What to Watch: Team Penske seeking gateway to perfection in St. Louis

Posted on September 12, 2026September 13, 2026 by Cameron Richardson

Track: World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
Location: Madison, Illinois
Track length: 1.25 miles
When: 3 p.m. ET
Where to tune in: USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Race purse: $11,233,037
Race distance: 240 laps | 300 miles
Stages: 45 | 140 | 240
Sunday’s starting lineup | Pit stall assignments

Can Team Penske be perfect at upcoming favorable tracks?

MADISON, Ill. — Toyota was at its usual best last Sunday at Darlington Raceway and struck first in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 as Christopher Bell took the checkered flag in the marathon Southern 500.

While Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney was passed by Bell for second in points, the No. 12 Ford driver cut into points leader Denny Hamlin’s championship lead by nine points with a gritty top-five run at the South Carolina oval. Now, Penske will have the edge as The Chase descends upon World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway Sunday with Bristol Motor Speedway on deck.

Blaney assessed the next two weeks as a huge part of staying in the hunt for the title.

MORE: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: WWTR

“It’s no secret that the Toyotas have been really good on the mile-and-a-halves,” Blaney said. “They’ve been good everywhere, but mile-and-a-halves, they’ve kind of had a leg up on us a little bit. That’s places that we really worked hard to try to get better at. Those guys are probably going to have big days at Kansas and Vegas and Charlotte. Those three in a row are going to be a huge testament of ‘are we in this championship or not.’

“I agree that this weekend and Bristol are very important for us to stay in the hunt and have really good days to be in touch with those guys when we run into those three (tracks). I always have confidence when we go back to places that we’ve struggled, that we’re going to be better because that’s just how you have to think. But you can’t deny their speed they’ve had there and how we’ve been a little bit off. We’ve closed the gap a little bit, but they’ve still got some pace on us at those places, so yes, very important next two weeks.

Gateway weekend has started well for Team Penske as Joey Logano will lead the field to green for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300.

Sitting tied for eighth in points, the three-time Cup champion laid out what the path looks like for the No. 22 team if it wants to be in the mix for a fourth series title.

“You got to average 40-plus points,” Logano said. “I think it’s somewhere in that range is where I believe it’s going to be. Could be way different. We don’t really know, right? But I think that’s where you’re going to have to be by the end of 10 weeks is average 40 throughout the races. So that’s 70 one week and 20 next week. However you get there, doesn’t matter. I think that’s at least a realistic goal for us. If we can accomplish that, I’m gonna be pretty proud of our team. Hopefully, that ends up with a trophy.”

RELATED: Saturday recap

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

The faster, the better

Tracks that utilize the 750 horsepower package make up half of the events in the 2026 Chase, and Sunday’s Cup Series race at Gateway marks the midpoint of three in a row with that setup to begin the championship run.

Take a look at the 10 drivers who have capitalized the most this season with the package — ranked by most points scored:

RANK	DRIVER	POINTS	WINS
1	Ryan Blaney	469	2
2	Denny Hamlin	433	1
3	Ty Gibbs	409	2
4	Christopher Bell	384	1
5	Joey Logano	367	2
6	Chase Briscoe	332	0
7	Tyler Reddick	318	1
8	Kyle Larson	316	0
T-9	Chase Elliott	266	1
T-9	Austin Cindric	266	0

Speed reads

Race-day essentials:

• Gateway hub: Key information, pit stalls, additional results | Read more
• Sunday Setup: Crew chiefs say keeping brake temps in check is key to success | Read more
• Paint Scheme Preview: The best designs in “The Prairie State” | View gallery
• Neil Paine: Hamlin stumbled at Darlington — but don’t write him off yet | Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Dig into the video vault for full-race replays from WWTR | Watch now
• Power Rankings: Larson eyes title after Darlington resurgence | This week’s ranks

Posted on September 12, 2026September 13, 2026 by Dustin Albino

MADISON, Ill. – Since World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway joined the Cup Series schedule in 2022, brake failures have become an all-too-familiar sight. Now, teams face another challenge at the 1.25-mile, egg-shaped oval on Sunday, where managing brake temperatures could be critical to surviving the Enjoy Illinois 300 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The long straightaways and tight corners lead to drivers slamming the brakes entering Turns 1 and 3. Maximum brake heat could reach upwards of 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit entering the two vastly different sides of the race track. Down the straightaways, those same brake components cool significantly to a couple hundred degrees. There is a balancing act, however, as overcooling the brakes can lead to brake shake. The constant shift in temperature can lead to big failures.

“This is the hardest kind of educated guessing we’ve done on brakes this year,” James Small, crew chief for Chase Briscoe told NASCAR.com on Saturday in the St. Louis suburb.

MORE Sunday’s starting lineup | Cup Series Chase standings

The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team experienced brake issues of its own during practice and qualifying last month at Iowa Speedway. Small stated that woe is akin to recent happenings in Australian V8 Supercars. After the issues in the “Hawkeye State,” he knew that package wouldn’t be returning to the track at Gateway, where Briscoe finished second last year.

“It’s honestly quite daunting,” added Small, whose driver enters fifth in points with nine races remaining. “Having 50 minutes of practice here and coming here with a new package, more power, weight less drag, less downforce. The brake energy has gone up considerably, and they’re already a finicky thing on this car, and you get on the wrong side of it, and you can have issues. So yeah, definitely a major concern, and it was a tough decision on what was the right thing to bring here to meet all objectives and hopefully not have an issue in the race.”

Road-course ace AJ Allmendinger has also had success wheeling a Cup car around Gateway. In three attempts, he has a pair of top-15 finishes, including a 10th-place effort in the inaugural 2022 event. Trent Owens, leader of the No. 16 team for Kaulig Racing, believes that success boils down to the three-time Cup winner excelling at venues with high brake pressures.

“I think a lot of it is on the driver more so than the team itself,” Owens said of Allmendinger’s success in the blistering Midwest heat. “Hopefully, we got a good setup for him to run this weekend too, and keep that consistency up.”

The last time the Cup Series visited the heartland region of the United States, Allmendinger earned an eighth-place result at Iowa, a venue comparable to Gateway. At Nashville Superspeedway in late May, the No. 16 bunch won the opening stage in a photo finish over Kyle Larson and was in line to score major stage points in Stage 2 until the waning laps when a front brake rotor exploded and dropped him to 35th in the finishing order.

Owens learned a lesson that evening that could help for Gateway, despite believing the two circuits are vastly different.

“Ultimately I did not have enough cooling on the brakes at Nashville when we had our trouble. I was just greedy with everything,” Owens said. “I didn’t think the brake-pad combination we were running was going to run that hot, and I think it was just ultimately my fault.

“If you say I did learn one lesson from Nashville, like for here, the cooling has been moved inward, which would provide more cooling than by having them outward like I did in Nashville. Then obviously I got more opening on the right front.”

Teams have the option to run the “heavy duty (HD) option” of brakes at Gateway. Normally, that package has been implemented at other high-braking race tracks, including all the road courses and Martinsville Speedway.

Another concern for teams is balancing both ends of the race track with how different the layouts are. Goodyear has also settled on using the intermediate left-side construction for the tire setup, which is “not your friend” at a flat track, according to Small.

All the Gateway nuances, including the differing in-race strategies putting an importance on gaining track position, makes for a challenging battle atop the pit box.

“From an engineering, crew chief’s perspective, [Gateway] does offer a lot of options to try and work the setup,” Small concluded.

Briscoe will take the green flag in fifth position. Allmendinger will roll off the starting grid in 17th.

Posted on September 12, 2026September 12, 2026 by Staff Report

See the full lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It’s the second of 10 races in The Chase presented by Mobil 1. Team Penske’s Joey Logano is on the pole.

POSITION	NUMBER	DRIVER	TIME (SECONDS)
1	22	Joey Logano (C)	32.817
2	5	Kyle Larson (C)	33.093
3	12	Ryan Blaney (C)	33.113
4	20	Christopher Bell (C)	33.145
5	19	Chase Briscoe (C)	33.199
6	77	Carson Hocevar (C)	33.236
7	23	Bubba Wallace (C)	33.246
8	9	Chase Elliott (C)	33.259
9	54	Ty Gibbs (C)	33.261
10	11	Denny Hamlin (C)	33.312
11	48	Alex Bowman	33.407
12	38	Zane Smith	33.420
13	2	Austin Cindric (C)	33.441
14	60	Ryan Preece (C)	33.487
15	7	Daniel Suárez (C)	33.492
16	21	Josh Berry	33.503
17	16	AJ Allmendinger	33.547
18	45	Tyler Reddick (C)	33.557
19	88	Connor Zilisch #	33.572
20	1	Ross Chastain	33.583
21	17	Chris Buescher (C)	33.607
22	3	Austin Dillon	33.624
23	6	Brad Keselowski	33.689
24	24	William Byron (C)	33.700
25	43	Erik Jones	33.713
26	41	Cole Custer	33.725
27	33	Austin Hill (i)	33.768
28	42	John Hunter Nemechek	33.810
29	71	Michael McDowell	33.878
30	51	Cody Ware	33.926
31	4	Noah Gragson	33.934
32	10	Ty Dillon	33.943
33	35	Riley Herbst	34.062
34	34	Todd Gilliland	34.065
35	97	Shane van Gisbergen	34.186
36	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	34.215

Posted on September 12, 2026September 12, 2026 by Staff Report

MADISON, Ill. — With a spectacular lap late in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session, Joey Logano won the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway by a wide margin.

The only competitor in the 36-driver field to crack the 33-second barrier, Logano covered the 1.25-mile distance in 32.817 seconds (137.124 mph) to claim the top starting spot for the second race in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 (3 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Starting lineup | Chase standings

The Busch Light Pole Award was the second of the season for Logano, who won the inaugural Cup Series race at WWTR in 2022. In winning his first pole at the track and the 35th of his career, Logano beat second-place qualifier Kyle Larson (135.980 mph) by 0.276 seconds.

“Honestly, I feel like I’ve had good cars here for qualifying — I just have always screwed up Turn 1,” said Logano, who is eighth in the Chase standings, 72 points out of the lead. “It’s nice to have a good clean lap.

“It’s in your head, right? Before you go out because you’ve had four qualifying sessions before where you’ve always screwed up Turn 1. I’ve overdriven it. I’ve underdriven it because of that.

“I hit it right this time, so that part was good. I was able to get through it pretty well and have a pretty solid (Turns) 3 and 4, and the car did what it needed to do. The car has got some raw speed in it, which is very encouraging for (Sunday).”

Logano is the only driver in the field who has finished in the top five in each of the four previous races at Gateway.

Chase drivers claimed the top 10 positions during time trials, with Logano’s Team Penske teammate, Ryan Blaney, qualifying third at 135.898 mph and last Sunday’s Darlington winner, Christopher Bell, earning the fourth spot on the grid at 135.767 mph.

Chase Briscoe was fifth fastest, followed by Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and series leader Denny Hamlin, who improved significantly from 30th on the speed chart during practice earlier in the day.

The remaining six Chase drivers qualified as follows: Austin Cindric 13th, Ryan Preece 14th, Daniel Suárez 15th, Tyler Reddick 18th, Chris Buescher 21st and William Byron 24th. Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford failed inspection twice, resulting in the ejection of car chief Joshua Sisco and the loss of pit-stall selection for Sunday’s race. Byron enters Sunday’s race last in the 16-driver Chase standings, 114 points back of Hamlin.

Practice recap

Ryan Blaney set the fastest single lap in NASCAR Cup Series practice on Saturday afternoon, leading a Team Penske-affiliated trio atop the leaderboard with a best lap at 135.665 mph.

MORE: Practice results | At-track photos

Joey Logano was second (135.514 mph), ahead of Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry (135.501 mph), Connor Zilisch (135.371 mph) and Tyler Reddick (135.298 mph).

Blaney was also quickest in 10-lap averages, ahead of Logano, Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric. Bell, last week’s winner at Darlington Raceway, posted the fastest 15-lap, 20-lap and 30-lap averages in Saturday’s 50-minute session.

Defending Gateway winner and current points leader Denny Hamlin posted just the 30th-best lap, with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe 29th. Hamlin showed more promise, however, in the 20-lap average with the fifth-best mark.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on September 12, 2026September 13, 2026 by Cameron Richardson

MADISON, Ill. — No dust has been settled. No air has been cleared between drivers Carson Hocevar and Brad Keselowski after contact in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase opener (presented by Mobil 1) at Darlington Raceway.

While nothing can be said verbatim about intentional contact, Hocevar and Keselowski are prepared for the next chapter in a developing saga of tension amid the return of the 10-race sprint to the 2026 championship.

Facing the media first Saturday afternoon at World Wide Technology Raceway, the No. 6 RFK Racing driver and team co-owner addressed the biggest elephant in the room after last week’s run-in with Hocevar.

RELATED: WWTR schedule | At-track photos

“Each race weekend presents its own challenges and coming to Gateway, obviously my car is not in the playoffs or Chase, but we still have a lot to race for and commitments and things that we have to do, and a lot of people that work really hard on the car,” Keselowski said. “I have to balance that with the different things that happened last weekend and that’s always the challenge. My challenge this weekend is to balance that of going out, maximizing the performance I can this weekend while also not letting a fire spread for all intents and purposes of being taken advantage of. How to walk that line is is difficult. It’s kind of one of those things you just you live and you figure it out in the moment, and it’ll play out how ever it plays out.”

Racing in the midpack late in Stage 1 at Darlington, Hocevar attempted to get around Keselowski for a handful of laps in Turns 3 and 4. It culminated in Hocevar using up the width of the corner and hitting the No. 6 Ford in the left rear, causing Keselowski to get loose. The No. 77 then hit Keselowski again to send him for a full spin.

After the race, an irate Keselowski fired a warning shot at Hocevar saying: “His day is coming and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson.”

With no verbal jabs back at Keselowski, Hocevar is embracing the entertainment side of having drama on-track with his fellow competitors.

Hocevar alluded to his local short-track days in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when promoters would hype up their events with specific driver beefs and also talked about the reach and virality the sport gets when fiery moments are posted.

“I happen to scroll on TikTok or whatever, and I’m pretty much my whole ‘for you’ page. It’s just me on my own page,” Hocevar said. “There’s one that got a million something views, right? That has to be somewhat good for the sport. I happen to look at the comments just to see like who’s reacting to it, like if they’re NASCAR fans or normal NASCAR fans, and if you kind of scroll the comments for like two seconds, you can tell that it’s not normal NASCAR fans that were getting in on their algorithm. I have to imagine that’s good.”

Leading into Gateway, Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson stated on Dirty Mo Media’s “Gluckcast” that he isn’t interested in a “car-crashing contest” with RFK, but if it manifests, it could spread to the RFK Chase cars (Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece).

Keselowski’s response? “Bring it. I’ll fight back with anybody in the garage.”

If tensions do boil over between RFK and Spire, it does open a Pandora’s Box that could affect Chase drivers, cause collateral damage and ruin title hopes.

However, defending champion Kyle Larson may be bringing some popcorn along for his ride Sunday if he sees Keselowski and Hocevar in front of him.

“If Brad’s around him, I would keep my eyes peeled a little bit more,” Larson said. “But more just like when you’re behind it, you’re like hoping something cool happens and you don’t get caught up in it. It’d be funny.”

In past cases, Cup veterans used to meet with younger drivers who were habitually causing issues to nip future occurrences in the bud. But in a new era where virality and Internet fame are sought after, Keselowski says those opportunities aren’t there anymore and there’s no point to having a conversation with Hocevar.

For 300 miles Sunday afternoon, all eyes will be focused on how Chapter 2 is written between the two drivers.

“We’re in a different day and age, which is greater than our sport,” Keselowski said. “It transcends our society as a whole where that level of social interaction is not valued the same way it was valued 10. 20, 30 years ago, and at some point, everybody just has to touch the hot stove and learn.”

Posted on September 12, 2026 by Reid Spencer

MADISON, Ill.— Hendrick Motorsports doesn’t have a driver development program per se.

As team president Jeff Andrews put it, Hendrick is committed to the “Corey Day Development Program,” as evidenced by the long-term contract awarded to the driver earlier this week.

RELATED: Gateway schedule | At-track photos

“I think, for us, guys like this don’t come along very often, so when a talent like Corey Day presents itself …,” Andrews said. “We knew the (learning) curve was going to be steep, but we’ve been really proud of his progress and the things he’s accomplished on track and who he’s become off-track and part of our team and our culture.

“It’s a lot of things that led to the decision of going forward with the long-term development of Corey Day.”

The 20-year-old driver certainly has exceeded expectations in his first full season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He picked up his first victory at Talladega in April and followed that with a second win at Dover in May.

“I think back to when I signed my first deal two years ago, and I was just hopeful that there would be another one, much less another long-term one,” Day said Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway. “Really cool.

“I’m really excited for what’s to come for me in my career. I also talked about the fact that I never really thought I would be much more than just a sprint car guy, which I was fine with that, but it’s really cool to see where my career is at now.”

The driver from Clovis, California, grew up racing on dirt, but he has handled the transition to pavement adroitly. There hasn’t been one “light bulb” moment, rather a steady progression.

“I didn’t expect that one day I would show up at the track and get the pole and win the race,” Day said. “I knew that it was going to be tough and that I was going to learn things at different paces.”

Day’s new contract includes a plan to run a handful of NASCAR Cup Series races next season in addition to competing for the O’Reilly Series championship. Because of limitations under the current charter agreement, Hendrick is unable to run a fifth car, even on a limited basis.

Consequently, Day will drive a Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in his Cup Series events, Andrews said.

Beyond 2027, Day’s future with the organization lacks specifics, but the new contract speaks to Hendrick’s belief in the young driver, especially after the signing of Connor Zilisch to succeed Alex Bowman in a Cup car, starting in 2028.

Posted on September 12, 2026September 12, 2026 by Dustin Albino

MADISON, Ill. — John Hunter Nemechek didn’t see it coming. Legacy Motor Club’s decision to go in a different direction for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season caught the veteran driver by surprise, forcing him to suddenly look elsewhere at the eleventh hour.

On Aug. 31, less than 48 hours after finishing 15th in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, Legacy Motor Club brass called a meeting with Nemechek. It was there that he found out he wouldn’t be returning to the No. 42 Toyota in 2027 despite having a contract in place.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Gateway schedule

“I said OK and walked out the door,” Nemechek told NASCAR.com on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway when asked how he handled the news.

Nemechek was stunned. He fully expected a fourth season with the No. 42 team, hoping to build on the foundation that he and Erik Jones have laid since the organization transitioned to Toyota in 2024.

“It was definitely very surprising to me and shocking news,” Nemechek said. “Like Jimmie [Johnson, majority owner of Legacy M.C.] had said on ‘The [Dale Jr] Download,’ my contract had gotten renewed for another year.

“It was definitely surprising. I was still under contract for another year.”

Emotions ran high for Nemechek. He returned home to see his daughters, Aspen and Penelope, and enjoyed the rest of the evening. But he immediately went into reflection mode, wondering how the outcome could have been changed.

“Not knowing that there’s a change coming or you are being sat down and being told you are out of the car for 2027, in that moment, you take it all in,” he stated. “It was one of those moments where you look back and reflect, and you’re like, ‘What went wrong? What did I do wrong? What is this, what is that?’ You move on from it, continue on and keep pushing as hard as I can every single day.”

Nemechek couldn’t pinpoint why he was being released. The No. 42 team has a couple of top-10 finishes through the opening three-quarters of the season, with a best effort of fourth place at Pocono Raceway in mid-June. His average starting position and finishing position are both 22.1. Meanwhile, his replacement, Josh Berry, is on a career heater, earning six straight top-10 finishes, the first time a Wood Brothers Racing driver has accomplished that since David Pearson in 1976.

“I wish I truly did know the full extent of it,” Nemechek said of the reasoning behind the decision. “I was told they wanted to make a change, and they felt like the timing was necessary for them to do that with Josh being available, and that’s where it went from there.”

Over the last week and a half, Nemechek has had numerous conversations with various teams. With limited options in Cup, a return to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series — where he has won a combined 24 times — could be in his immediate future, with aspirations of returning to Cup in 2028.

“I don’t think this one will be another reset,” Nemechek said. “I do feel like if I do have to take a step back, going and winning races is the number one priority. I have a fire lit underneath my ass right now, and we’re going to prove all parties involved that helped make this decision that they are going to regret it.”

Johnson admitted earlier this week on “The Dale Jr. Download” that informing Nemechek of Legacy’s decision was uncomfortable.

“We had an auto-renewal with John Hunter, and that happened, I guess, in the summer,” Johnson said on the podcast, which was published on Wednesday. “But through that moment to when we finally made the decision — a lot of internal pressure, a lot of pressure in general to potentially make a change. Through all the work that we’ve done with analytics, Josh’s numbers stand out in so many categories.”

Nemechek sits 28th in the driver standings and has remained within three spots of that position since the sixth race of the season at Darlington Raceway. Execution has been an issue for the No. 42 team, contributing to its mixed results throughout the season.

Still, Nemechek is determined to finish his Legacy tenure on a strong note. With many team members uncertain about their futures, there is added motivation within the organization to perform at a high level over the final two months of the 2026 season.

“I want to go win. I want to go perform the best that I can the last nine weeks,” Nemechek said. “It doesn’t matter what is happening behind the scenes or whatever it may be; I’m here to race, I’m here to do my job. I’m going to show up the best that I can prepare, and to prove the decision-makers wrong.”

Posted on September 12, 2026September 12, 2026 by Staff Report

Two NASCAR Cup Series teams failed pre-race technical inspection multiple times Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

The No. 17 RFK Racing team, which enters 11th in The Chase standings with driver Chris Buescher, failed twice on Saturday afternoon, along with the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team of driver Cody Ware.

MORE: Gateway schedule | Cup Series standings

As a result, both teams will lose pit-stall selection for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second of 10 races in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.

Additionally, No. 17 car chief Joshua Sisco and No. 51 car chief Dave Jones were both ejected for the remainder of the race weekend.

In three starts at Gateway, Buescher has finished 12th, 14th and ninth, earning his first top 10 at the Illinois race track last year. Buescher is 88 points behind series leader Denny Hamlin ahead of Sunday’s race.

Ware is 35th in the standings and finished 29th in last year’s race at Gateway.

Posted on September 12, 2026September 12, 2026 by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers will pit this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

NASCAR Cup Series

Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Nu Way 225 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: How to watch NASCAR on The CW

Posted on September 11, 2026September 12, 2026 by Dustin Albino

Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.

Team Penske was in another ZIP code on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, with Joey Logano winning the Busch Light Pole Award by nearly three-tenths of a second, the largest margin in nearly a decade (Chicagoland Speedway, 2017). Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry were both sporty in practice, as the three cars led the way in single-lap speed. Hendrick Motorsports has clearly improved its flatter-track program, with Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott cracking the top eight in qualifying. While Berry and Austin Cindric will take the green flag in the teens, both showed potential over the long haul in practice.

Starting five: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry.
Garage pick: Austin Cindric.

With The Chase presented by Mobil 1 opener in the books, the championship picture is beginning to take shape. The top seven drivers have separated themselves from eighth place, where Joey Logano and Chase Elliott are tied, 72 points back of the lead. But the No. 22 team remains a serious threat this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and could make a significant dent in that points deficit if Logano continues to deliver at tracks where he has historically excelled, as he did in recent visits to North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway.

Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.

RELATED: NASCAR Fantasy Live hub | Play 36 for 36

MUST START

Driver: Joey Logano, Team Penske, No. 22 Ford
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Because of Logano’s tenacity, don’t count the No. 22 team out yet. He is the standard at Gateway, scoring top-five finishes in all four races at the 1.25-mile oval. No other driver has even finished inside the top 10 in all four tries.

Driver: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Knowing that Toyotas have ruled intermediates this season, you may want to save Hamlin for upcoming races at Kansas Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But his St. Louis numbers aren’t too shabby either, with a victory and two runner-up finishes in the last three starts. A big part of that is track position at a track where he’s never qualified worse than sixth. Entering the weekend, Hamlin won’t be in my lineup.

Driver: Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, No. 12 Ford
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Gateway has similar characteristics to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Blaney was dominant last month. Blaney is the only driver to lead laps in all four races at Gateway, and was a lap away from victory when the No. 12 car ran out of fuel coming to the white flag in 2024. He coasted around to finish 24th, but the other three attempts have all resulted in finishes of sixth or better.

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

DRIVERS TO AVOID

Driver: Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Reddick has returned to his consistent ways the last two weeks, scoring consecutive top fives for the first time since May. However, the No. 45 team tends to struggle at flatter tracks, though Reddick placed eighth at New Hampshire. In four Gateway starts, he has one finish better than 16th (fourth, 2024).

Driver: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Hendrick has improved its flat-track program, but the No. 9 team limped into The Chase and that volatility continued with a 14th-place finish at Darlington Raceway. Since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in early May, Elliott has two top-10 finishes in the last 16 races. On the bright side, Elliott finished third here last year, his only finish better than 13th in three starts (suspended for Gateway in 2023).

Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK

Driver: Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Cindric was the beneficiary of Blaney running on fumes in 2024, scoring his second Cup victory. Penske has the best flat-track program in the game, and the No. 2 team cracked the top five recently at Richmond. Cindric’s 11.0 average finish at Gateway is his best among active Cup tracks.

Driver: Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports, No. 71 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: McDowell’s statistics at Gateway aren’t exactly eye-popping, but his 74 laps led are his most at any non-drafting track. He finished ninth here in 2023 and captured the pole in 2024. More importantly, his 16.5 average finish is his best among all ovals on the schedule.

Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

FEATURED MATCHUPS

Christopher Bell vs. Denny Hamlin
Pick: Hamlin
Comment: If each race played out differently, Bell could have won the last two races at Gateway. He experienced engine gremlins in 2024 and couldn’t reach the front last year with one of the best cars. Hamlin has shown the ability to capitalize at Gateway and needs a bounce-back weekend from Darlington.

Ryan Blaney vs. Kyle Larson
Pick: Blaney
Comment: Larson is a formidable opponent for Blaney this weekend, never finishing worse than 12th in four Gateway starts. However, he also only has a single finish better than 10th. That’s not going to be enough to outduel Blaney, who is among the race favorites entering the weekend.

Joey Logano vs. Austin Cindric
Pick: Logano
Comment: Don’t overlook Cindric this weekend, but this is a grueling matchup for the No. 2 team. Logano is the bar at Gateway, never finishing worse than fifth. With the recent excellence of the No. 22 bunch, it’s tough seeing that change this weekend.

Carson Hocevar vs. Brad Keselowski
Pick: Keselowski
Comment: Keselowski is probably on the short list of drivers that Hocevar shouldn’t have upset during his postseason run. The 2012 Cup champion has nothing to lose, coming up short of making The Chase. Neither driver has particularly excelled at the Midwest track, but Keselowski showed upside by finishing third in 2024.

MY LINEUP

Starting five: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric.
Garage: Josh Berry.

36 FOR 36

Pick: Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
Comment: With only a quarter of the 2026 campaign remaining, options are beginning to run thin. But if you have a Penske car in the bank, this would be an ideal time to use it. Cindric is a former winner here, though he followed that up with a lousy 19th-place effort last year. I’ll take my chances.