Iowa Corn 350: Iowa Picks, Betting Odds & Race Preview

The NASCAR Cup Series will forge a new frontier in the heartland of America this Sunday night as the drivers head to Iowa Speedway for the first time for the Iowa Corn 350. 

While there are no prior results to draw on when it comes to making NASCAR betting picks this week, we'll have you covered with the best angles possible when it comes to wagering on this race, where Christopher Bell is among the favorites with pole-sitter Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin after qualifying.

Odds to win 2024 Iowa Corn 350

Driver
Kyle Larson	+350	+400	+400
Denny Hamlin	+475	+550	+525
Ryan Blaney	+700	+750	+700
Christopher Bell	+750	+825	+700
Chase Elliott	+1,100	+1,400	+1,400
Tyler Reddick	+1,200	+1,100	+1,400
Joey Logano	+1,400	+1,200	+1,200
William Byron	+1,600	+1,400	+1,600
Brad Keselowski	+1,600	+1,500	+1,500
Martin Truex Jr.	+1,800	+2,500	+2,000
Ross Chastain	+1,800	+2,000	+2,000
Josh Berry	+2,200	+5,000	+1,800
Chris Buescher	+2,500	+3,000	+2,500
Kyle Busch	+2,500	+2,200	+2,500
Alex Bowman	+2,500	+2,200	+2,500
Ty Gibbs	+2,800	+2,500	+3,300
Chase Briscoe	+2,800	+2,500	+2,000
Noah Gragson	+3,000	+3,500	+2,500
Bubba Wallace	+4,500	+5,000	+4,000
Daniel Suarez	+6,500	+6,000	+6,000

Odds as of 6-16-2024.

Iowa Corn 350 field

A field of 37 drivers will contest the inaugural Iowa Corn 350, with the winning pilots from two of the last three events since the All-Star Race — Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson — opening atop the odds board. Denny Hamlin, who is tied with Larson and William Byron for the most wins this season at three apiece, is close behind.

One might think the potential for a long-shot result is elevated at a track that the Cup Series has never visited, but DraftKings is listing just 12 drivers at +1,800 or below. There's a decent gap from Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott at +1,800 to Kyle Busch at +2,500 as of Tuesday afternoon.

Another interesting quirk of the Iowa Corn 350 is that this race will be held on Sunday night, something that's usually only done on holiday weekends. Viewers should note this race will be on USA, as FOX and FS1's coverage is done for the year.

Iowa Corn 350 expert picks and predictions

Odds listed below courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook as of 6-13-2024.

Iowa Corn 350 pre-qualifying favorites

Kyle Larson (+550)
Kyle Larson’s last three Richmond (the track most similar to Iowa) spring races saw him finish in the Top 5, including a third-place run this year. He was fifth at Bristol and a runner-up at Martinsville this year, too. 

Denny Hamlin (+700)
Denny Hamlin won the Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, won Bristol and Richmond, and was 11th in Phoenix and Martinsville. 

Martin Truex Jr. (+1,000)
He has to be one of the favorites, right? Martin Truex Jr. has 10 Top-7 finishes in his last 11 Richmond starts, including three wins and a runner-up in that span. 

Iowa Corn 350 sleepers

Ty Gibbs (+1,200)
Ty Gibbs is a two-time ARCA winner at Iowa and an Xfinity Series winner at Richmond. He finished third at Phoenix this past spring, too. 

Brad Keselowski (+1,200)
Brad Keselowski won the inaugural Xfinity Series race at Iowa and is a three-time winner here. He has three straight Top 10s at Richmond, and one of them should have been a win as he won the second stage and led 102 laps overall before suffering a bad pit stop. Keselowski was fourth and third, respectively, at Phoenix and Bristol this season.

Chase Elliott (+1,500)
Eighth in Bristol, fifth at Richmond, and third at Martinsville lead me to believe Chase Elliott has a shot. He also was fifth at Dover this year. 

Iowa Corn 350 fades

Ryan Blaney (+1,000) 
Richmond is arguably one of Ryan Blaney’s worst tracks as he’s never had a Top-5 finish in 16 tries. I don’t expect Iowa to be any different. 

William Byron (+1,200) 
William Byron was 18th at Phoenix and 35th at Bristol but won Martinsville and was seventh at Richmond. Considering the odds, I believe there’s better value elsewhere. 

Kyle Busch (+2,200) 
He’s called short tracks his worst and recent results bear it out. Kyle Busch qualified on the front row in both Richmond races last season and finished 14th and third, respectively, and led one combined lap. He was 20th this spring, too. Busch was 22nd in Phoenix and 25th in Bristol this season.

Iowa Corn 350 prop pick: Christopher Bell Top 3 Finish

I don’t like Christopher Bell at +400 for outright winner, it’s too steep for my liking. The safer play is +110 on a Top-3 finish. Bell is a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at Iowa Speedway. Bell also has 10 Top-6 finishes in 13 Richmond starts, and that includes five Xfinity Series starts. He won at Phoenix in March, too. 

Pick: Christopher Bell Top 3 Finish (+110 at DraftKings)

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Iowa Speedway track analysis

Inaugural races are hard to decipher, but Iowa should race a lot like Richmond. The 7/8-mile oval bears a similar shape with similar strategy and tire fall off. With multiple lanes to pass on, Sunday night’s race should be a good one. As with many inaugural races, the cream should rise to the top.

Iowa Corn 350 trends

• Toyota should shine on Sunday. They’ve won 10 of the last 18 Richmond races, including this spring, and are 3-for-4 with the short track package this season. They also won at Dover, which is a one-mile track but they used the intermediate package there. 
  
  
• Kyle Larson owns the best average finish at short tracks since February 2021 (7.1), but Denny Hamlin owns the best average rating (115.5) in that 18-race sample.

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