Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of Des Moines. The track was designed with influence from Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond Raceway, a short track where Wallace was very successful. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered Recreational Vehicle viewing area along the backstretch.
The first practice session was held on Friday, July 27, at 4:05 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes.2 Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.046 and an average speed of 130.999 miles per hour (210.822 km/h).3
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, July 27, at 6:05 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes.4 Casey Roderick of GMS Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.933 and an average speed of 131.617 miles per hour (211.817 km/h).5
Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 28, at 4:20 PM CST.6 Since Iowa Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.7
Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 23.576 and an average speed of 133.610 miles per hour (215.024 km/h).8
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Stage 1 Laps: 60
Stage 2 Laps: 60
Stage 3 Laps: 137
Gray, Robert (July 29, 2018). "Christopher Bell takes Iowa for third straight Xfinity win | NASCAR.com". Official Site Of NASCAR. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2021. https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2018/07/28/bell-wins-iowa-become-first-xfinity-regular-since-1999-win-three-row/ ↩
"2018 NASCAR XFINITY Iowa Race Page". ESPN.com. July 30, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2021. https://www.espn.com/jayski/nxs/races/2018/story/_/id/23874714/2018-nascar-xfinity-iowa-race-page ↩
Beaver, Dan (July 27, 2018). "Xfinity practice report at Iowa". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved December 27, 2021. https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2018/07/27/xfinity-practice-report-at-iowa/ ↩
"NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. February 7, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2021. https://www.espn.com/jayski/pages/story/_/id/18676661/nascar-qualifying-rules ↩
Ryan, Nate (July 28, 2018). "Elliott Sadler captures Xfinity pole position at Iowa". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved December 27, 2021. https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2018/07/28/elliott-sadler-captures-xfinity-pole-position-at-iowa/ ↩
"2018 U.S. Cellular 250 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved December 27, 2021. https://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/2018_U.S._Cellular_250 ↩