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Carson Kvapil goes back-to-back with thrilling O’Reilly victory at Iowa

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

Carson Kvapil capitalized through two overtime shootouts to double down as a two-time race winner in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division, with his latest victory occurring in the HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, August 8.

The 2021 CARS Super Late Model Tour champion from Mooresville, North Carolina, led the final nine of 260 over-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in third place, notched four stage points in the first stage period and navigated his way through a war of on-track attrition with multiple cautions and late pit strategies ensuing throughout the final stage period.

Kvapil was initially trailing teammate Ross Chastain for the lead with five laps remaining when a late caution stacked up the field for an overtime shootout. Kvapil capitalized on the first overtime shootout by overtaking Chastain for the lead before a multi-car wreck that involved teammate Justin Allgaier sent the event into a second overtime shootout. For the latest shootout, Kvapil motored away from the field and fended off teammate Rajah Caruth to notch his second consecutive victory in the O’Reilly division within a three-week span.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Ryan Sieg achieved his first career pole position with a pole-winning lap at 131.436 mph in 23.966 seconds. Ross Chastain qualified in second place with a lap at 131.086 mph in 24.030 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Ryan Sieg, who elected to start on the outside lane, wasted no time bolting away from Ross Chastain and the field through the frontstretch. Entering the first turn, Rajah Caruth, who qualified in fourth place, briefly snapped and went up the track. This caused Caruth to slip out of the top-five mark on the opening lap as Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier and Sammy Smith moved up ahead of Caruth through the backstretch. Amid the early battles within the field, Sieg led the first lap over Chastain.

Through the Lap 10 mark, Ryan Sieg stretched his early advantage to more than a second over Chastain as Allgaier, Kvapil and Creed trailed by as far back as nearly four seconds on the track. Behind, Sammy Smith occupied sixth place ahead of Jesse Love, Caruth, Corey Day and Brandon Jones as Sieg continued to stretch his advantage to more than two seconds by Lap 20.

On Lap 26, the event’s first caution flew when Nathan Byrd spun in Turn 4. During the event’s first caution period, some, including Nick Sanchez, Blaine Perkins, Jeremy Clements, Mason Maggio and Joey Gase, pitted their respective entries while the rest, led by Ryan Sieg, remained on the track.

The start of the next restart on Lap 33 featured Ryan Sieg gaining another strong launch from the outside lane as he motored away from Chastain, Allgaier and the field entering the first turn. As Sieg led the next lap, Allgaier and Chastain were locked in a tight battle for the runner-up spot that included Creed, Kvapil, Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer.

Then prior to the Lap 35 mark, Love dropped off the pace through the backstretch due to his entry having issues staying in fourth gear. As he continued to limp his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro entry around the track, he then spun sideways between Turns 3 and 4 before he drove through pit road and to his pit lane without drawing a caution. Despite returning to the track, Love was penalized for speeding on pit road. He eventually took his entry to the garage to have a transmission changed. Amid Love’s issues, Ryan Sieg maintained the lead.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 60, Ryan Sieg cruised to his first O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Allgaier settled in second ahead of Creed, Chastain and Sammy Smith while Mayer, Kvapil, Brandon Jones, Day and William Sawalich were scored in the top 10, respectively.

Under the event’s first stage break period, the field led by Ryan Sieg pitted. Following the pit stops, Creed exited pit road first ahead of Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Kvapil, Jones and Mayer while Sieg dropped to seventh place ahead of Day, Sawalich and Taylor Gray. During the pit stops, Brent Crews made a second trip to pit road due to missing his pit stall during the first pit cycle.

The second stage period started on Lap 70 as Creed and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Creed used the outside lane to motor ahead through the backstretch. As Mayer executed a three-wide move beneath Jones and Kvapil to challenge for fourth place, the field fanned out as Creed led the next lap.

Following a caution that flew on Lap 75 due to Kyle Sieg spinning through the first two turns, the next restart on Lap 80 featured Creed motoring away from the field entering the first two turns. As Mayer tried to execute a three-wide move beneath Sammy Smith and Allgaier for the runner-up spot, Allgaier acquired the spot. As Allgaier reeled in on Creed for the lead, Creed led the next lap. Amid Allgaier’s challenge for the lead, Creed proceeded to lead by the Lap 90 mark while Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Mayer, Austin Hill, Day, Sawalich, Brent Crews and Chastain were scored in the top 10, respectively.

Then on Lap 101, Allgaier overtook Creed for the lead through the second turn. Allgaier proceeded to lead by seven-tenths of a second by the Lap 105 mark before the latter’s lead increased to more than a second by the Laps 110 and 115 marks.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Allgaier cruised to his eighth O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Creed followed suit in second place by more than two seconds ahead of Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg and Mayer while Day, Crews, Sawalich, Austin Hill and Rajah Caruth were scored in the top 10, respectively.

During the event’s second stage break period, the field led by Allgaier returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Allgaier retained the lead by exiting pit road first while Creed, Sammy Smith, Mayer, Day, Ryan Sieg, Sawalich, Hill, Crews and Caruth followed suit, respectively.

With 121 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Allgaier and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier fended off Creed by a fender for a full lap as the former led the next lap while Sammy Smith, Mayer, Day and Ryan Sieg followed suit, respectively. While Day slipped out of the top-10 mark as he slid up the track and tapped Sawalich, Allgaier maintained the lead by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Creed with 110 laps remaining.

Then with 101 laps remaining, the caution returned when Anthony Alfredo spun off of the fourth turn. During this caution period, select names like Brandon Jones and Kyle Sieg pitted their respective entries. As the field restarted with 95 laps remaining, Allgaier maintained the lead for the next three laps before the caution flew due to Sawalich spinning in the second turn after he got hit by Patrick Staropoli.

For the next restart with 85 laps remaining, Allgaier, who was among the select few competitors who did not pit during the previous caution, maintained the lead over Mayer and the stacked field for a full cycle. Shortly after, the caution returned due to Cody Ware wrecking in the first turn after he got hit by Love. Allgaier then barely fended off Mayer for a full lap during the next restart with 77 laps remaining before a spin by Lavar Scott stacked the field with the caution flying.

With 71 laps remaining, Allgaier and Mayer dueled at the next restart’s launch, with Allgaier maintaining the advantage from the outside lane. Allgaier continued to maintain his advantage over the next three laps before a spin by Mason Maggio through the frontstretch drew the event’s ninth caution period. During this caution period, Allgaier and Mayer pitted as Jeb Burton cycled to the lead.

When the event restarted with 62 laps remaining, Jeb Burton maintained a steady lead over Chastain and Kvapil for half a lap before the latter two went beneath Burton through Turns 3 and 4. This caused Burton to drop to fourth as Kvapil also briefly went up the track and settled in front of Burton with the runner-up spot. As Ryan Sieg came to play and battled both Kvapil and Burton for second place, Chastain motored away to lead the next lap. Chastain led the next four laps under green flag conditions before the caution flew when Day wrecked hard against the Turn 1 wall following contact with Sammy Smith.

For the next restart that flew with 50 laps remaining, Chastain and Ryan Sieg dueled for the top spot in front of Hill, Kvapil and the field for a full lap as Chastain barely led the next lap from the outside lane. With Chastain just managing to clear and motor ahead of Sieg through the first two turns, the former retained the lead with 40 laps remaining. Chastain led by three-tenths of a second over Sieg and four-tenths of a second over Kvapil with 30 laps remaining before Chastain’s lead grew to more than a second with 20 laps remaining. By then, Kvapil assumed the runner-up spot from Sieg as Chastain led his teammate by eight-tenths of a second with 10 laps remaining.

Then, with five laps remaining, Jeb Burton, who had dropped to 19th place, spun in the second turn. By then, Chastain was leading by half a second over Kvapil while Allgaier had carved his way up to third place ahead of Ryan Sieg and Creed. Burton’s incident sent the event into overtime

The start of the first overtime attempt did not last long as the front-runners stumbled through the frontstretch and the field fanned out as Kvapil stormed beneath Chastain to take the lead. Seconds later, Crews slipped up the track, made contact with Ryan Sieg and ran into the side of Allgaier. This caused the latter trio to wreck against the first turn’s outside wall as Mayer also spun while being clipped by Sammy Smith in the process. More names like Carson Brown, Patrick Staropoli and Joey Gase wrecked against the wall while Kvapil, Chastain, Hill, Caruth, Creed, Sawalich and the rest of the field escaped the carnage.

The start of the second overtime attempt featured Kvapil gaining an advantage from the outside lane as he motored his No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead entering the first turn. Behind, Caruth motored his No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry into second place as Hill made slight contact with Chastain, which caused the latter two to briefly lose their momentum. With Hill dropping towards the top-10 mark, Sawalich battled Chastain for third place while Kvapil led Caruth through the backstretch.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kvapil remained in the lead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Caruth. With Caruth unable to reel in on Kvapil’s rear bumper for a final circuit, Kvapil smoothly navigated his way back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by three-tenths of a second.

With the victory, Kvapil became the ninth competitor to achieve his first two career victories in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division in back-to-back events. He also became the 16th competitor to win an O’Reilly event at Iowa Speedway and the 139th competitor overall to achieve multiple victories in the O’Reilly division. Kvapil’s Iowa victory marks the 20th victory for the Chevrolet manufacturer, the 15th for JR Motorsports and the fourth for JR Motorsports’ No. 1 team led by crew chief Rodney Childress in the 2026 campaign.

Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“I knew we had a really fast car,” Kvapil said on the CW Network. “I knew [Allgaier] was on fresher tires, so that was really my biggest concern there. I think [Chastain] probably had it, that yellow didn’t come out there at the end. I thought we were fast running them down, but we just didn’t have enough there to fill the gap, but [crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and everyone at Bass Pro Shops, Clarience Technologies with Hendrick Motors under the hood brought a really fast race car. Unlike our first few stages, we were really able to run down the leaders there at the end and it just all worked out. We got that restart we needed, and we got the win.”

Teammate Rajah Caruth followed suit to notch a career-best runner-up result in his 45th O’Reilly career start. As a result, Caruth, who is ranked in 14th place in the driver’s standings, is scored 15 points below the top-12 cutline looking ahead to this year’s regular-season finale event at Daytona International Speedway on August 28 that will determine this year’s O’Reilly Chase field.

“We were chasing the balance all day,” Caruth said. “The restarts kind of worked out for us. I was trying to just be the closest to the front because you never know how they’ll shake out. Sometimes, it works out. Sometimes, it doesn’t, and it worked out for us today. I probably wanted a little more and wouldn’t have gone up finishing second, but I guess you can’t complain too bad. A lot to work on still and got to go plate racing in a couple of weeks.”


William Sawalich settled in third place and moved to 11th place in the standings as he is a single point above the cutline to make his first O’Reilly Chase. Ross Chastain and Sheldon Creed, both of whom led a combined 99 laps, finished in the top five, respectively.

Nick Sanchez, Taylor Gray, Dean Thompson, Harrison Burton and Brennan Poole completed the top 10, respectively, on the track. Notably, Justin Allgaier, who led a race-high 83 laps, ended up in 24th place. In addition, pole-sitter Ryan Sieg, who led 65 laps, fell back to 33rd place as he was unable to finish following his first overtime accident.

Meanwhile, Sammy Smith clinched a Chase berth despite finishing in 17th place at Iowa. Parker Retzlaff, Sam Mayer, William Sawalich and Brent Crews currently occupy the remaining four vacant spots to the Chase with a single regular-season event remaining on the schedule.

This event featured seven lead changes for seven different leaders, and 12 cautions for 72 laps. In addition, 25 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 23rd event of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 238 points over teammate Carson Kvapil, 266 over Sheldon Creed, 299 over Jesse Love and 321 over Corey Day.

Results:

  1. Carson Kvapil, nine laps led
  2. Rajah Caruth
  3. William Sawalich
  4. Ross Chastain, 63 laps led
  5. Sheldon Creed, 36 laps led
  6. Nick Sanchez
  7. Taylor Gray
  8. Dean Thompson
  9. Harrison Burton
  10. Brennan Poole
  11. Austin Hill
  12. Kyle Sieg
  13. Parker Retzlaff
  14. Brandon Jones
  15. Carson Brown
  16. Brent Crews
  17. Sammy Smith
  18. Patrick Staropoli
  19. Anthony Alfredo
  20. Blaine Perkins
  21. Sam Mayer, one lap led
  22. Joey Gase
  23. Ryan Ellis
  24. Justin Allgaier, 83 laps led, Stage 2 winner
  25. Nathan Byrd
  26. Derek Lemke, one lap down
  27. Jeb Burton, one lap down, three laps led
  28. Lavar Scott, one lap down
  29. Garrett Smithley, two laps down
  30. Jeremy Clements, three laps down
  31. Josh Bilicki, three laps down
  32. Tyler Tomassi, four laps down
  33. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident, 65 laps led, Stage 1 winner
  34. Mason Maggio – OUT, Suspension
  35. Jesse Love, 60 laps down
  36. Corey Day – OUT, Accident
  37. Carson Ware – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule is the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, which will also cap off this year’s regular-season stretch and determine the 12-car Chase field. The event is scheduled to occur on August 28 and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.

Steady Progress Helps Grateful Rosenqvist Win Portland Pole

By
Official Release
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PORTLAND, Ore. (Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026) – Felix Rosenqvist wants to add another win for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian before he leaves the team at the end of this season.

He’ll have one of his best chances to achieve that goal after winning the NTT P1 Award for the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland on Saturday at Portland International Raceway.

Rosenqvist, who won the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May, earned his second pole of the season and eighth of his career in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda sporting a colorful livery this weekend saluting legendary rock band the Grateful Dead. His best lap was 58.4828 seconds, completed with three seconds remaining in a taut Firestone Fast Six session.

That was enough to edge series leader and four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou, who will join Rosenqvist on the front row Sunday after his best lap of 58.5012 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

“It’s a phenomenal team effort,” Rosenqvist said. “We just kept tuning on it. I think we started off a little bit behind yesterday and really didn’t do anything magical. We just tried to focus on execution and putting all the corners together.”

The Swede is leaving MSR – a team that has two career victories, both in the Indy 500 – after this season for Arrow McLaren, where he will join six-time series champion and team newcomer Scott Dixon and team veteran Pato O’Ward.

Palou, aiming for a record-tying fourth straight championship, just missed earning his seventh pole of the season when Rosenqvist ended his final lap on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course.

“I had too much lunch today, man,” Palou said with a smile when asked where he could have found more speed on his best lap. “It’s so close. It hurts when it’s that close. But happy for Felix, happy for a Honda 1-2 there. Let’s see what kind of car we have for the race.”

The 110-lap race starts at 4 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, FOX Deportes. FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

Will Power moved to Andretti Global this season after winning this race in 2024 and 2025, the last two of his 16 full-time seasons with Team Penske, but he showed why this is one of his favorite tracks by qualifying third at 58.5130 in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda.

Power’s teammate Marcus Ericsson celebrated his contract renewal this week with Andretti Global for 2027 by qualifying fourth at 58.6729 in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda.

Rinus VeeKay continued his strong season by producing the quickest lap by a Chevrolet-powered driver, ending up fifth at 58.7701 in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy. Kyffin Simpson will join VeeKay in the third row of the starting grid after qualifying sixth at 59.0841 in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, his first appearance this season in the Firestone Fast Six.

Honda-powered drivers dominated qualifying, leading all three rounds in the knockout format and grabbing 10 of the first 12 qualifying spots.

Besides VeeKay, the only Bowtie driver who qualified in the top 12 is championship contender David Malukas, who qualified ninth at 58.8690 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. But Malukas will start six places back from that position as a penalty for an unapproved engine change at the previous round at Nashville Superspeedway, adding to his challenge Sunday.

Palou leads second-place Malukas by 83 points – a gap of more than a race – with six races remaining. A clean, steady race could expand that gap because Malukas and third-place Kyle Kirkwood are starting behind the reigning series champion, with PIR’s tight first-corner chicane sometimes inducing chaos and carnage toward the middle and back of the starting grid.

Kirkwood qualified seventh at 58.8303 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global, missing a spot in the Firestone Fast Six by .0352 of a second.

Christian Lundgaard has scored more points on natural road courses like PIR than any driver this season, but he struggled with various mechanical problems and didn’t make it out the first round. He qualified 25th at 59.5423 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

TOYOTA RACING – NOAPS Iowa Post-Race Report – 08.08.26

By
Official Release
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SAWALICH SCORES THIRD STRAIGHT TOP-FIVE FINISH AT IOWA
Sam Hunt Racing puts both Supras in the top-10 for the first time this season

NEWTON, Iowa (August 8, 2026) – William Sawalich battled back through the field after getting spun and led Toyota with a third-place finish at Iowa Speedway on Saturday evening. Taylor Gray (seventh) put a second Joe Gibbs Racing Supra in the top-10.

Sawalich, Gray and Brent Crews go into the final race of the regular season – Daytona International Speedway – separated by one point for the final two Chase positions.

Sam Hunt Racing had the best day of 2026 as both Dean Thompson (eighth) and Harrison Burton (ninth) put their Supras in the top-10. It is the fourth time in team history that they have put two Supras in the top-10 finishers (2023 Darlington-1, 2024 Road America, 2025 Bristol-1).

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS)
Iowa Speedway
Race 23 of 33 – 218.75 miles, 250 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Carson Kvapil*
2nd, Rajah Caruth*
3rd, WILLIAM SAWALICH
4th, Ross Chastain*
5th, Sheldon Creed*
7th, TAYLOR GRAY
8th, DEAN THOMPSON
9th, HARRISON BURTON
14th, BRANDON JONES
16th, BRENT CREWS
32nd, TYLER TOMASSI
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

WILLIAM SAWALICH, No. 18 SoundGear Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

What is the emotion with the chance that you have to make the Chase going into Daytona?

“We knew coming in that we still had a chance even if the day didn’t go our way. We were top-10 in stage one and stage two, so we got a little bit of points there, and then finished it off in third. Just picked good lanes on restarts. We put ourselves in the position there and did what we had to do there at the end with our SoundGear Supra because every point matters.”

TAYLOR GRAY, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

Solid top-10 run. How was the race today?

“We struggled really all day from practice, and qualifying and the race. We struggled with balance really, but proud of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, TOYOTA RACING – everyone worked really hard all day and fought really hard to come out and have a decent finish. Obviously not what we wanted stage wise, getting no stage points, and going into Daytona kind of backed into a corner, but it could have been a lot worse. We will have to keep our heads down, keep rolling and keep working.”

DEAN THOMPSON, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

Double top-10 for Sam Hunt Racing, and another solid run for you, Dean.

“Really happy with the result for our Thompson Pipe Group Toyota team. We struggled here last year, but we worked hard in the offseason and these past few weeks, just trying to build a better race car to bring here. We just missed it last year. Everyone knows that Sam Hunt (Racing) is good here because of how Corey (Heim) performed that one year. This is where we should race at this race track, and I’m just happy that we ended up here.”

HARRISON BURTON, No. 24 AIRBOX Toyota GR Supra, Sam Hunt Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

Progressively moving the right way, and another solid top-10 finish.

“Yeah, I thought our race team brought Dean (Thompson) and I both very similar cars and it seemed like run to run, Dean would be better or I would be better – especially stage two, I thought I hit our best run, and kind of struggled from there. I thought our stage three we did a good job of making do of what we had and not giving up. That is the main thing in these races, as you saw. It is such a crazy finish to these things, a lot of times, you just have to keep yourself in it. Proud of our whole AIRBOX Toyota team. Proud of Dean. I thought we worked together well the last few weeks, and it is starting to show.”

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.

De Tullio Drives Closer to Record With Portland Pole

By
Official Release
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Portland, OR- Grand Prix of Portland in Portland OR (Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo)

PORTLAND, Ore. (Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026) – Alessandro de Tullio’s march toward an INDY NXT by Firestone season record continued Saturday – by a tiny margin.

De Tullio earned his eighth pole this season – one shy of tying the all-time record for the INDYCAR development series – in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing entry, holding off Andretti Global’s Lochie Hughes by .0033 of a second to earn the top starting spot for the Grand Prix of Portland. It was the fourth-closest duel for the pole on a road or street circuit in series history.

“Unreal,” de Tullio said. “This season has been, in terms of speed, amazing. I just can’t thank this team enough for giving me a great car. Every weekend, we’re always there, always fast. We’re constantly on the front row.”

Series rookie De Tullio, from Miami, has started first or second in 12 of the 14 races this season. He is trying to break the series record of nine poles set in 2018 by current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Pato O’Ward.

De Tullio’s pole-winning lap of 1 minute, 2.2006 seconds came in the first qualifying group. He was forced to sit and watch half of the field try to topple his time, with series veteran Hughes falling just short at 1:02.2039 in the No. 26 Andretti Global entry on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course.

Max Taylor will start third after his best lap of 1:02.2347 in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen car of Andretti Global. Championship contender Tymek Kucharczyk, who led practice Saturday morning, will join Taylor on the second row after his lap of 1:02.2268 in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports entry.

Jacob Abel, making his first series start since 2024, qualified fifth at 1:02.3116 in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports machine. Abel’s teammate Myles Rowe rounded out the third row at 1:02.3408 in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy car.

Kucharczyk, 25 points behind series leader Nikita Johnson, is the only one of the three main title contenders starting near the front. Johnson qualified ninth at 1:02.4178 in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR car. Fellow rookie Enzo Fittipaldi, one point behind Johnson in second, will start 12th after his best lap of 1:02.5727 in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car.

The 35-lap race starts at 2 p.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

While the title fight rages, De Tullio will try to convert his Saturday speed into Sunday success, a rarity this season. He has just one victory – in March at Barber Motorsports Park – despite starting on the front row 12 times this season. He is seventh in the standings.

“It’s a little bit hard, as well, considering the speed we have and where we are in points and things that go on, it’s a little bit difficult to think about that,” de Tullio said. “But the important thing is we are there, we have the pace. On this side of things, it’s been a great season.”

Ryan Blaney scores third Cup pole of 2026 at Iowa

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com

Ryan Blaney sped to his third Busch Light Pole Award of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season for the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday August 8.

The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-car, two-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the 36 competitors vying for 36 starting spots cycled around Iowa twice to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the fastest lap was awarded the pole position.

During the session, Blaney, who was the fifth-fastest competitor during Saturday’s practice session, utilized his two-lap qualifying session to post his fastest lap at 134.191 mph in 23.474 seconds. Blaney’s lap was enough for the 2023 Cup Series champion from High Point, North Carolina, to secure his third pole position of this season.

With the pole, Blaney, who is wearing a Kyle Busch tribute helmet for this weekend’s event, recorded his 15th Cup Series career pole for his 401st series start, his fourth on a short track venue, his first at Iowa and his first since EchoPark Speedway in July. The qualifying result left Blaney pleased with the handling of his No. 12 Team Penske Ford entry as he strives to contend for his second victory in Newton, Iowa.

“[A] Really, really cool day,” Blaney said. “[I] Appreciate the really fast car. The No. 12 Menards Pennington Ford Mustang was fast in practice. I was able to lay down a good lap and honestly, my first lap wasn’t what I wanted. Fortunately, we had enough grip, kind of car came in, changed my line up a little bit for the second one to run a little bit faster and hang on for the pole…It’s gonna be a tough one tomorrow. This track changes a lot. It’s gonna be pretty warm. It’s a long day, long race, so really important to try to keep up with it, but it’s nice to start off strong and hopefully, we can continue that for tomorow.”

Blaney will share the front row with Kyle Larson, the latter of whom was the 19th-fastest competitor in practice. Larson rebounded by posting the second-fastest lap at 134.088 mph in 23.492 seconds. Joey Logano, who also posted his fastest lap at 134.088 mph in 23.492 seconds, will start in third place ahead of Brad Keselowski and Tyler Reddick in the top-five mark, respectively. Keselowski managed to post a blistering lap during his first of two qualifying laps before he wrecked into the Turn 1 wall.

Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Connor Zilisch, Ross Chastain and Erik Jones, the latter of whom was the fastest in practice, completed the top-10 starting grid, respectively. Notably, Chase Elliott, who spun in practice, will start in 32nd place while Denny Hamlin, the points leader, will start in 29th place. William Byron, the defending Cup Iowa winner, will start in 19th place.

With 39 competitors vying for 39 starting spots, all made the main event.

Iowa – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:

  1. Ryan Blaney, 134.191 mph, 23.474 seconds.
  2. Kyle Larson, 134.088 mph, 23.492 seconds
  3. Joey Logano, 134.088 mph, 23.492 seconds
  4. Brad Keselowski, 134.025 mph, 23.503 seconds
  5. Tyler Reddick, 133.911 mph, 23.523 seconds
  6. Ty Gibbs, 133.786 mph, 23.545 seconds
  7. Austin Dillon, 133.786 mph, 23.545 seconds
  8. Connor Zilisch, 133.758 mph, 23.550 seconds
  9. Ross Chastain, 133.667 mph, 23.566 seconds
  10. Erik Jones, 133.503 mph, 23.595 seconds
  11. Michael McDowell, 133.486 mph, 23.598 seconds
  12. Austin Cindric, 133.480 mph, 23.599 seconds
  13. Josh Berry, 133.463 mph, 23.602 seconds
  14. Zane Smith, 133.378 mph, 23.617 seconds
  15. Noah Gragson, 133.333 mph, 23.625 seconds
  16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 133.232 mph, 23.643 seconds
  17. Todd Gilliland, 133.175 mph, 23.653 seconds
  18. Carson Hocevar, 133.164 mph, 23.655 seconds
  19. William Byron, 133.125 mph, 23.662 seconds
  20. Chase Briscoe, 133.119 mph, 23.663 seconds
  21. John Hunter Nemechek, 133.119 mph, 23.663 seconds
  22. Christopher Bell, 133.057 mph, 23.674 seconds
  23. Shane van Gisbergen, 133.012 mph, 23.682 seconds
  24. Austin Hill, 132.984 mph, 23.687 seconds
  25. AJ Allmendinger, 132.906 mph, 23.701 seconds
  26. Bubba Wallace, 132.861 mph, 23.709 seconds
  27. Chris Buescher, 132.811 mph, 23.718 seconds
  28. Riley Herbst, 132.749 mph, 23.729 seconds
  29. Denny Hamlin, 132.565 mph, 23.762 seconds
  30. Alex Bowman, 132.481 mph, 23.777 seconds
  31. Ty Dillon, 132.342 mph, 23.802 seconds
  32. Chase Elliott, 132.247 mph, 23.819 seconds
  33. Daniel Suarez, 132.087 mph, 23.848 seconds
  34. Cody Ware, 131.965 mph, 23.870 seconds
  35. Ryan Preece, 131.447 mph, 23.964 seconds
  36. Cole Custer, 131.228 mph, 24.004 seconds

The 2026 Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 9, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.

Ryan Sieg wins first O’Reilly career pole at Iowa

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

Ryan Sieg achieved his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole position of his career for the 2026 HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, on Saturday, August 8.

The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-car, two-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots cycled around Iowa Speedway twice to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the single fastest lap was awarded the pole position.

During the session, Sieg, who was the third-fastest competitor during Saturday’s practice session, utilized his two-lap qualifying session to clock in his fastest lap at 131.436 mph in 23.966 seconds. The lap was enough for the 39-year-old Sieg and driver of the No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet entry from Tucker, Georgia, to nab his first career pole in the O’Reilly division and for his 423rd start in the series.

Prior to his first career pole at Iowa, Sieg’s previous-best starting spots were a pair of third-place spots at Talladega Superspeedway in June 2020 and Nashville Superspeedway in June 2024. Sieg, whose best result in the O’Reilly Series is five runner-up results, remains in pursuit of his first victory in the series. He is also 74 points below the top-12 cutline to be in contention for this year’s Chase with two regular-season events remaining on the schedule, starting with Saturday night’s event at Iowa.

Sieg will share the front row with Ross Chastain, the latter of whom is making his 10th O’Reilly start of this season and fifth with JR Motorsports. Chastain clocked in his fastest lap at 131.086 mph in 24.030 seconds. 

Carson Kvapil, who is coming off his first O’Reilly career victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weeks ago, qualified in third place with a lap at 131.021 mph in 24.042 seconds. Teammates Rajah Caruth and Justin Allgaier will start in the top five, respectively. 

Sheldon Creed, Jeremy Clements, Corey Day, Sammy Smith and Parker Retzlaff completed the top-10 starting grid, respectively.

With 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots, all made the main event.

Iowa – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:

  1. Ryan Sieg, 131.436 mph, 23.966 seconds
  2. Ross Chastain, 131.086 mph, 24.030 seconds
  3. Carson Kvapil, 131.021 mph, 24.042 seconds
  4. Rajah Caruth, 130.983 mph, 24.049 seconds
  5. Justin Allgaier, 130.955 mph, 24.054 seconds
  6. Sheldon Creed, 130.950 mph, 24.055 seconds
  7. Jeremy Clements, 130.695 mph, 24.102 seconds
  8. Corey Day, 130.467 mph, 24.144 seconds
  9. Sammy Smith, 130.467 mph, 24.144 seconds
  10. Parker Retzlaff, 130.467 mph, 24.144 seconds
  11. Jesse Love, 130.451 mph, 24.147 seconds
  12. Jeb Burton, 130.192 mph, 24.195 seconds
  13. Taylor Gray, 130.176 mph, 24.198 seconds
  14. Nick Sanchez, 130.128 mph, 24.207 seconds
  15. Brandon Jones, 129.940 mph, 24.242 seconds
  16. Harrison Burton, 129.811 mph, 24.266 seconds
  17. William Sawalich, 129.768 mph, 24.274 seconds
  18. Brent Crews, 129.646 mph, 24.297 seconds
  19. Anthony Alfredo, 129.592 mph, 24.307 seconds
  20. Carson Brown, 129.582 mph, 24.309 seconds
  21. Kyle Sieg, 129.582 mph, 24.309 seconds
  22. Patrick Satropoli, 129.475 mph, 24.329 seconds
  23. Sam Mayer, 129.470 mph, 24.330 seconds
  24. Lavar Scott, 128.993 mph, 24.420 seconds
  25. Blaine Perkins, 128.829 mph, 24.451 seconds
  26. Brennan Poole, 128.824 mph, 24.452 seconds
  27. Dean Thompson, 128.792 mph, 24.458 seconds
  28. Austin Hill, 128.571 mph, 24.500 seconds
  29. Mason Maggio, 128.346 mph, 24.543 seconds
  30. Derek Lemke, 128.263 mph, 24.559 seconds
  31. Nathan Byrd, 127.479 mph, 24.710 seconds
  32. Ryan Ellis, 127.407 mph, 24.724 seconds
  33. Garrett Smith, Owner Points
  34. Joey Gase, Owner Points
  35. Josh Bilicki, Owner Points
  36. Tyler Tomassi, Owner Points
  37. Carson Ware, Owner Points

The 2026 HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway is scheduled to occur on Saturday, August 8, at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.

CHEVROLET NCS AT IOWA: Carson Hocevar Media Availability Quotes

By
Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES IOWA SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
AUGUST 8, 2026

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Iowa Speedway.

Media Availability Quotes:

Do you allow yourself this year to realistically entertain the possibility of winning the championship, or do you just kind of go, hey we’re ahead of schedule and the most we make of this is fine by me?

“Yeah, I mean I think for us, I think it’s an advantage for us that all the Chase races this year are good tracks for us, you know, statistically some of our best, so that’s an advantage. Obviously the Toyota’s are super-fast. Some of these guys that are super good that are obviously favorites, sometimes they take themselves out of it by just trying to get a little bit more, so you want to be next in line if it somehow gets given to you or they have trouble in front of us. Whether it’s three Toyota’s or (Ryan) Blaney, you want to be next in line so you can somewhat maybe take advantage of it.

We’re just going to just try and click off as many good races as we can and see where it shakes out. I don’t think any of us are changing anything differently going — okay, now we can win a championship or we can do this or that. It’s like sprint car or dirt racing with the Spire car… they hadn’t won anything, and all of a sudden, they win two-in-a-row. You just get hot at the right times and you can take advantage of it. We’re hoping that guys cool off and we get hot at the right time. You never know.”

What do you think about having Daytona as the cut-off? You’re really secure in where you’re at in your space, but what are your thoughts about that being kind of a wild card? “Yeah, I don’t know. I think it’s great. You know, that 25-point bonus can swing it pretty good for anybody that I’m sure is on the cut. Or even too, just the battle up front, I think it’s 29 points from fifth to 10th. Four stage points here and there, if it’s within 25, a guy can go 10th to almost fifth with one win at Daytona.

So yeah, I don’t know. You know, I think it’s probably just entertaining for the viewer. For me, for how good we are at the superspeedway’s, I kind of wish it was just the first one of the Chase. But yeah, from a fan perspective, I’m sure they enjoy it.”

The first time you got in a Cup car, just the magnitude of being in a Cup car at that track, how different is it when you’re one of the Cup drivers and you’re lining up at Daytona? “

“Yeah, especially for the DAYTONA 500. The 500 is a little different just because it’s always such a cluster of people throughout the day. I just enjoy Daytona because it sets itself apart. I think everybody wants to win there, especially the 500. But even too, the fall race is always a big deal.”

I was walking through the garage this morning and looking at where the Hendrick Motorsports haulers are compared to Spire Motorsports after you leapfrogged the Hendrick drivers at Indianapolis. Obviously, you noticed that. Is it weird? It’s your alliance partner and you’re out-running all of their cars. What’s the dynamic there?

“Yeah, it’s great for us (at Spire Motorsports). I think we’ve all noticed it and taken pride in it. Jeff (Dickerson) and Mr. Hendrick are super close. I think it’s probably the first time Jeff can probably rag on Mr. H a little bit, so I’m sure Jeff, knowing him, is soaking all that up not knowing how long this hauler parade might last.

Yeah, it’s just great for us. But also too, Mr. H, Hendrick Motorsports, the Hendrick engine shop, they like seeing us run really well. The pit crew takes a lot of pride in being good because they’re not on the house cars, per se. The engine shop enjoys it, and I know Mr. H does it because he likes to see seven cars, rather than just four, have a shot. I know they look at it, per se, like a seven-car deal because of the close alliance. They just get more shots to, hopefully, win races because they have Hendrick engines in them, Hendrick pit crews and people he employees are on those cars. Jeff is like a son to him.”

In Indianapolis, you mentioned that you were behind the eight ball the whole season. You felt like you could have been fifth already, and then, you jumped up to fifth after the last race. Do you feel as though you earned it just from last race or can you hold it?

“Yeah, I feel like we can hold it here. You know, I feel like we’ve been fast everywhere. I think our finishes are higher than our average running position, which is kind of always a telltale sign of maximizing our days. So yeah, I’ve enjoyed it. I still think we have a long way to go to our ceiling here, so that makes me exciting that we’re as fast as we are. I feel like there’s still a long ways to go on our progression here.”

Last year, you mentioned to us numerous times about getting to group two of qualifying. And this year, we’ve seen an over seven position increase on average of just your starting position. Do you contribute that increase as the biggest contributor to what your success has been this year?

“Yeah, I mean, when you’re higher in points, the average for sure helps. And when we finish as good as we have this year, that also helps. It just makes life a lot easier for you. You know, I remember we blew up at Charlotte, but then we finished second at Nashville from 28th. I think we were good enough that day, but we needed maybe three seconds to catch (Ryan) Blaney to maybe win that race. You think about your whole day of like, maybe that three seconds could have been attributed if we didn’t start 28th.

So yeah, it just all adds up. You can just see it being up front. It’s tough to pass in theses races, so for us when we’re up front, have better pit stalls and everything, it just makes life a lot easier when we can have smooth, up front days and get a lot of points that people don’t really see. Our season has been kind of built on stage points that just kind of add up.”

As someone that had a lot of success here last year, how excited are you for the announcement of next season’s Fourth of July race and how pumped are you to get back to Iowa around this time next year?

“Yeah, it’s great. I think this place already sells out, but hopefully the Fourth of July weekend just adds a little bit of excitement to it. Selfishly, I’m hoping they can somehow change the sprint car race so we can go watch that too during the weekend. I enjoy that while we’re here.

But yeah, I’m excited. The fireworks will be cool over all the cornfields here. Hopefully there’s a cornfield here where I can sneak off and light off some fireworks of my own.”

It’s a crowd that sells out all the time these last couple years. How does that get you and the rest of the racers in the garage juiced up for a race like this out in the Midwest, the pride of the Midwest, that is?

“Yeah, I mean, I obviously enjoy the crowd perspective. When it’s full, loud or really anything that just really moves the energy up is always fun for me. So yeah, it just kind of gives this race another kind of fresh element to it with a date change like that. Hopefully, it just gets them even more excited.”

You’ve been really quick in qualifying the last few races. How do you think that can translate over to Sunday? And also, do you think you’ll be able to keep that qualifying hot streak up?

“I mean, I hope so. We ran good here (at Iowa Speedway) last year. It seems like we’ve been faster just kind of everywhere we’ve gone lately, from year to year. So yeah, hopefully it just trends up. We were good last year and okay the year before, so hopefully we can kind of excel and keep that going again.”

The stage procedure was announced earlier this week. What are your thoughts on that?

“I think it’s good. It’s similar to short-track, late model racing, so I like it. I think it will probably change the game some. It will probably allow for crew chiefs to makes mistakes, maybe flip the field or just catch people off guard. But ultimately, just make the race not predictable and hopefully it just allows for mistakes on the box. I feel like mistakes from either the box or the car tends to kind of always make the racing better.

So yeah, it’s good. I think it’s an improvement. It’s less caution laps, which is good. I found out on X, so I was glad I was looking at my phone that day.”

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.

Dean Thompson joins Haas Factory Team for 2027 O’Reilly season

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Dean Thompson will be driving for Haas Factory Team for the 2027 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season.

Thompson’s 2027 plans, which was announced at Iowa Speedway on August 8, comes as the 24-year-old native of Anaheim, California, is currently campaigning in his second full-time season in the O’Reilly division with Sam Hunt Racing. It also means that Haas Factory Team will be expanding to field three full-time entries next season while Thompson Pipe Group and MCM Transportation will primarily sponsor Thompson.

Thompson has notched a pair of top-10 results, including his highest-finishing result of sixth place at Talladega Superspeedway in mid-April, and he holds an average-finishing result of 20.2 through 22-scheduled events in this year’s O’Reilly division. He is also ranked in 18th place in the driver’s standings with 11 events remaining on this year’s schedule.

“I’m thrilled to join Haas Factory Team as the next step in my NASCAR journey,” Thompson said. “I am looking forward to competing for wins and a championship with support from MCM Transportation and Thompson Pipe Group.”

Thompson made his O’Reilly debut at Talladega in early October 2024, where he finished in 20th place while driving his current ride, the No. 26 Toyota Supra entry, for Sam Hunt Racing. After spending the years 2022 to 2024 racing on a full-time basis in the Craftsman Truck Series division with Niece Motorsports and TRICON Garage, respectively, the Californian moved up to a full-time O’Reilly campaign with Sam Hunt in 2025.

This past season, Thompson notched his highest-finishing result of fifth place at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May along with a total of eight top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 17.9 before he finished in 16th place in the standings. He has accumulated a total of 10 top-10 results, 19 laps led and an average-finishing result of 19.1 through 57 current starts in the O’Reilly division as he continues his pursuit of his first series’ victory.

Haas Factory Team is currently in its second season under its current name and as a two-car team in the O’Reilly division, fielding Chevrolet entries for Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer. Creed, who recorded his first career victory at EchoPark Speedway this past February, is currently ranked in fourth place in the 2026 standings. Mayer, who notched the organization’s first victory under its current name a year ago at Iowa, is ranked in 10th place.

Haas Factory Team’s full driver lineup of its three-car operation, including number/crew chief assignments, remains to be determined ahead of the 2027 season.

“We’re excited to welcome Dean to Haas Factory Team, Joe Custer, President of Haas Factory Team, said. “He has shown strong progression throughout his time in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and we believe he will compete at the highest level. Along with our growing affiliate program, the addition of a third full-time entry continues to strengthen our organization.”

With his 2027 plans set, Dean Thompson’s 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season resumes this Saturday, August 8, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, for the HyVee Perks 250. The event’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM.

Why Different Flooring Types Need Different Cleaning Approaches to Stay Looking Their Best

By
SM
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Photo by depositphotos at https://depositphotos.com/

Flooring is one of the first features people notice when they enter a home. Clean, well-maintained floors make every room feel brighter, more inviting, and more comfortable. Because they receive constant foot traffic, however, they also experience more daily wear than almost any other surface in the house.

Many homeowners develop a single cleaning routine for every room without considering the materials beneath their feet. Hardwood, tile, laminate, luxury vinyl, and carpet each respond differently to moisture, cleaning products, and everyday use. Understanding those differences helps preserve their appearance while reducing unnecessary wear over time.

CJS Cleaning Solutions has found that treating flooring according to its specific material produces better long-term results than relying on the same method throughout the entire home. Small adjustments often make a noticeable difference in both cleanliness and durability.

Hardwood Floors Benefit From Gentle Maintenance

Natural hardwood remains a popular choice because of its warmth and timeless appearance. Although it is durable, it also responds to excessive moisture and abrasive dirt that can gradually affect its finish. Small particles tracked indoors may seem harmless, but they create friction as people walk across the floor.

Regular dust removal helps prevent that unnecessary wear. Using appropriate cleaning methods instead of excessive water also supports the long-term condition of hardwood surfaces.

Gentle care usually protects hardwood better than aggressive cleaning.

Tile Surfaces Have Different Cleaning Priorities

Tile flooring handles moisture well, making it common in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry areas. While the tiles themselves are often easy to clean, grout lines naturally collect dirt faster than smooth surfaces. Without regular attention, grout can begin looking darker than the surrounding tile.

Routine maintenance keeps both the tile and grout looking their best. Addressing spills promptly also prevents residue from becoming more difficult to remove later.

Consistent care preserves the finished appearance of tiled floors.

Carpets Trap More Than Visible Dirt

Carpet fibers capture dust, pet hair, pollen, and everyday debris long before these particles become visible. Although vacuuming removes much of the surface dirt, fine particles gradually settle deeper into the fibers through daily use. High-traffic areas generally require more frequent attention than rooms used only occasionally.

Maintaining carpets consistently helps preserve both their appearance and comfort. Regular care also prevents dirt from spreading into other parts of the home.

Clean carpets contribute to a fresher indoor environment.

Matching the Cleaning Routine to the Flooring Matters

Different flooring materials naturally require different maintenance schedules. Entryways may benefit from more frequent attention because outdoor debris is constantly tracked inside, while bedrooms usually experience lighter daily traffic. Understanding these differences helps homeowners avoid unnecessary work while protecting their investment.

Rather than applying identical cleaning methods throughout the house, many families discover that cleaning services raleigh nc provide a practical way to maintain each flooring type according to its specific needs. A personalized approach keeps the entire home looking consistently well cared for.

The right method often matters more than the amount of effort.

Area Rugs Need Regular Attention Too

Area rugs protect flooring while adding warmth and style to living spaces. At the same time, they collect dust, crumbs, and pet hair that gradually settle into the fibers. Since rugs often sit in busy walkways, they experience considerable wear throughout the year.

Drawing from experience across many residential properties, CJS Cleaning Solutions recommends including rugs in routine maintenance instead of focusing only on permanent flooring. Regular care helps extend their appearance while reducing the transfer of dirt onto surrounding surfaces.

Even smaller floor coverings deserve consistent maintenance.

Seasonal Conditions Influence Floor Care

Weather changes throughout the year affect flooring more than many homeowners realize. Rainy conditions increase the amount of moisture and dirt entering through entryways, while dry seasons often bring additional dust indoors. Winter footwear and summer outdoor activities each introduce different cleaning challenges.

Adjusting floor care to match seasonal conditions prevents excessive buildup before it becomes difficult to manage. Small changes in routine can make maintenance much easier during busy times of the year.

Seasonal awareness supports better long-term care.

Prevention Is Easier Than Restoration

Waiting until floors appear noticeably dirty often allows debris to remain in contact with their surfaces for extended periods. Preventive maintenance removes dirt before it has the opportunity to create unnecessary wear or become embedded in flooring materials. This approach generally requires less effort than restoring neglected surfaces.

The team at CJS Cleaning Solutions works with homeowners to develop practical cleaning routines that reflect the flooring materials throughout the home. Matching maintenance to everyday conditions helps preserve both appearance and durability over time.

Protecting floors begins with regular attention.

Proper Floor Care Helps Every Room Feel More Inviting

Well-maintained flooring enhances the overall appearance of every living space. Whether a home features hardwood, carpet, tile, laminate, or luxury vinyl, each material benefits from cleaning methods suited to its individual characteristics. Understanding those differences allows homeowners to maintain attractive floors without creating unnecessary wear.

CJS Cleaning Solutions provides residential cleaning designed to support the unique needs of every home. By combining thoughtful maintenance with consistent care, homeowners can enjoy cleaner floors, healthier living spaces, and surfaces that continue looking their best throughout the years.

Tristan McKee Dominates at Iowa Speedway For Second Career ARCA Menards National Series Victory

By
Briar Starr
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Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com

The 13th race of the 2026 ARCA Menards Series season took place Friday night at Iowa Speedway. It was also another combination race for the ARCA East Series as well. In doing so, the race paid points to both series. Last time out two weeks ago, when the series visited Indianapolis Raceway Park, NASCAR Truck Series regular Kaden Honeycutt took home the victory.

Honeycutt did not partake in this event last year; neither did the 2025 winner, and another Truck Series regular, Brenden Queen, did not participate either, which left the door open for a new winner.

Indeed there was a new, but this time, it was Tristan McKee taking home the checkered flag this time around by leading a dominant 125 laps after starting on the pole position. It was a sweet victory for McKee, as he had turned 16-years-old this past Monday. The young rookie had to deal with multiple cautions and fend off Carson Brown late in the going to secure the win.

“I’m a little out of breath out here, it’s hot out here too,” McKee said to Fox Sports 1 in his victory lane interview. “That was a fun race. All the lap cars was really tough getting around them and running the top, maneuvering all of that. I lost the lead earlier to the 28 (Carson Brown) because of that (lap cars). I had some good restarts, which helped me a lot. Thanks to all the PRG guys, everyone at Spire (Motorsports) for all they do. This car was a rocket, for sure.

“Almost fastest in practice, P1 in qualifying, led most of the race. Definitely a great day. Thanks to Chili’s for coming onboard, the car looks great.”

Practice and qualifying commenced earlier in the afternoon to set the field. RCR Racing developmental driver Brown was the quickest in the lone practice session with a time of 23.507 at 134.003 mph, but ultimately, it was Pinnacle Racing Group/Spire Motorsports driver McKee who had the fastest time once qualifying was concluded.

McKee paced the session in his Chili’s Chevrolet with a time of 23.383 seconds at 134.713 mph. It was his first career ARCA Menards National Series pole in just his 10th start and his second career ARCA East pole since Rockingham earlier this year.

Furthermore, current ARCA Menards East Series points leader Max Reaves qualified in the sixth position.

There were two stage breaks, which occurred at or around Lap 50 and Lap 100 in the 150-lap event.

McKee led the opening lap after Brown got wide into Turn 1 and fell to fourth. A caution came out at Lap 2 for the No. 7 of Kadence Davenport who was stopped on the bottom lane in Turns 1 and 2. Davenport spun on her own to bring out the first yellow. She had no damage to her machine.

After a few laps of cleanup, the race resumed on Lap 8 with McKee and Isaac Kitzmiller on the front row. Unfortunately, on Lap 11, Kitzmiller was penalized for a restart violation by beating McKee to the line. The second yellow flew at Lap 13 for the No. 06 of Ben Peterson. Like Davenport, Peterson was stopped on the bottom lane off Turn 4.

The race went back green at Lap 20 with McKee and Brown on the front row. 30 laps into the 150-lap race, McKee held a gap of 0.335 seconds over Brown. Brown eventually took the lead at Lap 32 at the start/finish line after McKee got slowed up in trying to pass lap traffic.

There would be no more yellows until the first race break at Lap 50. Brown would be the leader at the time of caution with McKee, Reaves, Andy Jankowiak, Thomas Annunziata, Jake Bollman, Jade Avedisian, Gavan Boschele, Jason Kitzmiller, and Isabella Robusto the Top 10.

Prior to the race going back green, Avedisian was penalized for being late to roll with the field and was sent to the back of the line. The race resumed at Lap 57 with Brown and McKee on the front row. However, it didn’t take long for a caution to fly once more at Lap 61 for the No. 48 of Brad Smith, who spun off Turn 2. Fortunately for Isaac Kitzmiller, he received the free pass to get back on the lead lap.

The next restart of the race came at Lap 67 with McKee as the leader over Brown. Another caution flew at Lap 71 for Smith, who got bobbled up off Turn 2 and took Robusto and Avedisian with him. Robusto tried to avoid Smith, but got hit from behind by Avedisian. During the caution period, Annunziata brought his car on pit road to fix the right-rear damage, as he also had a piece of contact from Smith.

The race went back to green-flag conditions at Lap 78 with McKee as the leader. There would be a 23-lap run to the final race break at Lap 101 (49 laps to go). The Top 10 was McKee, Brown, Reaves, Bollman, Isaac Kitzmiller, Jankowiak, Boschele, Annunziata, Jason Kitzmiller, and Ty Fredrickson.

As the final race break concluded, the race resumed with 44 laps to go, with McKee and Brown as the front row starters. With 25 laps to go, McKee had the lead advantage over Brown by 0.780 seconds. A caution was seen with 16 laps to go for Jason Kitzmiller. Jason had major rear-end damage to the No. 97 car as he spun off Turn 2.

The final restart of the race came with eight laps to go, with McKee, Brown, Bollman, Reaves, and Isaac Kitzmiller the top five. McKee was unchallenged with the lead for the remainder of the race and went on to take the checkered flag over Brown by 0.950 seconds.

“It’s all about the restarts and getting good launches, and getting down the first few laps and clean air,” McKee added. “When I lost the lead to the 28, my car was driving pretty good, but I was stuck back there. It’s really important to have clean air and good restarts because of that.”

There were two lead changes among two different leaders with McKee leading twice for 125 laps. There were seven cautions for 41 laps. This was McKee’s second career ARCA Menards Series National victory since Toledo and his fourth East Series win of the season since Toledo as well.

Bollman continues to lead the ARCA Menards Series National standings by seven points over Annunziata. Additionally, McKee takes over the East Series standings over Reaves by two points.

Official Race Results Following The JR & CO 150 at Iowa Speedway

  1. Tristan McKee, led 125 laps
  2. Carson Brown, led 25 laps
  3. Jake Bollman
  4. Max Reaves
  5. Isaac Kitzmiller
  6. Gavan Boschele
  7. Thomas Annunziata
  8. Andy Jankowiak
  9. Ryan Vargas
  10. Jade Avedisian, 2 laps down
  11. Isabella Robusto, 2 laps down
  12. Ty Fredrickson, 2 laps down
  13. Esteban Rodriguez, 3 laps down
  14. Craig Pellegrini Jr, 4 laps down
  15. Quinn Davis, 4 laps down
  16. Bobby Earnhardt, 5 laps down
  17. Brian Weber, 6 laps down
  18. Tony Musolino, 8 laps down
  19. Austin Vaughn, 9 laps down
  20. Michael Maples, 9 laps down
  21. Brian Barbarow, 10 laps down
  22. Alex Clubb, 11 laps down
  23. Chase Buscaglia, 12 laps down
  24. Jeff Maconi, 12 laps down
  25. Jason Kitzmiller, OUT, Accident
  26. Ben Peterson, 17 laps down
  27. Takuma Koga, 19 laps down
  28. Jackson McLerran, OUT, Mechanical
  29. Brad Moeller, OUT, Accident
  30. Nate Moeller, OUT, Mechanical
  31. Brayton Laster, OUT, Mechanical
  32. Kevin Campbell, OUT, Mechanical
  33. Kadence Davenport, OUT, Mechanical

Up Next – The next ARCA Menards Series National race is scheduled for Sunday, August 23 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds at 2p.m./ET, live on FS1. The next ARCA Menards West Series race is set for Saturday night, August 8 at Portland International Raceway, live on Flo Racing. Finally, the next ARCA Menards East Series will be with the ARCA National Tour at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday night, September 17. That’ll be the final event for the East Series side of the 2026 season.

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