Adam Stevens: NASCAR's return to Iowa 'a different animal'

Iowa Speedway has been a mixed bag for Adam Stevens throughout his career as a NASCAR crew chief. 

He won a NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race with driver Sam Hornish Jr. in 2016. In his two Cup races at the track as the crew chief for Christopher Bell and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team, Bell has finished fourth and 17th. 

The Iowa notebook for Cup Series crew chiefs was already thin given that only two Cup races have been run at the 0.875-mile short track in Newton, Iowa, but a new left-side tire that Goodyear will bring to the track along with NASCAR's new 750 horsepower package for short tracks will make the race weekend a whole new ballgame. 

Iowa should be quite the test for NASCAR teams

Stevens called the upcoming trip to Iowa a "different animal."

"One thing that really comes to mind reading through my past notes is that we were just not good enough on the short run last year," Stevens said Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "What we were fighting on the short run was totally different than what we were fighting on the longer runs. 

"If we had an Achilles heel last time, it was not being able to take off with the speed and the grip that we needed. We could get it going pretty good with laps on tires, but the cars you need to pass are driving away from you on the short run. It's a lot of work to get them all back late."

Stevens said finding that short run speed will be key this weekend as Bell and the No. 20 team look for their first victory of the 2026 campaign. Through 22 races, Bell is 10th in the Cup Series standings.