Iowa
Parker Kligerman finished P11 in NASCAR’s return to Iowa Speedway.
“F%#$ the right front is vibrating!!” is what Parker Kligerman and almost every driver said at least once in Iowa. “It would happen suddenly and without warning. The worst part was what would happen next - POP! And you were on a one-way ticket to the outside retaining wall. I watched AJ Allmendinger drive past me, and a couple of laps later, meet this fate. Then, the next set of tires I had developed a vibration - we got a caution.”
“ I watched car after car pop RF tires beside me and infront through the rest of the race. Why it happens is for tire engineers to explain; all I know as a driver is that losing a RF tire is the worst feeling. The only thing close to it is when you know there are issues, and your RF feels like it’s heading this way. Your job is to drive the car as hard and fast as it can go, but in this instance, you are tasked with conducting risk analysis every millisecond to determine if the tire will make it or not, corner by corner. It’s like an aircraft test pilot evaluating if the wings will stay on their plane as they go for a speed record.”
“About 30 laps into stage 3, my RF started to vibrate, then vibrate more and more. Now I’m in “Just make it live” mode, entering the corner at 140 MPH, barely able to see from the vibration and cranking the brake bias as far back as I can stand, lifting early but using no brake, and coasting the car with as much entry speed as possible - we got a caution before it let go.”
”We got hit multiple times in the last few restarts and were going to finish easily in the top 10, but got nailed on the last lap. P11 on a day that, for all intents and purposes, we simply survived.”
AJ Allmendinger was the first driver to have a flat tire and crash into the SAFER barrier. He was not the last. Allmendinger was joined by Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, Jeb Burton and John Hunter Nemechek in the Xfinity garage, and they all wound up against the wall at some point. Sam Mayer held off Riley Herbst on a late restart to win the race in overtime.
Overview
Event: HyVee Perks 250
Date: Saturday June 15, 2024
Time: 3:30 p.m. eastern
Location: IOWA SPEEDWAY
Layout: 7/8 mile oval
Laps: 250
Miles: 218.75
Stage Lengths: 75/150/250
TV: USA
Radio: Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN.
Driver Points: 379, 9th place
“We had a successful west coast swing of road courses with two great points days,” says Parker Kligerman. “But as always we wanted more. Looking ahead to Iowa, I am excited because I loved going to this track in trucks in the past. We’ve had some great runs on short tracks and I think those bode well for a successful weekend ahead! Also welcome back to my friends at NBC, I look forward to joining them on select Cup broadcasts this year, starting at New Hampshire.”
Heading back to Iowa Speedway
After a five-year hiatus, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading back to Iowa Speedway for the Hy-Vee PERKS 250.
The Newton, Iowa track has hosted 21 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, producing 14 different race winners and 12 different pole winners. The inaugural race was won by Brad Keselowski in 2009.
Only two races have been won from the pole or first starting position – Elliott Sadler (2012) and Ryan Preece (2017).
Sadler also holds quite a few records at the track – most poles (four), top fives (seven), top 10s (14) and lead lap finishes (15), while Keselowski is tied with Ricky Stenhouse Jr for most wins (three).
Xfinity Series drivers will kick off the weekend with practice at 4:35 p.m. ET on Friday, June 14 followed by qualifying on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. ET on the USA Network and streamed on the NBC Sports App.
The return of Iowa Speedway (for some)
Given that the NASCAR Xfinity Series hasn’t raced at Iowa Speedway since 2019, only some drivers entered in this weekend’s Hy-Vee PERKS 250 have given the track a go:
Justin Allgaier: 16 starts – One win (2018), four top fives, 12 top 10s, 449 laps led
Brandon Jones: 10 starts – one top five, three top 10s
Cole Custer: Six starts – three top fives, four top 10s, 169 laps led
Riley Herbst: Two starts – one top 10
Ryan Sieg: 12 starts – one top five (runner up finish in 2017)
Jeremy Clements: 19 starts – one top 10
Garrett Smithley: Eight starts – one top 10 finish
Josh Williams: Four starts – best finish of 15th (2019)
Joey Gase: 17 starts – best finish of 17th (2018)
Ross Chastain: Eight starts – two top fives, three top 10s
David Starr: Nine starts - best finish of 14th (2017)
The Kiwi goes back-to-back
Shane van Gisbergen got his first taste of victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Portland International Raceway and was hungry for more. He went on to Sonoma Raceway to show off his road course expertise, earning his first career pole and leading a race high 32 laps on route to his second consecutive win of the season.
Van Gisbergen joins Austin Hill as one of only two drivers this season to win back-to-back races. He will look to become the first driver in the Xfinity Series since Noah Gragson in 2022 to win three or more consecutive races (Darlington, Kansas, Bristol, Texas).
Playoff picture following Sonoma
With another win by Shane van Gisbergen last weekend at Sonoma Raceway, six spots have been filled for the Playoffs. Van Gisbergen joins Austin Hill, Chandler Smith, Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love and Sam Mayer on the list of drivers who have clinched their spot by virtue of win, leaving six spots up for grabs.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year update – Jesse Love has led the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings all season long and despite two wins by Shane van Gisbergen, he continues to lead with 435 points.
Van Gisbergen doesn’t sit too far behind with 362 points, just 73 points back on Love.
Leland Honeyman Jr. holds the third position with 203 points.
Hailie Deegan and Dawson Cram close out the competition, with 148 points and 91 points, respectively.