Corn Country Gives Another Strong Run For Surging RFK

Brad Keselowski (6) chases William Byron Sunday at Iowa Speedway. (David Rosenblum/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

NEWTON, Iowa – RFK Racing has been getting ever closer to finding victory lane again in the NASCAR Cup Series.

At Iowa Speedway Sunday afternoon, both Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece had strong cars, but ultimately fell short once again.

Similar to their weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the organization isn’t looking for just top finishes, they want wins and know that winning is vital this late in the regular season.

Keselowski settled for third after sweeping both stages in the race, while Preece came home fifth after charging forward in the closing laps.

The strength of Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse was long-run speed, as evidenced by his passes deep in both stage one and stage two to secure the stage wins, but 12 cautions through the second half of the Iowa Corn 350 powered by Ethanol negated some of that advantage.

“It was just the way the yellows fell,” said Keselowski, speaking of what kept him from a win. “We had so many there in stage three that it got [race winner William Byron] and Chase Briscoe to where they could make it on fuel [after] pitting way outside the window, and we just couldn’t get back by them.

“I got back by a lot of guys – I restarted 24th there after we pitted, and got all the way up to third – but that was as far as I could get.”

A common theme all season in the Cup Series has been the difficulty of passing. Maneuvering the repaved Iowa surface and having to find a way around the top and bottom grooves posed a challenge.

Despite that, Keselowski was able to drive through traffic twice over the 350-lap distance to take the lead, while juggling pit strategy as well.

The 41-year-old held the lead through a stretch of cautions early in stage three. But, after having to pit for fuel on lap 232 in order to get to the finish, he wasn’t able to get all the way back forward again.

After working from outside the top 20 to third, Keselowski stalled behind Byron and Briscoe following the final restart with 64 laps left, unable to recapture the lead for what would’ve been a fourth time.

Still, Keselowski secured his fourth top five of the season and led 68 laps. Iowa was Keselowski’s best race of the season thus far, as he led his most laps in a single race all season on Sunday.

The Rochester Hills, Mich., native has two straight top fives, and earned 55 points, which was the most out of any driver in the Hawkeye State. He wants a win, but isn’t underscoring just being back in the mix, either.

“It was a great run for both of our RFK cars. Obviously, we want to win, but we’re in contention, that’s for sure,” Keselowski said.  “Ryan Blaney was really fast there at the end. He had a little bit newer tires, and he was running us down. I feel like I was going to get to Briscoe, but Blaney was going to pass me. It was a solid day; we just needed a few more things to go our way.”

Ryan Preece in action at Iowa Speedway Sunday afternoon. (Matthew Thacker/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

His teammate Preece shared similar sentiments a week after stating his goal was to have a chance to win at every remaining regular season race. He collected his third top five of the year, two of which have come in the past two weeks.

“I am super proud of everyone at RFK for making solid adjustments. We had a little bit of luck there when that caution came out and allowed us to take another shot at it,” said Preece. “I thought if we had a bunch of restarts that we were going to be OK, because we were so good in that top [third] lane. But it just seemed that the long run, that last run, wasn’t the best thing for us.

“On that restart when we were able to get to third, I thought we were going to have a shot at it. It seemed we could close in on Briscoe and Byron a little bit and then I just got loose,” he said. “When Brad was catching me, I thought ‘What is the best thing to do for a teammate and for the company?’ I wanted to give him the opportunity [to fight for a win], even if it was at a deficit for our [No. 60] car.”

Preece earned 34 points on the day and is now just 23 total behind teammate Chris Buescher, who finished 22nd, for the final playoff spot. The 34-year-old cut the deficit roughly in half, as he entered 42 points back of the 16th seed.

Both Keselowski and Preece are looking toward the upcoming visit to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l, as their RFK teammate in Buescher is the defending race winner.

Preece finished ninth at the Glen last season and Keselowski’s best finish in the Finger Lakes region at RFK is 15th, but he does have four top fives in 14 races at the track, including a dramatic win from 2012 when he was driving the No. 2 for Team Penske.

Is getting all three RFK cars into the playoffs a long shot? Perhaps. But it’s not impossible, and Keselowski knows that.

“Ultimately, I look forward to Watkins Glen, Richmond and Daytona. All three of us [RFK Ford Mustangs] can still get into the playoffs. It is going to take a lot of perseverance and a lot of luck, but we have fast race cars and we can get the job done,” said Keselowski.

Coverage of the Go Bowling at the Glen begins Sunday, Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. ET on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.