5 drivers who saw their hopes crash at the 2025 Iowa NASCAR Cup race, including Kyle Busch

In the thick of summer, NASCAR's regular season is entering its most volatile phase, and the Iowa Corn 350 only turned up the pressure for some drivers. On a repaved Iowa Speedway, chaos reigned as 12 cautions led a dramatic Sunday showdown, wrecking strategies, momentum, and in some cases, playoff hopes.

While William Byron cruised to his fourth win of the season, in an already stacked list of 13 postseason qualifiers, several drivers left Iowa bruised in the NASCAR standings. Just three playoff spots remain up for grabs, with Watkins Glen, Richmond, and Daytona left before the cutoff.

Here are five NASCAR Cup Series drivers whose playoff chances took a significant hit.

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Five drivers whose playoff chances took a hit in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa

#5. Carson Hocevar – No. 77 Spire Motorsports (-131 below cutline)

Carson Hocevar during the NASCAR Xfinity Series HyVee Perks 250 at Iowa Speedway. Source: Getty

Carson Hocevar has built a name for himself as one of the Cup Series' more aggressive young drivers, and Iowa offered more evidence of that. Starting strong in P7, he held station early and bagged Stage 1 points with a P7 finish. But the second half of the race spiraled into a mess of incidents.

First, a Lap 210 spin after contact with John Hunter Nemechek knocked him back. Then came the flashpoint of the day with Zane Smith on Lap 229 that sent the Front Row driver into the wall and later triggered a failed retaliation attempt. Despite the chaos, Hocevar escaped relatively clean and salvaged P8, his second consecutive top-10 finish after three straight outside the top 30.

Yet he’s -131 below the NASCAR playoff cutline with three races to go, and only one of those (Richmond) plays to his oval strength.

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#4. Michael McDowell – No. 71 Spire Motorsports (-134 below cutline)

Michael McDowell before the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400. Source: Getty

Michael McDowell showed pace early at Iowa, running around the edge of the top 10 for most of the afternoon. But as caution after caution disrupted flow and shuffled track position, the No. 71 was one of the biggest losers in the pit cycles.

Despite starting 13th and showing mid-pack speed, McDowell's day unraveled quickly in the final 100 laps. He limped home 27th, his third finish outside the top 25 in the past five races. That's not how you claw back a triple-digit points deficit.

But Watkins Glen might be McDowell's last stand. He's consistently quick on road courses, qualifying inside the top 10 in all three Next Gen-era races at The Glen, and finishing in the top seven in two. A fourth-place result at Sonoma and a strong run at Chicago add to his road course record.

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#3. AJ Allmendinger – No. 16 Kaulig Racing (-118 below cutline)

AJ Allmendinger (16) during the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165. Source: Getty

AJ Allmendinger entered Iowa with an uphill battle and left with few signs of forward motion. Starting ninth, he ran inside the top 10 in Stage 1, but began fading as others adapted better to Iowa's surface changes and constant resets. His race derailed after his No. 16 Chevrolet got loose and made contact with Denny Hamlin on Lap 221. It cost him five spots, as he finished 18th. Iowa Corn 350 was his ninth finish outside the top 15 in the last 11 races.

His 15.4 average start and 20.0 average finish explain the story. He’s qualifying well enough, but long-run pace and race management have fallen off. But, he is a former winner (2014) at Watkins Glen, with five career top-fives at the circuit.

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#2. Kyle Busch – No. 8 Richard Childress Racing (-73 below cutline)

Kyle Busch (8) and Daniel Suarez (99) in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa. Source: Getty

Few drivers left Iowa as frustrated as Kyle Busch. His weekend was derailed before the green flag, as he wrecked his primary car in practice and started from the rear in a backup.

That backup car never showed the muscle needed to fight through the field, though Busch tried. He clawed back into the top five in Stage 2, grabbing crucial stage points. But track position vanished in the caution-heavy final stage, and the Richard Childress Racing veteran slid back to 20th. It was a microcosm of his season and his tenure at RCR.

The flashes of speed are still there, but the full-race execution isn't. And with a winless streak extending beyond two years, the two-time NASCAR Cup champion now faces the prospect of missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

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#1. Brad Keselowski – No. 6 RFK Racing (-121 below cutline)

Brad Keselowski (6) pits during the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350. Source: Getty

Brad Keselowski had one of his best runs of the season at Iowa - finishing third - but it was still a massive missed opportunity. He dominated the early part of the race, sweeping both Stage 1 and Stage 2 and leading chunks of the second half.

But when pit strategy became the deciding factor, Keselowski found himself on the wrong side of the fuel gamble. William Byron and Chase Briscoe stretched their final runs after pitting earlier, while Keselowski had to settle for third despite arguably having the best car in clean air.

At -121 on the cutline and winless since 2024, the RFK Racing co-owner knows what lies ahead, and only Victory Lane will do. Richmond and Daytona offer viable shots, but Iowa, where he had everything lined up, might end up being the one that got away.

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Edited by Aayush Kapoor