NASCAR sets Iowa Speedway weekend schedule and qualifying
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 6, 2026
Iowa Speedway weekend
Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, sets up a three-day NASCAR weekend from Friday through Sunday on its 0.875-mile short track. The schedule brings the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Cup Series to the same venue, with each series getting its own place in the order of events. The Cup Series will make its third visit to Iowa Speedway, and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series will run its 23rd race at the track. That gives the weekend a strong mix of top-level NASCAR racing and a track with a growing history in the series lineup.
Friday opens the weekend with the ARCA Menards Series. The day includes practice, qualifying and the JR&CO 150, giving the series the first race of the weekend before the larger national fields take over. ARCA Menards Series practice and qualifying will have no TV coverage, but the race will air at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, FOX One and MRN. That puts the full weekend in motion from the start, with Friday handling the first on-track action and the rest of the event moving through Saturday and Sunday.
O'Reilly Auto Parts
The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series takes over Saturday with a full day of track time at Iowa Speedway. Practice is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET, followed by single-car qualifying at 12:35 p.m. ET. The race is set for 5 p.m. ET and will air on The CW, the ESPN App and MRN. Saturday coverage for practice and qualifying will run on the CW app and ESPN app, giving the series a clear place in the middle of the weekend schedule.
Joey Gase was first in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying order with a 36.000 score. That early spot in the order comes before the field heads into qualifying and then into the race later in the afternoon. The O'Reilly series also brings a strong track history into the weekend, with its 23rd race at Iowa Speedway. The Saturday schedule keeps the series in the spotlight after Friday's ARCA opener and before Sunday's Cup finale, with practice, qualifying and racing all packed into one day at the short track in Newton.
Cup Series Sunday
The Cup Series follows on Saturday with practice at 2:05 p.m. ET on truTV and single-car qualifying at 3:10 p.m. ET. Saturday coverage for those sessions will run on truTV and MRN. The Cup weekend then closes on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET, when the race airs on USA, HBO Max and MRN. That gives the series the final race of the weekend after the ARCA Menards Series on Friday and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday.
Connor Zilisch was first in the Cup Series qualifying order with a 34.600 metric score. That puts him at the front of the lineup process before Saturday's qualifying session and Sunday's race. The Cup Series return also marks the third time the series has raced at Iowa Speedway, a short track that continues to hold a place on the NASCAR schedule. With practice on Saturday afternoon, qualifying later that day and the race on Sunday afternoon, the Cup schedule finishes the weekend with the final and most high-profile stop at the Iowa oval.
