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2024 Iowa Corn 350: NASCAR at Iowa Odds, Picks & Predictions

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Name something more righteous than a boy and his dad watching a race together. I’ll wait.

It may have been the week before Father’s Day, but I had the pleasure of watching the Sonoma Xfinity Series race with my old man last Saturday night. It had to be the first full race he watched in over a decade. Still, seeing Shane van Gisbergen wheel it to victory lane was enough to make him catch the end of Sunday’s Cup Series race when he got home.

The garage doors were open, the drinks were certainly flowing and ultimately, the bets were cashing. Times like that take me back to the summer nights we spent together at the local dirt track as a kid. When you’re a dumbass teenager and busy young adult, it’s easy to forget about the kind of stuff your dad did for you. These days, though? It’s everything.

If you are blessed enough to have the opportunity, thank your dad this weekend, kids. You’ll have all Sunday to pick up the phone or pay him a visit, as the inaugural (and maybe only-ever) NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa won’t go green until 7:00 p.m. ET.

While it’s not ideal to handicap a recently repaved racetrack that’s never hosted a top-level race before, we’ll do our best to put the puzzle pieces together. We have comp tracks (Gateway, Richmond and Phoenix) and nearly a decade’s worth of Xfinity and Truck Series data to work with.

Here are my best bets for the 2024 Iowa Corn 350 and full card for another weekend of NASCAR racing.

2024 Iowa Corn 350: NASCAR at Iowa Odds, Picks & Predictions

Top Chevy: Kyle Larson (+145 via BetRivers) | 1u

Kyle Larson was one of the lucky three drivers - joining Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell - to perform a tire test at Iowa last month. That, plus a full practice session on Friday, is too much time on a track for arguably the most talented driver on the planet.

Larson had an off day at Phoenix earlier this year but started on the pole at our other comp track, Richmond, leading 144 laps and finishing third as the top Chevy. He was on his way to being the top Chevy again at Gateway two weeks ago but was spun by Kyle Busch and had to drive back through the field to finish 10th. The California native has just two Xfinity Series starts at Iowa but finished T5 in both.

When it’s hot/slick and tough to pass, I trust few more than Larson to be on the offensive. I’m backing him for both the top Chevy and 7-1 outright.

Brad Keselowski (-125 via ESPN BET) vs. Ty Gibbs | 1.3u

As noted, Keselowski had the advantage of testing here last month. He also happens to be one of two drivers who has finished T10 in each of our three comp races, fishing fourth at Phoenix, eighth at Richmond and third at Gateway.

In addition to the Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) owner/driver’s prowess on the short-flat tracks this seaosn, he’s arguably the most decorated driver at Iowa. He has three wins, an average finish of 3.0, 332 laps led and a 100% T10 rate in seven Iowa Xfinity Series starts.

That was a long time ago (2016 being his last start), but it’s still enough to give me confidence in a H2H matchup against Ty Gibbs. While the driver of the No. 54 car did have a third-place finish at Phoenix earlier this year, he was a non-factor at Richmond and Gateway. Matched up against Keselowski on shorter flat tracks since 2023, the 21-year-old is just 3-5.

Under 3.5 Chevys To Finish in the T10 (-105 via Caesars) | 1.5u

I haven’t tapped much into the specials market this season, but I’m choosing to do so here by fading Chevrolet as a whole. Outside of Larson (sixth), Chase Elliott (eighth) and William Byron (ninth) are the only Chevys inside the top 14 of the 2024 short-flat track total speed rankings, courtesy of ifantasyrace.com. The only other Chevy remotely on my radar this week is Ross Chastain (15th), who is running double duty.

Under 3.5 Chevys To Finish in the T10 is 3-0 cashing this season. Only one finished T10 at Pheonix, three at Richmond and three at Gateway. Going back to the final two short-flat tracks of last season (Phoenix and Richmond), this bet is 5-0. We’ll back the Fords, Toyotas and trends in one of my favorite wagers of the weekend.

Other Cup Series Bets on My Card:

HyVee Perks 250 (Xfinity) Bets:

Seth Woolcock is a featured writer and editor at BettingPros. For more sports betting and fantasy sports analysis from Seth, check out In-Between Media & follow him on X/Twitter @Between_SethFF.

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