Hy-Vee Perks 250
Location: Newton, Iowa
Course: Iowa Speedway
Format: 0.88-mile D-Shaped Oval
Laps: 250
NASCAR O'Reilly Series Race Preview
The O'Reilly Series is back after a one-week hiatus, with this week's race taking place in Iowa. Before jumping ahead, it's worth recapping the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from two weeks ago. Carson Kvapil continued his strong season and tallied his first career win in the O'Reilly Series. While his trip to victory lane was the obvious headline, it also vaulted him into second in the season-long standings.
Zooming out a bit, there are two races remaining in the regular season, with Iowa being the most reliable chance for drivers to pick up points given the unpredictability of Daytona. The battle for the final few playoff spots remains tight, with only 13 points separating 11th to 13th place. Rajah Caruth has slipped to 14th, but he still has a chance to claim a playoff spot as well.
Key Stats at Iowa
- Number of Races: 22
- Winners from Pole: 2
- Winner from top-five starters: 17
- Winners from top-ten starters: 19
Previous 10 Winners at Iowa
2025- Sam Mayer
2024- Sam Mayer
2019 – Chase Briscoe
2019 – Christopher Bell
2018 – Christopher Bell
2018 – Justin Allgaier
2017 -Ryan Preece
2017 – William Byron
2016 -Erik Jones
2016 -Sam Hornish, Jr.
Like many of the tracks on the schedule, races at Iowa were effected by COVID. NASCAR didn't have any races at Iowa Speedway from 2020 to 2023. This will mark the third race since the track's return to the calendar, with Mayer winning each of the last two races.
The track itself is short and flat and can be compared to several different tracks, of which the O'Reilly Series has already raced at Phoenix. That can expand the small sample a bit for those hesitant to rely on only two years of data. For what it's worth, qualifying has been very important at Iowa both in its return to the schedule and historically. Each of the last five and 13 of the last 15 race winners have qualified inside the top five.
RotoWire O'Reilly Series Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Hy-Vee 250
(Based on Standard $50K salary cap)
Tier 1 DraftKings Values
Sam Mayer - $11,000
Ross Chastain - $10,500
Jesse Love - $10,000
Tier 2 DraftKings Values
Carson Kvapil - $9,500
Brent Crews - $9,000
Taylor Gray - $8,800
Sheldon Creed- $8,500
Brandon Jones- $8,000
Tier 3 DraftKings Values
Sammy Smith - $7,800
William Sawalich - $7,600
Ryan Sieg -$7,500
Parker Retzlaff - $7,300
Tier 4 DraftKings Values
Harrison Burton- $7,100
Anthony Alfredo- $7,000
Jeremy Clements- $6,700
Optimal Lineup for the Hy-Vee Perks250
Sam Mayer - $11,000
Brent Crews - $9,000
Sammy Smith - $7,800
Ryan Sieg- $7,500
Parker Retzlaff - $7,300
Anthony Alfredo - $7,000
This is a good week for a balanced roster build. Justin Allgaier is the highest-priced driver, as is typically the case, but he hasn't had his typical level of success at Iowa since the return to the track. He has won races at Iowa in the past, but his track record doesn't suggest he's worth paying up for this week. On the other hand, he should pretty much always be in the driver pool and this could be a week to get him with a relatively low roster rate depending on qualifying results. Based on the recent track history, Mayer is the driver to build through. He has won each of the last two races at Iowa, and he's led a combined 75 laps in those races while never finishing a stage worse than fourth. The other driver from the elite tier worth heavily considering is Chastain. He's run in the O'Reilly Series each of the last two years at Iowa and has led a total of 120 laps in those two races, with finishes of third and ninth.
There are several options in the middle tiers of pricing worth considering. Sammy Smith can lock in a playoff spot with a strong showing, and that looks to be a strong likelihood. He has alternated a strong finish and qualifying in the two races at Iowa, but the bottom line is that he has shown consistent speed. His recent results this season have been less remarkable, but he should be able to turn things around Saturday. Ryan Sieg has also been very consistent at this track, finishing eighth and 12th in the last two years. He has had an inconsistent season and is likely to miss the playoffs, but he has cashed in positive results at times.
Retzlaff is arguably the best value of the slate. He enters the weekend in excellent form, having finished inside the top seven in three of his last five races and no worse than 14th in that span. His $7,300 price tag is also his lowest since mid-June, which doesn't make much sense given his recent speed.
There aren't many standout punt plays for the weekend, but Clements and Alfredo are in the mix for those that would prefer to roster Allgaier or build through both Mayer and Chastain.
Best Bets for the Hy-Vee 250
Race Winner – Sam Mayer (+450), Ross Chastain (+550), Taylor Gray (+900)
Head-to-Head Matchups
Ross Chastain (-130) vs. Jesse Love (-105)
Brandon Jones (-130) vs. Sammy Smith (-105)
Allgaier enters the weekend as the favorite, which is understandable given his relative dominance this season. However, it does offer some value opportunity to pick a race winner that isn't often the case. Chastain in particular stands out. We covered his history at Iowa in the DFS section, but it's worth reiterating that he leads all drivers in laps led in the two O'Reilly Series races at Iowa. Gray has a significant amount of steam this weekend, and he did show the ability to move through the field efficiently at Iowa last season, finishing 17th after qualifying 36th for the race last season. He's at a relatively better price in the betting market as compared to DFS, so this would be my preferred method of getting exposure to him.
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