The Cup Series travels to Iowa Speedway for their first ever race around the 7/8 mile track; but that was not the biggest news out of Newton, Iowa today…after a great deal of speculation, Martin Truex Jr announced earlier this afternoon that at the end of the season he will not be returning to Joe Gibbs Racing as a full time driver.

Car owner Joe Gibbs noted that he plans to keep Truex around…and maybe even run a few races in the future.

Truex noted that after 21 years of racing, he wants to have a little fun.  Martin Truex Jr is a 34 time race winner and Cup Series champion.

NBC broadcaster Jeff Burton noted that very few drivers leave the sport on their own terms…and Truex is leaving on his own terms.

Christopher Bell has yet to take to the track; he is waiting for his fellow drivers to “rubber up the track”.

Finally on the track, Christopher Bell goes immediately to the top of the speed chart.

Ty Gibbs has to come down pit road with a flat tire after running 24 consecutive laps.  The tire went flat in the straightaway; avoiding a major crash.  With a flat tire, the jackman could not get the jack under the car.  It took six crew members to lift the car in order to get the jack underneath it.

Christopher Bell hit the wall with a right front flat tire.  He had run 19 laps when the incident occurred.  Bell is the second JGR car to have a tire incident during practice.  The tire carcass comes off on the track.

Noah Gragson scuffed the wall; avoiding major damage.

Suddenly, there is a rash of flat tires as Ross Chastain is stopped on the track with a flat tire.

After a lengthy delay to get Chastain’s car returned safely to the garage, NASCAR has added 13 minutes to the practice session.

Austin Cindric gets into the wall with a tire issue after 20 laps of practice.

Tyler Reddick is sitting on pit road with at least a partial flat tire. 

As practice ends, Ross Chastain spins out coming to pit road.

Noah Gragson sits atop the leaderboard for a single speed run.

In the Cup Series Playoff Standings the top nine spots have been taken by race winners with just seven places remaining open.  Having an off year, Kyle Busch is the first driver below the cut line; eight points out.

Playoff Standings:
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
Austin Cindric
Chase Elliott
Brad Keselowski
Daniel Suarez

The rain has stopped and track drying is in progress in anticipation of getting Cup Series qualifying completed in full; however, there will now be only one round of qualifying instead of two.

Iowa Speedway is a new track for the Cup Series; but several of the Cup Series drivers have raced at Iowa in the Craftsman Truck and Xfinity Series.  Former Cup Series driver Rusty Wallace was a big part of designing the track.

Austin Dillon is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run and posted a time of 24.891 seconds.  The drivers have two laps to make their best time.

Chase Briscoe is the first driver to break the 24 second mark with a tine of 23.676 seconds.

Erik Jones gets loose on his qualifying run but saves the car.

Carson Hocevar also got very loose and barely kept it off of the wall.  He still posted a time of 24.037 seconds.

Bubba Wallace made a run of 23.984 seconds to be third of 10 cars and called the lap terrible and crashing.

The universal complaint from the drivers is “loose!”

Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Chase Elliott were the top five drivers in Group A.  While there will not be a second round of qualifying, the top five drivers from each group will make up the top 10.

Justin Haley is the first driver from Group B to make a qualifying run and posted a time of 23.475 for the fastest lap of the day so far.

With a time of 23.084 seconds Kyle Larson is the first driver to earn a pole at Iowa Speedway.

The starting lineup for the Iowa Corn 350:
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
Josh berry
William Byron
Brad Keselowski
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Busch
Tyler Reddick
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Joey Logano
Denny Hamlin
Daniel Suarez
Todd Gilliland
Chris Buescher
Bubba Wallace
Ross Chastain
AJ Allmendinger
Justin Haley
Carson Hocevar
Austin Cindric
Michael McDowell
Noah Gragson
Corey LaJoie
Harrison Burton
Zane Smith
Ty Gibbs
Kaz Grala
Ryan Preece
Daniel Hemric
Martin Truex Jr
Erik Jones
Alex Bowman
John Hunter Nemechek
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Austin Dillon

Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric will start the race from the back of the field in a backup car after practice crashes.

Stage one of the race is 70 laps, stages two and three are 140 laps each for a total of 350 laps around the 7/8 mile track.  The drivers can run 100 to 106 laps on a single load of fuel but will need tires long before that.

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Ryan Blaney alongside.  Drivers get three wide with Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney battling side by side for the lead.

Lap three, Ryan Blaney gets out in front for the lead; Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Corey LaJoie brings out the first caution flag of the race on lap four when he spins out and taps the wall after contact with his fellow teammates.

The temperatures inside the cars are already over 100 degrees.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 10 with Kyle Larson alongside.  Larson jumps out in front for the lead.  Chase Briscoe takes second.

Lap 12, Kyle Larson has a quarter of a second lead on Chase Briscoe; Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

This week Tyler Reddick is driving the Hamburglar car with Bubba Wallace in the Grimmace car.

Lap 15, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a one second lead on Ryan Blaney; Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Brad Keselowski is reporting some handling issues with no grip in the rear tires.

Lap 20, Kyle Larson now has a near two second lead on Ryan Blaney; Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch continue to round out the top five.

Lap 24, Kyle Larson continues to increase his lead and is now over two seconds in front of Ryan Blaney.

Lap 25, after starting in 10th place, Denny Hamlin has dropped to 28th place; saying that his car is plowing.

Lap 27, Kyle Larson has increased his lead to over three seconds on Ryan Blaney.

Lap 34, Kyle Larson holds a three second lead on Ryan Blaney; Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, and Josh Berry round out the top five.

Lap 35, leader Kyle Larson puts Denny Hamlin a lap down.  There are 33 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 40, Kyle Larson holds a lead of over three seconds on Ryan Blaney; Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, and William Byron round out the top five.  There are 31 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 44, Ryan Blaney is slowly closing the gap on leader Kyle Larson; who is now under three seconds out in front.

Lap 47, Ryan Blaney has closed the gap on leader Kyle Larson to two seconds; but the third place driver Josh Berry is over 10 seconds back.

There are 29 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 50, Corey LaJoie has moved through the field to 19th on fresh tires after spinning out on lap four.

AJ Allmendinger gets into the wall on lap 52 to bring out the caution flag.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Brad Keselowski and Daniel Suarez staying out on the track.  Kyle Larson wins the race off of pit road.

Justin Haley is charged with an equipment violation during his pit stop.

Daniel Suarez brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 59.  Kyle Larson barrels through the middle to take the lead.

The top five are Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, Josh Berry, and William Byron.

Lap 60, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson battle for the lead with Blaney taking the spot.

Lap 62, Ty Gibbs hits the wall but keeps going and the track stays green.

Ryan Blaney is reporting a possible cool suit issue.

AJ Allmendinger is out of the race.

Lap 67, Kyle Larson comes back up to battle with Ryan Blaney for the lead.

Ryan Blaney wins stage one for his second stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Larson
Daniel Suarez
William Byron
Josh Berry
Joey Logano
Corey LaJoie
Brad Keselowski
Chase Elliott
Kyle Busch

Some of the drivers come down pit road for service; while other stay out on the track.

Daniel Hemric was caught speeding on pit road.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 78.  Larson gets out in front for the lead.

The top five are Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott.

The fourth caution of the race comes out on lap 81 when Noah Gragson gets into the wall after some contact with John Hunter Nemechek.

Kyle Larson brings his number five car down pit road with a possible tire issue.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 87 with William Byron alongside.

Chase Elliott gets nearly sideways on the track.

Lap 88, Ryan Blaney has a narrow lead on teammate Joey Logano; William Byron, Kyle Busch, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 93, after coming down pit road for tires, Kyle Larson has moved up eleven spots at 20th place.

All of the cars on the track are on the lead lap.

Lap 96, Ryan Blaney holds a narrow lead on Joey Logano; William Byron, Josh Berry, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 99, Kyle Larson is now up to 15th.

Lap 100, Ryan Blaney has the lead with Joey Logano on his bumper; Josh Berry, William Byron, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 104, Kyle Larson is now back in the top 10.

Lap 108, Ryan Blaney has a half second lead on teammate Joey Logano; William Byron, Josh Berry, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.

Lap 114, Michael McDowell has to make an unscheduled trip down pit road with a flat tire.

Lap 118, Ryan Blaney has a one second lead on Joey Logano; William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Josh Berry round out the top five.

Lap 123, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Joey Logano; William Byron, chase Elliott, and Josh Berry round out the top five.  Kyle Lason is just outside the top five in seventh place.

Lap 124, Alex Bowman reports a vibration.

Lap 130, Kyle Busch is reporting some major handling issues.

Zane Smith has to come down pit road with a flat tire.

Lap 134, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over a second on William Byron; Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 136, Kyle Busch comes down pit road for service.

Lap 144, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over a second on William Byron.  With major complaints of a very bad handling car, Denny Hamlin has gone one lap down.

As the sun goes down, the track is beginning to cool down and run faster.

Lap 148, Kyle Larson has entered the top five.

There are 25 cars on the lead lap.

The top five are Ryan Blaney, chase Elliott, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson.

Lap 155, Ryan Blaney has a near second and half lead on Chase Elliott; William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 162, Ryan Blaney continues to lead the race with Chase Elliott in second, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Lap 165 drivers are making green flag pit stops.

Ross Chastain has a flat tire but makes it to pit road and the track stays green.

Martin Truex Jr was caught speeding coming down pit road.  He will have to serve a pass through penalty.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson make contact on the track; getting Larson loose, but the track stays green.

Lap 172, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Chase Elliott on his bumper.

Lap 173, leader Ryan Blaney comes down pit road for service.

Erik Jones gets into the wall but he makes it down pit road and the track stays green.  The crew had trouble getting the juack under the car.

Lap 176, Kyle Larson comes down pit road for service.

Christopher Bell is the new leader and has yet to make his green flag pit stop.

Lap 180, Christopher Bell comes down pit road and gives the lead over the Brad Keselowski.

Lap 181, the top five are Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar, Todd Gilliland, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Kaz Grala was charged with an equipment interference penalty.

Daniel Hemric brings out the caution flag on lap 193 when he gets into the wall.

Drivers who have yet to make a pit stop come down pit road for service.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr stayed out on the track and brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 189.  Kyle Larson takes the lead.

Lap 191, the top five are Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney.

There are 18 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 200, Kyle Larson has a half second lead on Josh Berry; Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Chase Elliott and Josh Berry battle for second.

Lap 204, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Josh Berry; Chase Elliott, Ryan blaney, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Kyle Larson’s last set of tires showed some cording when they were removed.

Kyle Larson wins stage two for his eighth stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
Josh Berry
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Bubba Wallace
Denny Hamlin
Chris Buescher
Todd Gilliland
Brad Keselowski
Justin Haley

Drivers come down pit road for service with Brad Keselowski winning the race off of pit road after taking two tires.

Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 229.

Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez make contact; sending Larson into Denny Hamlin and the wall to bring out the caution flag.

Kyle Larson had too many crew members over the wall and is being held for a two lap penalty.

Chris Buescher brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 228 with Josh Berry alongside.  Josh Berry takes the lead but the battle between Berry and Buescher continues with Buescher retaking the lead.

Lap 230, the battle between Chris Buescher and Josh Berry continues; Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.

Lap 232, Josh Berry retakes the lead.

There are 19 cars on the lead lap.

William Byron passes Chris Buescher for second with Josh Berry two seconds out in front with 112 laps remaining in the race.

The top five are Josh Berry, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, and Brad Keselowski.

With 106 laps to go, there are three wide battles all through the field.

Lap 248, Josh Berry has a two second lead on William Byron; Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Lap 255, Josh Berry holds a two second lead on Ryan Blaney; William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

With 92 laps to go, the drivers are now within their fuel window for a final fuel stop.

Chris Buescher gets into the wall with a flat tire to bring out the caution flag with 90 laps to go.

Kyle Larson returns to the track but takes his car to the garage.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ryan Blaney winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires.

Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 267 with Joey Logano alongside.  Blaney and Logano go side by side in a battle for the lead.  Blaney takes the lead.

The top five are Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, William Byron, and Chase Elliott.

Kyle Busch gets into the wall but he keeps moving and the track stays green.  Busch brings his car down pit road with a possible flat tire.

Ryan Blaney has a near second lead on Ricky Stenhouse Jr,; William Byron, Joey Logano, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

William Byron and Ricky Stenhouse Jr battle for second.

Kyle Busch is back on pit road with a differential issue.  He takes the car to the garage and is out of the race.

With 71 laps to go, Ryan Blaney had a near one second lead on William Byron; Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap 287, Ryan Blaney leads the race with William Byron in second; Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Just 58 laps remain in the race; Ryan Blaney has a lead of over half a second on William Byron; Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Fifty to go, Ryan Blaney holds a lead of over half a second on William Byron; Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Lap 313, Ryan Blaney continues to lead the race with William Byron in second; Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Just 27 laps to go, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over half   second on William Byron.

Christopher Bell passes Ricky Stenhouse Jr for fourth.

Michael McDowell makes an unscheduled trip down pit road with a flat tire.

Twenty to go, there are only 20 cars on the lead lap.  Ryan Blaney has increased his lead on William Byron to over a second.

With each passing lap, leader Ryan Blaney sets a new laps led record.

Fifteen laps to go.  With family in the area, Blaney has some 80 friends and family at the race.

Ten to go, Ryan Blaney holds on to the lead by over half a second over William Byron.

Leading a record setting 201 laps, Ryan Blaney has enough fuel to cross the finish line first to win the inaugural Iowa Corn 350.  There are only 14 cars on the lead lap.

Blaney’s win makes him the tenth different driver to win a race this season.

The unofficial results of the Iowa Corn 350:
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Alex Bowman
Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski
Ross Chastain
Todd Gilliland
Justin Haley
Carson Hocevar
Martin Truex Jr
Noah Gragson
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Austin Dillon
Harrison Burton
Corey LaJoie
Tyler Reddick
Michael McDowell
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
John Hunter Nemechek
Ryan Preece
Chase Briscoe
Daniel Hemric
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
Erik Jones
Kaz Grala
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch
AJ Allmendinger