Gifts for NASCAR Fans
As the regular season championship battles are heating up, NASCAR heads to the Midwest for the first race of August. Corn country–Iowa–is next on the NASCAR docket. The ARCA Menards Series took to the track last night. Now, on Saturday, it’s the stars of tomorrow (and today) of the NASCAR Xfinity Series who take to this short track. The surface of the track itself is aged, save for the turns. The turns have been repaved, throwing an extra wrench in the teams’ plans and strategies.
Chasing four in a row today was Connor Zilisch, who started today’s race on the second row. These two Chevy youngsters were the favorites today. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon dipped down for starts in today’s race. They were looking to show the kids how it’s done. So, who was able to rise to the occasion? Let’s break it down. Here’s everything that happened in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa.
When the race restarted, Taylor Gray set his sights on the leader, Ross Chastain. We had another quick caution as Dean Thompson got together with Corey Day as Day got loose on the bottom. Miraculously, the two drivers were able to save it without collecting other cars. Nevertheless, it triggered a caution. The race restarted, and Chastain again took the lead. Gray wasn’t letting him get away, though. Meanwhile, Smith, on older tires, ran third, and Zilisch worked his way up to 5th with a fantastic restart. Methodically, the No. 88 worked his way by Jesse Love for 4th and then his teammate Sammy Smith for 3rd. He was back in the game.
We then had a number of cautions to shake things up. First, Daniel Dye blew a tire and hit the wall. This was significant for his Rookie of the Year campaign as well as his Playoff hopes. Following this incident, we had a set of pit stops which resulted in Jesse Love taking the lead. The No. 2 car shot out front on the restart and Sam Mayer was through to 2nd. Shortly thereafter, Justin Allgaier and his teammate Ross Chastain, who was shuffled back during pit stops, got loose. The No. 7 car spun, bringing out yet another caution.
The race restarted, and the No. 41 of Mayer started to put pressure on the No. 2 of Love. Oil was reported to be on the track, resulting in the No. 99 of Matt DiBenedetto slipping up and getting into the back of Corey Day. Strangely, the caution did not come out. The next lap around, though, Brandon Jones hit that oily patch. The No. 20 Menards Toyota went around, triggering yet another yellow. By that point, Mayer had taken the lead from Jesse Love.
We went green with 18 laps to go. Mayer cleared Love for the race lead. Behind the No. 2 were the 25 of Harrison Burton, the No. 9 of Ross Chastain, the No. 11 of Carson Hocevar, and the No. 88 of Connor Zilisch. Coming to 12 to go, Harrison was able to get to the inside of Jesse Love. However, he was not able to complete the pass. Mayer was able to make it to the white flag lap before the caution flag was waived. Mayer went on to score his first win of the season. This was his second in a row at the track.
The race went green and Connor Zilisch jumped out to the lead in a hurry. He overtook the polesitter and his good friend Jesse Love on the first lap. Shortly thereafter, the first caution of the day flew as Austin Dillon, substituting for the suspended Austin Hill in the No. 21 Chevy, spun with playoff contender Ryan Sieg. The damage to both drivers was minimal.
When the race restarted, Zilisch set sail. He cruised to win the stage, collecting 10 stage points and 1 Playoff point. He asserted himself as the favorite today.
Following pit stops, Connor Zilisch found himself mired back in traffic. This sharply affected the handling of his No. 88 Chevy as he was shown to be wicked loose the entire run. Jesse Love assumed the lead but he wasn’t able to hold it there. Ross Chastain ultimately passed him in the JRM No. 9 Chevy. Chastain was looking to capture the same kind of success his Trackhouse teammates, SVG and Daniel Suarez, achieved in that car earlier this season. He led to the end of the stage, taking the stage win.
However, as the run drew it a close, it was clear that the fastest cars on track were the hard-charging JGR duo of Brandon Jones and Taylor Gray. They were the ones to watch as the final stage kicked off.
During the stage break, the leaders pitted. Brandon Jones won the race off pit road but was penalized for speeding. This relinquished the lead to the JRM teammates of Ross Chastain and Sammy Smith.
Ross Chastain scored the Xfinity Fastest Lap. Since Chastain is ineligible for Xfinity Series points, a bonus point was not awarded.
The following are the race results as they crossed the line at Iowa. Therefore, these results are unofficial. This list will be updated following post-race inspection when the results become official.
UPDATE: Post-race inspection is complete. All cars were clear and the race results are now official.
These drivers have clinched playoff berths by winning during the 2025 season.
The following drivers are currently in the postseason based on points.
This next crop of drivers are on the outside looking in.
This one comes with an asterisk next to it. Due to his suspension this week, Austin Hill is currently out of the NASCAR Playoffs, despite being listed as the 3rd seed. Per NASCAR rules, a driver must attempt every race in order to be eligible to compete in its postseason. However, waivers are often granted. It is expected that Hill will be granted a waiver. That said, if he is, he will forfeit all of his playoff points and will enter the Playoffs as the number 12 seed.
That does it for the Xfinity Series action at Iowa Speedway! What did you think of that race, NASCAR fans? Let us know! Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates. And be sure to tune back in here tomorrow for our coverage of the Cup Series at Iowa!
