Welcome back, race fans. After a week off, the NASCAR Cup Series is back on track at Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 350 this Sunday. We are also entering crunch time for a lot of teams with just four races left until the Chase. Denny Hamlin currently has an 84-point lead on Tyler Reddick, while Austin Cindric currently sits on the cutline at the 16th position with a 38-point lead over Ryan Preece.
In this article, we will preview the track, look at some fantasy angles based on the first two races here at Iowa, and then highlight some drivers who should be in our player pools this weekend.
NASCAR DFS: Iowa Corn 350
Track Preview & Fantasy Angle
Iowa Speedway has been a part of the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck Series since 2009, but the Cup Series has only been racing here since 2024. The track is a .875 mile oval short track with 12-14 degrees of progressive banking in the turns. The sample size is a small one, but some trends have started to emerge. The first one has been that passing is tough, making qualifying extremely important this week. The front row starters have led a combined 503 laps with two wins and a runner-up over the first two races here. With just four drivers in each of the two races gaining double-digit place differential points, I am heavily weighing dominators this race.
Top Pre Qualifying Targets for DraftKings
Denny Hamlin ($11,100)
Denny has struggled here with two 24th-place finishes, but if anyone can figure it out, it’s the #11. I say that as he has finished top 5 in all four short flat tracks this season with three straight finishes of 2nd or better. At this point in the season, he can also likely be a bit more aggressive with the sizeable points lead. With his poor track history and high price, I will likely reserve Hamlin for GPP only this week.
Ryan Blaney ($10,500)
The next tier in the $10K range is absolutely loaded, but I lean Ryan Blaney, who won the inaugural race here in 2024 and came in 4th last season. William Byron is the only other driver with a top 5 in each race, but I lean Blaney, who has been much better overall in 2026. He is coming off a disappointing 26th at Indy but has been the most consistent driver for the last 2-3 months, finishing 11th or better in 10 of his last 11 races. He also leads all drivers in wins (4) and average finish (6.2) on short flat tracks since the start of last season.
Joey Logano ($9,500)
Logano has been a fade for most of the season, but a late regular-season run has put him into 13th in the standings. That run includes a win at North Wilkesboro, back-to-back podium finishes, and three straight top-10s. That is great news coming to a track he has been good at with top 10 finishes in both races here at Iowa.
Brad Keselowski ($7,900)
Another veteran Penske driver on my radar this week. Keselowski joins his teammate as one of those five drivers with top 10 finishes in both Iowa races and has also found some form lately with back-to-back top 10s at Indy and North Wilkesboro.
Ryan Preece ($7,000)
Looking at the pre-qualifying model this week, Preece is the highest-ranked (8th) driver at a salary of $8,500 or lower. After a 27th place finish here in 2024, he rebounded with a 5th last year. He now returns, checking a lot of other boxes, including form with his back-to-back top 10s at Indy and North Wilkesboro, and he also ranks 9th in average finish on short flat track since the start of last season.
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