The second and final off weekend of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season is in the books, and Iowa Speedway is scheduled to kick off a stretch of 14 races in 14 weeks to conclude the year with this Sunday afternoon's Iowa Corn 350.
Three lineup changes have been confirmed since the Brickyard 400, the series' most recent race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weekends ago, and all involve non-chartered (open) cars that competed at Indy but will not compete this weekend at Iowa.
Sunday's 350-lap race around the four-turn, 0.894-mile (1.439-kilometer) Newton, Iowa oval is set to feature only the 36 chartered cars, making it the third race of the year to feature no open cars. No oval race has featured exclusively chartered entries since the mid-March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
3 lineup changes confirmed for Iowa NASCAR Cup race
Corey Heim drove the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota to victory lane at Indy, giving him two wins in his three most recent starts. But just like after his win on Naval Base Coronado, he will not compete in the series' next race.
He is set to return for the regular season finale in late August at Daytona International Speedway, and he has three additional starts planned for the 2026 season after that.
Casey Mears drove the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet at Indy and crashed out of the Brickyard 400, and Daniel Dye drove the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet and also crashed out. Both drivers also plan to return for the Daytona regular season finale, but not before. Mears has two additional starts lined up post-Daytona, while Dye has one.
23XI Racing run three full-time chartered entries, while Beard Motorsports and Live Fast Motorsports are part-time teams that only ever field one open car, so they will not compete this weekend at Iowa.
Live coverage of the Iowa Corn 350 from Iowa Speedway is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, August 9 on USA Network to kick off USA Sports' portion of this year's NASCAR Cup Series broadcast schedule. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!
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