PREVIEW: Short fields and a couple series debuts set to play out in Iowa
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
IMAGE: JR Motorsports, @JRMotorsports
Saturday, August 8, 2026 (Green Flag 5:07 P.M. ET, CW)
O’REILLY Race 23 of 33
Hy-Vee Perks 250 at Iowa
2025 Last-Place Finisher: Dawson Cram
ENTRY LIST
There are 37 drivers entered for 38 starting spots in Saturday’s race, so all will qualify. The short field, the result of a late withdrawal of the RSS #38, marks just the third short field of this year’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, joining Kansas and San Diego.
PAINT SCHEME: #8-JR Motorsports
Sammy Smith runs a “throwback” scheme in honor of the late Michael Annett, the same colors Annett ran in his first season with JRM back in 2017.
DRIVER CHANGE: #32-Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport
DRIVER SWAP: #88-JR Motorsports
Carson Brown, an 18-year-old Richard Childress Racing development driver, won his first ARCA Menards Series race this past spring at Phoenix, where he won from the pole, leading flag-to-flag. Tomorrow, he makes his NASCAR national series debut in the Jordan Anderson #32, taking the place of 22nd-place Indianapolis finisher Rajah Caruth. Caruth returns to his familiar #88 at JRM, which he’s scheduled to run for the rest of this season.
WITHDREW: #38-RSS Racing
After running with x-pipes at both Atlanta and Indianapolis, the RSS team has withdrawn the #38 Ford from this weekend’s race. At first publication of the entry list, the team didn’t have a listed driver in place of J.J. Yeley, who finished last with fuel pump issues at Indy.
DRIVER CHANGE: #47-Mike Harmon Racing
Last week, the Harmon team swapped in David Starr for Dawson Cram, leading to a 35th-place finish at Indianapolis. This week, the ride returns to Carson Ware with his Costa Oil sponsorship, marking his fourth series start of the season and first since his 36th-place finish in Atlanta. This will mark Ware’s first series start at Iowa.
DRIVER CHANGE: #53-Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen
Tyler Tomassi made his series debut in this race last year, finishing 34th in the Gase team’s #35. He’s made just one start since, which came last month in Chicago for a 33rd-place run. He returns for a third series start in place of 34th-place Indianapolis finisher Blake Lothian, and runs alongside team owner Joey Gase in the #55.
DRIVER CHANGE: #91-DGM Racing x JIM
DRIVER SWAP: #92-DGM Racing x JIM
Saturday will see Derek Lemke make his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut as he takes the wheel of Mario Gosselin’s #91 with sponsorship from Crankshaft Supply Inc., Rack Shack BBQ of Eagan, Minnesota, and associate backing from Burch Farms and Triple Crown Capital. Lemke made his third and most recent Truck Series start this past summer in Nashville, where he ran 21st for Team Reaume. This time, he takes the place of 26th-place Indy finisher Mason Maggio, who slides over to DGM’s #92 in place of 30th-place finisher Preston Pardus.
CUP INVADERS: #9-Ross Chastain
Sunday, August 9, 2026 (Green Flag 3:40 P.M. ET, USA)
CUP Race 23 of 36
Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa
2025 Last-Place Finisher: Joey Gase
ENTRY LIST
There are 36 drivers entered for 40 spots, marking the 21st short field in 23 races this season, though only the third time only the Chartered entries have filled the garage, joining Las Vegas and Sears Point.
MISSING: #62-Beard Motorsports
MISSING: #67-23XI Racing
MISSING: #78-Live Fast Motorsports
All three “open” teams from Indianapolis are not entered this week, including Brickyard 400 winner Corey Heim, plus Casey Mears in the #62 and Daniel Dye in the #78, who finished 35th and 38th, respectively, after separate crashes.
Friday, August 14, 2026
TRUCKS Race 17 of 25
Eero 250 at Richmond
2025 Last-Place Finisher: Clayton Green
The Truck Series returns a week from today to lead off the Richmond weekend.
TODAY IN LASTCAR HISTORY (August 7, 1949): Sterling Long picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Strictly Stock Series career in a 200-lap race on the one-mile Occoneechee Speedway. In this third race of the present-day Cup Series’ inaugural season, Long’s 1946 Hudson was classified last in the 28-car field for reasons lost to history.
