pit crew did a really good job, especially on that last pit stop to get me near the front. I felt like we made our car better throughout the race. We were pretty decent on the long runs. I would fade a little bit, but overall, we had good speed. I felt like we executed as good as we could and got everything we could out of it.”

Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 26th

“That was a long one for our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet team. We were really loose on initial fire off, but once we got into a rhythm, the balance was a little loose on entry, tight in the center and then loose on exit. Being tight in the center stayed with us for the majority of the day, no matter what adjustments we made. We fought to stay on the lead lap and did so until the green flag pit cycle in Stage 3. Proud of the guys for working hard.”

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 11th

“It definitely feels good to come back from the off weekend and have a solid day with this No. 88 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet team. We got points in both stages and just missed a top-10 with an 11th-place finish. I’m proud of this entire team for keeping their heads down. Our pit crew did a great job. This should help us for qualifying at Richmond (Raceway) next weekend and hopefully we can go have a good run there.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

De Tullio Converts Qualifying Pace Into Portland Victory

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Official Release
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OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026) – For the first time since March, Alessandro de Tullio sealed the deal.

De Tullio led all 35 laps from the pole to win the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing entry. It was the rookie’s second victory of the season, as he also won in late March from the pole at Barber Motorsports Park.

The victory provided sweet relief for the INDYCAR development series rookie, who has shown tremendous pace in qualifying with eight pole positions this season – one shy of the series record – but had just the Barber win to show for it before today. De Tullio also crossed the finish line first from pole in June at Road America, but he and teammate Nicholas Monteiro were disqualified after post-race technical inspection discovered a sporting infraction.

“It wasn’t easy,” de Tullio said. “I had to take care of the tires. There was quite a bit of (wear) toward the end. Good race. The car was great. I can’t thank the full team enough.

“Super happy to get this one, and hopefully it sticks.”

De Tullio took the checkered flag 2.1885 seconds ahead of series veteran Lochie Hughes in the No. 26 Andretti Global car. Hughes’ teammate Max Taylor completed the podium finishers in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen entry.

Rookie Tymek Kucharczyk finished fourth in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car, while Jacob Abel rounded out the top five in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports entry in his first series start since 2024.

The tense race for the series championship and NTT INDYCAR SERIES career enhancement package awarded to the title winner tightened even further with just three races remaining this season. Enzo Fittipaldi took over the series lead by one point with his seventh-place finish in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car, taking the top spot from Nikita Johnson, who entered this event with a one-point margin over Fittipaldi.

Johnson finished eighth in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR machine. Meanwhile, Kucharczyk drew even closer to the top two with his 11th top-five finish in 14 starts this season, as he remained third, just 18 points behind leader Fittipaldi and 17 behind Johnson.

“Tough weekend,” said Fittipaldi, who started 12th. “I don’t understand why we struggled so much this weekend. We have an idea, but it’s strange. We were looking forward to this race weekend; I thought we were going to be really strong. For some reason, we were struggling a lot.”

De Tullio left no doubt about his speed at the start, as he got a good jump at the green flag and built a small gap entering the notorious chicane in Turns 1 and 2 of the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course. He parried a strong move by Hughes in the chicane complex and started to pull away.

“It was tough because we have to start early here as a rule, so they (rivals) get a good draft,” de Tullio said. “Lochie, obviously, is a driver with a lot of experience, and he knows how to race. So, it was difficult to hold him off there in Turn 1. We just had to go elbows out, and we kept it clean – that was most important.”

The only other drama happened when rookie Carson Etter spawned the only caution period of the race, on Lap 3. Etter spun exiting Turn 12 and nosed into the pit wall in the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing entry.

De Tullio rocketed from the field again on the restart on Lap 5 and never trailed. His gap to Hughes grew to nearly three seconds with 10 laps to go, as de Tullio was able to easily lap the No. 15 Cusick Morgan Motorsports machine of rookie Nicholas Stati, a task that was harder for his closest pursuers Hughes, Taylor and Kucharczyk.

Once that chasing trio cleared Stati, they set sail for de Tullio and sliced nearly a second from his lead. But there weren’t enough laps to trim that gap any further.

The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Sunday, Aug. 30 at the Milwaukee Mile, the last oval race of the season. The 2026 season concludes with a doubleheader Sept. 5-6 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

ARCA Menards West at Portland International Raceway: Portland 112 Post-race Notes

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Official Release
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  • Mason Massey (No. 19 Brunt Chevrolet) scored an improbable victory in Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series West Portland 112 at Portland International Raceway. Massey took the white flag in fourth position but moved to second when the top two, leader Sam Corry (No. 25 Valvetronic Designs Toyota) and Ethan Tovo (No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota) made contact into turn five and momentarily slipped off the track into the grass, and then he slipped past then-leader Kyle Steckly (No. 53 Auto Parts Centres Chevrolet) in the final corner when Steckly dipped his left side tires off into the grass.
  • It was Massey’s second ARCA Menards West victory of the season, along with his win in the season opener at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, and the 102nd all-time for Bill McAnally Racing.
  • Steckly, in his ARCA Menards West debut, held on to finish second just 0.423 seconds behind Massey.
  • Hailie Deegan (No. 16 Columbia Bank Chevrolet) took advantage of a chaotic final three laps to notch her first top-five finish of the season and first since she finished fourth in the 2019 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
  • Tovo scored the Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole Award with a lap of 75.974 seconds / 93.206 miles per hour but took the green flag from the tail of the field for an unapproved adjustment in impound after qualifying. He made quick work of the field and was in the top ten inside of the first dozen laps. Despite the late-race contact, he finished in fourth.
  • Eric Johnson, Jr. (No. 5 Pacific Office Automation / Sherwin-Williams Toyota) finished fifth, his third top-five finish of the season and second consecutive top-five on a road course; he finished third at Sonoma Raceway in June.
  • Jeff Anton (No. 44 Deerpark Recycling / Squid Decals Chevrolet) finished sixth, which combined with an eighth-place finish at Sonoma and a tenth-place finish in the ARCA Menards Series race at Lime Rock Park give him three consecutive ARCA Menards Series platform road course top-ten finishes.
  • Robbie Kennealy (No. 1 Jan’s Towing Ford) recovered from a turn one, lap one spin and being a lap down to finish seventh. His teammate Cole Denton (No. 71 Jan’s Towing Ford) was involved in a late-race incident and dropped from the top five to 16th at the finish.
  • Trevor Huddleston (No. 50 High Point Racing / Racecar Factory Ford) finished 13th, his first finish outside of the top ten in 2026.
  • Kyle Keller (No. 4 Battle Born / Keller Racing Engines Toyota) had just passed for second position when mechanical issues struck, leaving him 23rd at the finish.
  • Corry dropped to 15th at the finish when he was forced off the track in the final corner of the final lap.
  • Four different drivers – Massey, Steckly, Tovo, and Corry – held the lead at one point on the final lap.
  • Sixteen drivers finished on the lead lap, including Bobby Hillis, Jr. (No. 27 First Impression Press Chevrolet), who earned just the fourth lead lap finish in a career that spans 105 previous starts dating back to 2001.
  • Massey’s winning average speed was 67.037 miles per hour; the time of race was 1 hour, 40 minutes, 21 seconds.
  • There were 6 cautions for a total of 16 laps.
  • The next race for the ARCA Menards Series West is the NAPA Auto Parts 150 at All American Speedway on Saturday, September 5. The race, set to begin at 10:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm PT, will be streamed live on FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will have live timing & scoring data throughout all on-track activity and live race audio. Follow @ARCA_Racing on X (formerly Twitter) for up-to-the-minute updates.

About ARCA 
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization to sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit , or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing). 

About Menards
A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states.  Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building.  You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more.  To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!
 
Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture.  Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries.  And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more. 

Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too!  For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

Carson Brown Finishes 15th in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Debut

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Official Release
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18-Year-Old Racer Navigates Live Pit Stops and Green-White-Checkered at Iowa

Date: Aug. 8, 2026
Event: HyVee Perks 250
Series: NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Location: Iowa Speedway in Newton (.875-mile oval)
Length: 250 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/60 laps/130 laps)
Start/Finish: 20th/15th (Running, completed 260 of 260 laps)
Note: Race extended 10 laps past its scheduled 250-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Overview:

Carson Brown finished 15th in his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut Saturday at Iowa Speedway in Newton. It was a respectable result for the 18-year-old from New London, North Carolina, as Brown competed in a deep 37-car field and experienced a first – live pit stops – before delivering a scrappy drive in an elbows-out green-white-checkered finish.

Brown started 20th and ran among the top-20 through the first stage. Navigating a live pit stop for the first time put him 29th for the Stage 2 restart, but Brown methodically worked his way forward, rising to 26th by lap 75 and then ending the stage 23rd. The final stage saw Brown quickly enter the top-25, and he was holding steady in 18th toward the end of the race when another car’s spin set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Shortly after the green flag waved, a bevy of drivers were collected in a multicar accident in turn one, including Brown and his No. 32 Distributor Wire & Cable Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport. A composed Brown brought his car to pit road for service during the caution period and he rejoined the field in 26th. When the green flag waved for the final time on lap 259, Brown placed his No. 32 machine firmly on the inside lane of the .875-mile oval. He successfully defended his position on the restart and swept underneath a host of other drivers on the final lap to secure 15th when the checkered flag fell.

Carson Brown, driver of the No. 32 Distributor Wire & Cable Chevrolet for Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport:

“Live pit stops were definitely interesting, and just feeling out the restarts in the O’Reilly Series was a lot different from what I’m used to. It definitely got a little more hectic than what I wanted it to on that last green-white-checkered, but it was a lot of fun. I think I made it from 26th to 15th in a green-white-checkered. I just tried to recover from my mistakes early and get this thing back where it needed to be after we got in that wreck with only a few to go.

“I felt good out on the racetrack. I think the biggest issue was just the pit stops, getting down pit road, just making sure nothing would happen there. Some of the restart stuff involved a lot of dirty air, and just trying to figure that piece out was a new experience, but I felt like the last stage I really started to be able to move around and get really comfortable overall. I felt like everything just came alive. The car came alive. I felt like I was the best I was all day, and I just tried to make something happen at the end.

“That green-white-checkered was challenging, but we came in and got some colder tires with pumped-up air pressure and just made something happen. I felt like we were able to move around. I jumped all the way to the bottom, we were four-wide, three-wide, just bouncing off each other and, man, for a debut, this one was pretty fun.”

Notes:

● Brown qualified 20th for the HyVee Perks 250 with a time of 24.309 seconds at 129.582 mph.

● Carson Kvapil won the HyVee Perks 250 to score his second career O’Reilly Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Iowa. His margin over second-place Rajah Caruth was .343 of a second.

● There were 12 caution periods for a total of 72 laps.

● Twenty-five of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

Next Up:

Brown returns to his Late Model roots for the Aug. 22 zMAX CARS Tour event at Anderson Motor Speedway in Williamston, South Carolina, where he will drive the No. 5 Chevrolet in the Late Model Stock feature for Lee Pulliam Performance. Following that race, it’s a quick turn to Springfield, Illinois, for the Aug. 23 Calypso 100 ARCA Menards Series race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Brown will drive the No. 28 Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group in what will be his 13th career ARCA start, but first on dirt. On Aug. 26, Brown is back in a Super Late Model on the ASA STARS National Tour, driving the No. 81 Chevrolet for Anthony Campi Racing. He leads the ASA STARS National Tour championship standings by an impressive 130 points thanks to four wins and two second-place finishes through six races. Across NASCAR, ARCA, ASA, the CARS Tour and select Late Model races, Brown is scheduled to compete in more than 50 pavement races in 2026.

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