Ryan Blaney staves off challengers for dominant win at Iowa Corn 350

NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney after winning the Iowa Corn 350

When Ryan Blaney flew under the checkered flag Sunday night at the Iowa Speedway, he capped one of the most dominant wins of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

Blaney led 201 of the 350 laps run in Sunday's Iowa Corn 350, the inaugural Cup Series race at the 7/8 mile Iowa Speedway. Blaney took only two tires on his final pit stop, enabling him to line up on the front row for the race's final restart. While a short battle with fellow Penske driver Joey Logano ensued, it was Blaney who prevailed, ultimately pulling away and navigating lapped traffic to take home his first victory of 2024.

With 80 friends and family in attendance for Sunday's race, the win was a big one for Blaney, who suffered a heartbreaking defeat at World Wide Technology Raceway just two weeks prior when he ran out of fuel on the final lap.

The turning point in Iowa may have come on lap 220, when Kyle Larson spun off the front bumper of Daniel Suarez and into the outside wall, collecting Denny Hamlin in the process. While Hamlin was able to continue, the dominant car of Larson was forced to the garage area and eventually relegated to a 34th-place finish. It was a disappointing outcome for the Sonoma winner, who looked to have a great shot at victory before the crash.

While Hamlin's night didn't come to an official end in that crash, it seemed his race was over from the drop of the green flag. After starting a respectable 12th, the firey veteran dropped through the field like a rock in Stage One, going a lap down on pure pace. While he got his lap back to start Stage Two, the No. 11 car was once again slow and Hamlin eventually settled for a 24th-place finish in a race that he was considered a favorite to win.

While it was Blaney who ended up having the correct strategy on the race's final pit stop, it came at the expense of race leader Josh Berry, who led the field into the pits for the final time. Berry's crew opted for four tires and while a seventh-place finish is certainly a good day, it pales in comparison to what could have been for Berry if his final pit stop was better. Berry led 32 laps in Sunday's race and looked to have one of the strongest cars in the field as the sun went down. He'll now have to wait a little bit longer for his moment in the sun.

Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Ricky Stenhouse rounded out the top-five finishers while Logano and Berry finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Alex Bowman, Suarez and Brad Keselowski capped off the top-10.

Other notable finishers from Sunday's Iowa Corn 350 include Justin Haley in 13th, Martin Truex in 15th, Bubba Wallace in 17th, Larson in 34th and Kyle Busch in 35th.

AJ Allmendinger brought up the rear of the field, finishing 36th after a tire failure early in Stage One.

The Cup Series' next race is next Sunday in Loudon, New Hampshire. The USA Today 301 will go green shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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