HFT Weekend Preview:
By Haas Factory Team
Saturday O’Reilly Series Action:
Date: Saturday, August 8th at 5 p.m. ET
Track: Iowa Speedway, Newton, IA
Race Distance: 250 laps / 218.75 miles
Broadcast: CW | MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Sunday Cup Series Action:
Date: Sunday, August 9th at 3:30 p.m. ET
Track: Iowa Speedway, Newton, IA
Race Distance: 350 laps / 306.25 miles
Broadcast: USA | MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
On-Track Activity:
Saturday:
11:30 a.m. ET – O’Reilly Practice
CW App | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
12:35 p.m. ET – O’Reilly Qualifying
CW App | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
2:05 p.m. ET – Cup Practice
TruTV | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
3:10 p.m. ET – Cup Qualifying
TruTV | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
5 p.m. ET – O’Reilly Race
CW | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Sunday:
3:30 p.m. ET – Cup Race
USA | MRN & SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race Weekend Quick Hits:
- Iowa Speedway hosts the NASCAR Cup Series for just the third time this weekend, while the NASCAR O’Reilly Series returns to the 0.875-mile oval for its 12th ever race.
- After clinching a berth in The Chase for the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series championship, Sheldon Creed enters the weekend fourth in the standings with two regular-season races remaining.
- Creed is coming off his first pole of the season, and fifth of his career, at Indianapolis, and holds the second-best average finish (10.8) while tied for the second-most top-five finishes (8) in the series this season.
- Sam Mayer has dominated the recent O’Reilly Series races at Iowa Speedway, winning back-to-back in 2024 and 2025. Last season’s victory marked his first with Haas Factory Team, making him one of just three multi-time O’Reilly Series winners at the track.
- Mayer sits 10th in the NOAPS standings, 29 points above The Chase cutline, and has started inside the top 10 in each of his last six starts dating back to Pocono.
- Cole Custer is coming off a season-best 12th-place starting position at the Brickyard two weekends ago.
- Custer owns five top-10 finishes in seven O’Reilly Series starts at Iowa, leading 169 laps and earning the pole in 2019.
Cup Driver Lineup:
No. 41 Driver: Cole Custer
Hometown: Ladera Ranch, CA
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: HaasTooling.com
Cup Series Points Standings: 30th
Custer’s Iowa Cup Series History:
Starts: 1
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —
Key Numbers:
Custer returns to Iowa Speedway for his second Cup Series start after a 26th-place finish in last year's race.
In addition to his O’Reilly Series success, Custer has made three Craftsman Truck Series starts, finishing inside the top 10 each time.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Driver Lineup:
No. 00 Driver: Sheldon Creed
Hometown: Alpine, CA
Crew Chief: Jonathan Toney
Partner: Road Ranger
O’ Reilly Series Points Standings: 4th, Clinched Spot in The Chase
Creed’s Iowa O’Reilly Series History:
Starts: 2
Wins: —
Top-10s: 2
Poles: —
Key Numbers:
Creed is set to make his third O’Reilly Series start at Iowa on Saturday, where he has recorded a pair of top-10 finishes.
Creed also finished sixth in his lone Truck Series start at the 0.875-mile oval in 2019 and won the 2018 ARCA race from the pole.
No. 41 Driver: Sam Mayer
Hometown: Franklin, WI
Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
Partner: Starkey
O’ Reilly Series Points Standings: 10th, +29 points to cutline
Mayer’s Iowa O’Reilly Series History:
Starts: 2
Wins: 2 (2024 & 2025)
Top-10s: 2
Poles: —
Key Numbers:
Mayer has won each of the last two O’Reilly Series races at Iowa, leading a combined 75 laps. Two of his eight career series victories have come at the track after starting fifth in both races.
Mayer has also made two ARCA starts at Iowa, with a best finish of second in July 2020.
HFT Indianapolis Recap:
Sheldon Creed earned his first pole of the season, and the fifth of his career, at Indianapolis as he clinched a spot in The Chase with an eighth-place run, while Sam Mayer collected valuable points toward his own Chase push with a 13th-place finish. Cole Custer converted a season-best qualifying effort into his second-best finish of the season, using fuel strategy to finish 13th in Sunday’s Cup Series race.