Iowa Corn 350 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions / The Low Tier

Todd Gilliland
Iowa Fantasy Outlook – On a weekly basis, you can typically pencil in Todd Gilliland for a high-teens to low 20’s finish and at Iowa, you can probably pencil him in for another, but he might very well prove to have upside. Gilliland recently finished 8th at North Wilkesboro and over the two combined shorter-flat track races this year, his average finish is 10.0, his average Speed Ranking is 13.0 and his average running position is the 11th best (14.7)
Iowa Track History – At Iowa, Gilliland has results at polar opposite ends of the spectrum and in the Next Gen he ranks 24th for Driver Rating, 25th for Speed and his average finish is 23.0. Last year, Gilliland had his bad Iowa result and finished 34th. It was an ugly race, and it also wasn’t incident free. On lap 281, Gilliland brought out the last caution of the race for debris while running around 30th when he lost his right-side window. In the race, Gilliland had a 30.7 average running position and ranked 32nd for Total Speed Rankings. In 2024, Gilliland had a solid afternoon  and finished 12th. Additionally, Gilliland earned the 16th best driver rating and had a 17.7 average running position. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Gilliland ranked 19th with his speed over the segments being 30th, 23rd, 10th and 13th, so as you can see, he was clearly at his best in the second half of the race.

Michael McDowell
Iowa Fantasy Outlook – Michael McDowell might have a little dark horse upside, but I also think it’s best to just be braced for a 20’s finish. McDowell’s 2 for 2 at finishing in the 20’s here with a 25.0 average finish and at North Wilkesboro he just recently finished 24th. McDowell’s dark horse upside I’m alluding to is that in the three shorter-flat track races prior to North Wilkesboro, he had results of 9th, 8th and 8th.
Iowa Track History – At Iowa in the Next Gen, Michael McDowell ranks 19th for Speed, 19th for Driver Rating but has a 25.0 average finish. Last year, McDowell started 13th, had an 18.3 average running position, ranked 23rd for Total Speed Rankings and then finished 27th overall. In 2024, McDowell was a top ten contender but finished a misleading 23rd. In the race, McDowell started 22nd, was in 8th on lap 115 but then he had a flat tire and made an unexpected pit stop which dropped him two laps down, back to 35th. McDowell bounced back but then near the end on lap 328 while running in 13th, he had another flat tire, leading to his 23rd. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, McDowell ranked 15th with his speed over the segments being 22nd, 8th, 31st and then 5th.

AJ Allmendinger
Iowa Fantasy Outlook – At Iowa, I think having mid-pack expectations is the right play with AJ Allmendinger. The #16 team is typically mid-pack on this track type and since 2025 at these venues, he’s 6 for 8 at finishing between 18th to 23rd and included in that tally is an 18th here last summer. In terms of shorter-flat track total Speed rankings since last year, Allmendinger ranks 26th.
Iowa Track History – At Iowa in the Next Gen, AJ Allmendinger ranks 20th for Speed, 20th for Driver Rating and has a 27.0 average finish. Last year, Allmendinger had a solid teens afternoon. In the race, Allmendinger finished 18th, had a 15.1 average running position and ranked 10th for Total Speed Rankings. In 2024, Allmendinger had an ugly evening and finished 37th. In the race, Allmendinger started 18th, was back in the mid 20’s on lap 51 but then he had a tire go down and got into the wall hard which marked the end of his race. Over the first segment he competed, Allmendinger ranked 28th in terms of Speed Rankings.

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Iowa Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions & The Low Tier