Inaugural race at Iowa shows there's hope for NASCAR's short-track package

Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag after 350 laps of action that saw a solid combination of green-flag racing and plot-twisting cautions, and while track position was paramount, several drivers were able to make their way through the field at times.

Strategy came into play as well, as a few drivers suffered blown tires near the end of long green runs but there was also little enough falloff for others to advance their positions under caution by taking only two tires or even staying out of the pits. 

That was how Blaney took the lead with just under 100 laps to go, with his crew changing right sides only, and he was able to hang on until the end.

Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports seemed to do the best job of nailing the setups, with HMS's Kyle Larson leading 80 laps before he was taken out in an accident at the start of the final stage. Yet Stewart-Haas Racing's Josh Berry and Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Racing's Chris Buescher also led chunks of laps in a race that saw different contenders at different times.

It's unclear what made Iowa so different from recent races on other short tracks such as Bristol Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway, where it has been extremely difficult to pass while opportunities for strategy shakeups have been few and far between.

Regardless, the decision to add Iowa to the Cup Series schedule proved to be a good one, despite the cause for concern leading up to the event. The fans showed up and showed out, and they were rewarded with an an action-packed evening of racing. 

Hopefully, they can look forward to many more in the coming years.