St. Louis 101: Trends to watch, tire info, interactive ways to follow race

After a three-week stretch of traveling up and down the Carolinas, NASCAR hits the road to the Midwest and lands just outside St. Louis, Missouri, at World Wide Technology Raceway. Last year, the Cup Series made its debut on the flat, 1-mile oval resulting in Joey Logano winning the inaugural event after an overtime battle with Kyle Busch -- all in front of a sold-out crowd. Will the drama from last year's race carry over into its sophomore outing? Before we find out how Sunday's race (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will play out, here are some important trends to watch ahead of the action, along with Goodyear tire information and interactive ways to follow along. RELATED: See paint schemes for Gateway, Portland | Betting favorites for Sunday's Cup race 🚨 CHASE ELLIOTT SUSPENDED; NO. 14 TEAM PENALIZED 🚨 The driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will miss Sunday's race as NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott for the incident with Denny Hamlin during the Coca-Cola 600. Officials ruled Elliott intentionally crashed Denny Hamlin in Monday’s Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, turning left into Hamlin’s right-rear quarter panel and sending the No. 11 Toyota head-on into the outside SAFER barrier. Another major penalty was announced Wednesday as NASCAR issued an L3-level penalty to the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team for counterfeiting a Next Gen part. As a result, the No. 14 team was docked 120 points in both the owner standings and driver standings for Chase Briscoe; an additional loss of 25 playoff points should Briscoe and the team qualify for the postseason; and a $250,000 fine and suspension in the next six points races to crew chief John Klausmeier. RELATED: NASCAR's Sawyer explains Elliott suspension 📉 TRENDS TO WATCH 📈 -- Ford has won only twice in 2023. -- A driver led 100 or more laps in nine races in 2023. -- Six races in 2023 had an overtime finish (finish last season at Gateway ended in overtime). (Via Racing Insights) NOTABLE MOMENTS 🎥 2022: Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain tangle at Gateway | WATCH 2022: Joey Logano wins inaugural Cup race at Gateway | WATCH ON-TRACK SCHEDULE 🗓️ Saturday, June 3 -- 10 a.m. ET: Practice (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) -- 10:45 a.m. ET: Qualifying (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Sunday, June 4 -- 3:30 p.m. ET: Enjoy Illinois 300 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) MORE: Full weekend schedule at Gateway, Portland RULE CHANGES/GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES 🛞 The GEICO Restart Zone returned to its 2022 dimensions after being extended for this season's first five races. Goodyear will run the tire setup that has already been used at Phoenix Raceway, Richmond Raceway and North Wilkesboro Speedway earlier this season. Teams will be allotted one set of tires for practice, one set for qualifying and an additional nine sets for Sunday's race. NASCAR implemented an update to the Next Gen NASCAR Cup Series chassis that went into effect last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the event of a lost wheel that is contained to pit road, the offending team will be subject to a pass-through penalty under green-flag conditions. If the infraction occurs during a caution period, the offending team will restart at the tail end of the field. If the wheel breaks free outside of pit road, the new rules guidelines mandate a two-lap penalty plus a two-race suspension for two crew members. Each penalty is series-specific: Violations in one series will not impact those crew members’ eligibility to participate in other series. RELATED: See rules changes for 2023 FAN REWARDS 🫵 Fans can get in on the action all season long with NASCAR Fan Rewards, a free program that rewards fans for participating in the action when they watch races and play NASCAR Fantasy. There’s no cost to join. Fans must be 18 years or older to participate in the program. Earn points by checking into a race from home or at the track, setting your Fantasy Live lineup, making purchases on the NASCAR.com shop and more. Points can be redeemed for race tickets, merchandise and VIP experiences at the track, including pace car rides and waving the green flag at qualifying.

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FOLLOW THE RACE 📲

NASCAR Mobile has now added support for fans to “Follow the Race” and access live leaderboard and race information from Live Activities in the current app release (v13.2.0), available now. Android users, we didn’t forget you -- the same functionality has been custom-built for Android devices, as well.

How to access Live Activities on iPhones:

1. Make sure your iOS device has been updated to 16.1 or higher.
2. Available on the leaderboard of all NASCAR Series races.
3. Click on the three-dot menu near the top right of screen.
4. Select “Follow the Race.”
5. Swipe up to access the home screen and you will see the Live Activities at the top.
6. Lock the device and you will see Live Activities on the Lock Screen.
7. To turn off, simply visit the leaderboard, click the three-dot menu and “Unfollow the Race.”

FANTASY LIVE 🏆

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner. How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM 💻

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week, in-car cameras will be available. NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement to the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more -- and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.