Monday, June 6 NASCAR Cup Series: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (re-air), FS1
8:30 a.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Cup Series: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock
Tuesday, June 7 NASCAR Cup Series: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (re-air), FS1
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
NASCAR Cup Series:Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (re-air), FS2
Thursday, June 9 The NASCARcade (re-air), FS2 NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Road Courses, FS1
Friday, June 10 NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Talladega Superspeedway, FS2
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (re-air), FS2
NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
Saturday, June 11 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Sonoma Raceway, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Practice and qualifying at Sonoma Raceway, FS2
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Presents: This Racing Life, FS2
NASCAR RaceDay: NCWTS at Sonoma Raceway, FS1
7:30 p.m, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Sonoma Raceway FS1
NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying at Sonoma Raceway (re-air), FS1
On MRN:
2:30 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway
7 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway
Sunday, June 12 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway (re-air), FS2
The NASCARcade (re-air), FS2 6 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (re-air), FS2
9 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, FS2
10:30 a.m.,
NASCAR RaceDay: Sonoma Raceway, FS1
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, FS1
On PRN:
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway
Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott were left unimpressed with Ross Chastain early in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway after a series of incidents among the three drivers.
Chastain’s first incident of the race involved Hamlin, last week’s winner of the Coca-Cola 600. Stuck behind Hamlin for numerous laps, Chastain knocked the back bumper of Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota entering Turn 1 at Lap 64 while fighting for sixth. That sent Hamlin into the SAFER Barrier between Turns 1 and 2 with the right side of his car, negating Hamlin’s chances of winning the Cup Series’ inaugural trip to Gateway.
Hamlin’s crew repaired the damage to keep the No. 11 car on the track. Hamlin showed his displeasure to Chastain as the No. 1 Chevrolet lapped him twice, driving both cars low to the backstretch grass and challenging Chastain later in Turn 1.
At the end of a Lap 101 restart, Chastain’s right front contacted the left rear of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet exiting Turn 4. The two were on the outside of a three-wide situation with Austin Dillon to Chastain’s left. Chastain’s car collided with Elliott’s, sending the Hendrick Motorsports driver sideways across the track. Collected as collateral damage were Bubba Wallace, who spun, and rookie Harrison Burton, who contacted the left side of Elliott’s car.
On the next restart, Elliott made sure Chastain was aware of his frustration, hitting the No. 1 car in the left rear and sending him up the track in Turn 2 — and Hamlin got involved afterward, with his No. 11 sideswiping Chastain’s car as he drove by. The duo later collided again, with Chastain sending Elliott into Turn 1 and into BJ McLeod’s No. 78 Ford.
After taking the checkered flag in eighth place, Chastain immediately took fault for his on-track run-ins.
“Just terrible driving,” Chastain told FOX Sports. “It’s one thing to do it once, but I just kept driving into guys and at this level, I’m supposed to be better than that. Just a shame for Moose and Advent Health and Jockey and Worldwide Express. And to have all these people believing in me, (Trackhouse Racing owners) Justin Marks and Pitbull to put me in this car, they deserve better.”
Hamlin, who finished 34th, 11 laps off the pace, wasn’t quite satisfied with Chastain’s remorse.
“I mean, it’s good he takes responsibility,” Hamlin said. “But, you know, ultimately, it ruined our day. I think we were kind of racing hard there for a while with him on the inside, and he tried to keep sliding up in front of us and wasn’t able to because I wasn’t willing to just back off and let him slide up in front. It didn’t take long after he tucked in behind us that he wrecked us.
“Yeah, the unfortunate part is it didn’t look like he got too shy after that, because I believe he hit the 9 (Elliott) after that one, but yeah, you just … we all have learned the hard way, and we’ve all had to have it come back around on us and it’ll be no different.”
Elliott wound up 21st on the results sheet.
Chastain noted his plans to confer with the drivers he felt he wronged Sunday, but admitted uncertainty in any apology’s weight.
“I owe half the field an apology,” Chastain said. “And words aren’t going to fix it, so I’ll have to pay for it on the track and almost did today. And I deserve everything that they do. I just can’t believe that I continue to make the same mistakes and overdrive the corners and drive into guys.
“I had time under caution to get reset, and we go green and I drive into somebody. That’s terrible.”
The NASCAR Cup Series makes its debut at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1).
This new track has introduced a bit of a shakeup to the top of the leaderboard, with Ford drivers performing best in practice and qualifying.
Chase Briscoe leads the field to the green flag and is the race favorite at DraftKings at +850. That’s some incredible movement from his pre-practice line of +2500.
However, I’m looking at two other Ford drivers who showed well in practice and qualifying as my top bets for today’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway.
Blaney posted the fastest five-lap average and backed that up with the second-fastest 10- and 15-lap averages, behind only teammate Joey Logano.
In fact, Team Penske was 1-2-3 over five and 10 consecutive laps. It is fast!
After how well Logano and Blaney moved forward at Martinsville, and with Gateway potentially presenting a blend of Martinsville, Phoenix and Richmond, Blaney should be strong all day.
My model has Blaney as the outright favorite at 11.8% to win. That certainly beats the 9.1% implied odds at FanDuel.
The Bet: Ryan Blaney +1000 to Win | Bet to: +900
Joey Logano to Win (+1000)
If you want to tag-team the Penske drivers, Logano is a great pairing with Blaney.
Logano was the fastest across 10 and 15 consecutive laps in practice, but comes in at a 10-1 price, instead of much shorter, thanks to a seventh-place qualifying effort.
Logano had a better car than Blaney at Martinsville and won The Clash in the preseason exhibition race at the LA Coliseum. That means he can get it done on these tight, flat tracks.
My model has Logano as the second favorite, only a fraction of a percentage point behind Blaney. That also makes Logano a value bet at 10-1 at FanDuel.
Just when the Cup Series season was becoming clearer, the blue oval has dominated the weekend thus far at World Wide Technology Raceway. Ford drivers Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe have paced the field this weekend, with Briscoe winning his first career pole. In addition, all four Team Penske drivers — including Harrison Burton with the Wood Brothers — made the final round of qualifying. Ford is the clear-cut favorite entering Sunday’s 300-lap race.
Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup: Starter 1: Joey Logano
Starter 2: Chase Briscoe
Starter 3: Ryan Blaney
Starter 4: Christopher Bell
Starter 5: Ross Chastain
Garage pick: Tyler Reddick
NEXT IN LINE: Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick.
RISING: In practice on Friday, Team Penske swept the top three spots. Ryan Blaney was quickest in the session until Joey Logano made a late run in qualifying trim. The No. 12 car has been sporty thus far, and many drivers have compared Gateway to Phoenix Raceway. Earlier this year, Blaney led a race-high 143 laps in the desert. The No. 12 team needs a good run, too, having not earned a top-10 finish in a points-paying race since Easter.
If you want to go out on a limb this weekend, Harrison Burton has been strong. It’s the first time he’s made it to the second round of qualifying in the Cup Series and was 12th quickest in practice. Burton has a couple of things going for him this weekend: He’s driving a blue oval and an affiliate teammate to Team Penske.
FALLING: For the first time this season not a single Hendrick Motorsports car made the second round of qualifying. Earlier this week, I said to stay away from Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott and save their starts for later in the regular season. With those drivers starting 15th and 16th, on top of William Byron and Alex Bowman lining up 24th and 25th, save all of the HMS drivers for a different weekend.
Of the 36 Cup drivers, Kevin Harvick is the only one to win at Gateway in both the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. Thus far, the No. 4 car has been a touch off, putting up the 20th quickest lap in qualifying. Methodically, Rodney Childers has worked on the No. 4 ride all season, and typically hits on it by the end of the race. However, Harvick is off my lineup for this weekend.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Denny Hamlin vs. Kyle Larson: It seems like any other week this would be a tough matchup, especially now that Hamlin is putting together finishes. But this week, the No. 11 Toyota seems to be quite a bit better than the No. 5 Chevrolet. Sure, Cliff Daniels will likely make Larson better during the race, but the advantage goes to Hamlin.
William Byron vs. Ross Chastain: As noted above, Byron is in the falling category, and Chastain could have been placed on the rising list as he wasn’t in my lineup earlier this week. Chastain has been one of the two best Chevrolets this weekend, with the other one coming from Richard Childress Racing.
Christopher Bell vs. Alex Bowman: Bell is on the verge of winning a race this season, entering the weekend with four consecutive finishes of sixth or better. Bowman, part of the HMS quarter, has struggled too this weekend. Bell is the clear choice here, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him battling for the checkered flag.
Chase Briscoe vs. Tyler Reddick: Now we’re talking. Entering Sunday, this is the toughest matchup on the board, as both drivers have top-five starting spots. While Briscoe won at Phoenix earlier in the year, Reddick was close in trail and had a couple of shots on late restarts. This is a tossup, but given Ford’s dominance this weekend, the No. 14 team has the upper hand.
AJ Allmendinger won an action-packed Pacific Office Automation 147, the NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the Portland International Raceway road course Saturday afternoon.
Action-packed being the key words from green flag to checkered; in the rain, in the dry and in the rain again.
Allmendinger literally came from last on the grid to earn the win – after changing “everything but the motor” before the race, he claimed in victory lane. His No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet led only six of the race’s 75 laps and bested Myatt Snider by 2.879 seconds to earn the popular veteran his second Xfinity Series victory of 2022; his other win coming on the road course at the Circuit of The Americas early this season.
“It might be one of the craziest wins I’ve ever had,’’ the 12-time Xfinity Series winner Allmendinger said smiling.
It would be hard to argue otherwise. Not only did the 40-year-old Californian Allmendinger start from the rear, he had his first of a half-dozen off-track excursions before even taking the checkered flag. He went down a lap early but managed to stay focused and rally back to the lead lap in a race that had nine cautions and only 21 of the 38 cars on the lead lap at the finish.
“Man I cannot believe this, I crashed before it went green,’’ said Allmendinger, who also earned his first Champ Car win at Portland back in 2006.
“I was making so many mistakes, trying so hard,’’ he added. “I put so much pressure on myself in these races because I know what everyone expects and I know what I expect out of myself, more importantly. But what a win.’’
Snider, who led five laps in the No. 31 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet, managed a smile himself acknowledging that runner-up to Allmendinger on a road course isn’t such a horrible defeat.
“So cool to be disappointed with second [place] with a team that’s only a year-and-a-half old and to get my first stage win and maybe the first top-three with this car,’’ he added.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill finished third with JR Motorsports teammates Josh Berry and Justin Allgaier rounding out the top five.
Daniel Hemric, Ty Gibbs, JJ Yeley, Noah Gragson and Alex Labbe completed the top 10.
As with Allmendinger, many of the top finishers had adventurous days.
The opening stages on the 1.97-mile course called for wet tires with a steady downpour at the green flag that dissipated slowly as the race progressed. By the Stage 2 break, most teams opted for the Goodyear slicks as the rain lessened and was replaced with heavy mist. Only to have the rain come back in the final stage – after cars had swapped to the dry tires.
It was the sort of drama that characterized the race.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Gibbs led a race-best 42 laps in the No. 54 JGR Toyota but was involved in several on-track incidents vying for the lead – and even just driving under caution at one point, hit from behind by Jesse Iwuji, who was three laps down.
Gragson, who like Allmendinger started from the rear of the field, made up a race-best 22 positions by the start of Stage 2 and was running top five when he was pushed off course by Gibbs on a mid-race restart that proved to be consequential for many of the day’s top drivers.
Gibbs had contact with Gragson then with Sheldon Creed – resulting in both Gibbs and Creed’s cars going off-course. Creed returned to track and then was involved in a multi-car accident with 20 laps to go – damaging his No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet beyond repair.
“I thought we had an okay day going. I made a mistake running second there but got back to the lead,’’ said Creed, whose wife is due to give birth to their first child any day now.
“The way my year’s gone, every time we have speed something goes wrong. … Today I felt like we had a really good shot at winning.’’
With the victory, Allmendinger extended his championship lead over Gibbs to 44 points. Gragson’s ninth-place finish keeps him 45 points behind.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will have a two-week break before returning to competition in the Tennessee Lottery 250 on June 25 at Nashville Superspeedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Note: There were no issues in post-race inspection, confirming Allmendinger as the official race winner.
Carson Hocevar was transported to a local hospital for evaluation after a final-lap crash in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Hocevar’s No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet was tapped into a spin by Derek Kraus’ No. 19 Chevy shortly after the white flag flew in overtime during the Toyota 200. Tyler Hill’s No. 5 entry slammed into the side of Hocevar’s truck, and the No. 45 of Lawless Alan also made significant contact.
Hocevar exited the wreck and was helped to the ambulance on a stretcher. He appeared to be alert and signaled to the crowd with a thumbs-up, and NASCAR officials said he would be evaluated at a local hospital. The team later indicated that his right lower extremity was being examined.
— Niece Motorsports (@NieceMotorsport) June 4, 2022
The driver posted a bit of an update late Sunday afternoon, saying he was waiting for results on the extent of the an injury to his right ankle before commenting more.
Hocevar, 19, was involved in an incident earlier in the final stage. Three-time champion Matt Crafton made contact with his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota, looping Hocevar’s truck around in Turn 2.
MADISON, Ill. — Pole winner Corey Heim lost the lead on Lap 18 of Saturday’s Toyota 200 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
He didn’t regain it until the first lap of overtime, when front-runner Christian Eckes spun his tires on a restart on Lap 164.
But that was enough for Heim to score his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season in a part-time role in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. Heim also collected an extra $50,000 in prize money in the kickoff race of the Triple Truck Challenge initiative.
Eckes was leading comfortably with just over two laps left in regulation when Tanner Gray spun in Turn 3 to cause the 10th caution of the race. Eckes chose the outside lane for the overtime restart, with second-place Derek Kraus lining up behind him.
That opened the bottom row for Heim, who lined up to the inside of Eckes and surged into the lead when Eckes’ No. 98 Toyota failed to launch.
After taking the white flag, Heim got the win when a four-car wreck in Turn 2 brought out the 11th caution and froze the field. Carson Hocevar’s No. 42 Chevrolet spun through Turns 1 and 2 and was slammed by the No. 5 entry of Tyler Hill. Hocevar was helped to the ambulance on a stretcher but gave a thumbs-up signal to the crowd after exiting his truck. NASCAR officials said Hocevar was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
“I can’t believe I got the bottom right there — that’s unbelievable,” said Heim, who picked up his second career win in his 12th start in the series. “A great push from my teammate Chandler Smith right there…”
Smith finished third behind Heim and Eckes after leading twice for 40 laps. Stewart Friesen came home fourth, followed by former series champion Johnny Sauter who scored his second straight top-five finish in his third start of the year.
It took a succession of bizarre circumstances to give Heim the window of opportunity he needed. On Lap 54, pre-race favorite John Hunter Nemechek, who entered the race as the series leader, spun in Turn 4 while trying an aggressive inside move on Friesen.
With his Toyota damaged beyond repair, Nemechek dropped out of the race and finished 35th.
“That was on me,” Nemechek said. “I put myself in a vulnerable spot.”
Eight laps after Nemechek’s wreck, Grant Enfinger spun while battling Chandler Smith for the lead, and both trucks slid sideways in tandem, with Enfinger suffering the bulk of the damage.
During a two-lap shootout at the end of Stage 2, Friesen, who had been running consistently in the top five, suffered a flat tire after contact from Hailie Deegan’s Ford and expressed his displeasure by crowding Deegan toward the apron.
On Lap 102, three-time 2022 winner Zane Smith fell off the pace with a flat tire after contact from Carson Hocevar’s Chevrolet. He recovered to finish ninth.
That left Eckes, Kraus and Heim to battle for the lead late in the race. Eckes passed Kraus for the top spot on Lap 154 of a scheduled 160 and appeared bound for victory until the overtime scrambled the finishing order.
“It’s really frustrating,” Eckes said. “The last three weeks, we should have won, but we didn’t. So we’ll go back to the drawing board and try to figure something out.”
Matt DiBenedetto ran sixth, followed by Kraus, Ben Rhodes, Zane Smith and Chase Purdy. Rajah Caruth finished 11th in his series debut. Rhodes regained the series lead by 17 points over Chandler Smith.
Toyota’s sweep of the top five was its sixth in Truck Series history. The first such sweep occurred at Gateway in 2006.
A total of three teenage drivers made their Truck Series debuts – Caruth, Mason Maggio (27th) and Jake Garcia (29th). Caruth ran as high as fifth, but a pit-road speeding penalty and a wall scrape with 34 laps left cost him track position.
The Camping World Truck Series’ next race is the DoorDash 250, scheduled next Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Sonoma Raceway.
Note: Post-race inspection was completed without issue, confirming Heim as the official winner. The No. 13 truck of Sauter had one missing lug nut.
Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway
(⏰ 3:30 p.m. ET | 📺 FS1 | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, the 15th regular-season event of the 2022 campaign.
Race-day info 📝
Where: Madison, Illinois Approximate start time: 3:30 p.m. ET | Full weekend schedule TV/Radio: FS1, TSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio | Full TV schedule Forecast: 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 82 degrees, according to NOAA.gov | Weather tracker Race distance: 240 laps | 300 miles Stages: 45 | 140 | 240 Pit-road speed: 45 mph Caution car speed: 50 mph The purse: $7,013,085 Gateway 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: Where drivers will start
Pit stalls: Where drivers will pit
Key things to watch 🔑
Big story line
Is it anyone’s race? Or does one driver have the upper hand? Joey Logano has won two of the last five inaugural Cup Series races and two of the last three on oval circuits (Kyle Larson won at Nashville Superspeedway). And those races, the electric Food City Dirt Race and monumental Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, were perhaps two of the most unpredictable races the series has seen in quite some time. Logano simply has a knack for performing well in the unknown on the biggest stage. But how much does World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway classify as “the unknown?” Many Cup Series drivers have experience at the 1.25-mile flat track in the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series among others. In fact, a handful of them have even won here before. Sunday’s showdown will be a battle of inaugural-race trends, prior experience and Next Gen nerves.
Who’s hot? Who’s not?
After a shaky and inconsistent start to the 2022 season, Christopher Bell has flipped the switch. Bell is riding high after a fifth-place finish in the 600-mile marathon at Charlotte Motor Speedway, extending his streak of top sixes to four in a row. Along with Toyota’s resurgence, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver is keeping up the pace and has made a strong statement at the 1.5-mile tracks lately. Entering an unfamiliar track in a somewhat unfamiliar Next Gen car, momentum might be everything for Bell and company as they push for their first win since the Daytona Road Course in February 2021.
If you break down Brad Keselowski’s start to the season, his results have been subpar at best. Through 14 regular-season races, the No. 6 RFK Racing owner-driver has just one top 10 and a slew of finishes outside the top 20. He also crashed out early at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte, spiraling him down to 30th in the Cup Series standings. However, only 14 races into the season, the series’ debut World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is the perfect time for an experienced, seasoned veteran to kick it up a notch. And he has experience here. In eight combined starts in the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series, Keselowski has a win, three top fives and four top 10s. Though he has struggled this season, don’t be surprised if the 2012 champion shows up on his A-game.
Driving under the radar
If Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has not been in your Fantasy Live lineup in recent weeks, you have been missing out. Stenhouse is quietly but steadily putting together the most impressive campaign of his entire Cup Series career, save for his multi-win season in 2017. Stenhouse and JTG Daugherty Racing have reeled off an organizational record four straight finishes of eighth or better, marking the first time Stenhouse has achieved the feat at the premier level. If not for a disastrous start to 2022, he could very well be right up there with the top drivers this season based on consistency in recent weeks. And he may even be getting more credit and attention than he is now. However, sitting in 24th in the standings, the No. 47 group still has a lot of work left to do to put the series on notice. Likely needing a win to make the Round of 16 for the NASCAR Playoffs, Stenhouse’s name should be right near the top of the stack of dark-horse candidates.
Practice and qualifying
Friday’s hour-long practice session was a breath of fresh air for teams and drivers to have more seat time before this weekend’s race. Unsurprisingly, Logano once again proved his prowess, breaking new ground at Gateway with the fastest lap of the session. Team Penske was at the top of its game early with a 1-2-3 sweep in practice, while some of the early race favorites waned a bit on the leaderboard. But with key track position on the line in qualifying Saturday, Chase Briscoe rose to the challenge and earned his first Busch Light Pole Award of his career. Based on last week’s dauntless performance at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it wasn’t too surprising the No. 14 camp had blistering speed again here. Briscoe and crew seem to have found a groove and might have fans rethinking their favorites for Sunday’s race. | Starting lineup, qualifying recap | Full practice recap
A view of the track’s flagstands at the Truck Series Drivin’ for Linemen 200 at Gateway on June 13, 2015 | Getty Images
Race-day staples ✅
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Paint Scheme Preview: 2022 Gateway and Portland weekend | Pick a favorite
• Power Rankings: Bookended by Busch brothers as June arrives | Latest driver rankings
• Fantasy Fastlane: Leaning on experience at Gateway | Top plays, sleepers
• NASCAR betting: World Wide Technology Raceway odds | Race favorites, underdogs
• Backseat Drivers: Experience key at World Wide Technology Raceway? | Watch the debate
Catch the pack 💨
Read up on the top headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
• Pit-road battle: Hamlin, Logano debated incident at Charlotte Motor Speedway | Read more
• Truex Jr.: Pondering future, should know more details soon | Read more
• COVID-19: Protocols, positive test sideline Chris Buescher at Gateway | Full details
• Milestone: NASCAR reaches 20 million miles driven on renewable fuel | Learn more
• Justin Haley: Kaulig Racing, Haley still searching for consistency in Cup Series | Story, analysis
• St. Louis sellout: World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway announces race is sold out | Read more
• 600 club: Sunday’s start at Gateway is 600th in Cup for Martin Truex Jr. | See who’s in the club
• Spanning the globe: Trackhouse Racing drivers excited for PROJECT91 | Read more • Hendrick Motorsports: Organization to enter three Xfinity races in 2022 | More details
• Additions: NASCAR adds eight new automotive performance suppliers to successful competition program | Learn more
• Promotions: Hendrick organization promotes senior executives to lead four key areas | Read more
• Phoenix Raceway: 2022 Cup Series championship sold out, race set to return in 2023 | Full story
• Triple Truck Challenge: Truck Series promotion returns for 2022 season | Learn more
Get in on the action 💰
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• BetMGM: Inexperience plentiful for inaugural race on Sunday | Read more
• The Action Network: How to bet Tyler Reddick vs. Chase Briscoe | Expert insight
• Early picks: Which drivers are the best early bets for St. Louis? | Read more
• Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2022 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
• Going all the way: 2022 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
First impression 💐
With another new track making its Cup Series debut, take a look at the relevant history leading up to Gateway.
• Gateway to victory: See the Cup Stars who have wins at WWT Raceway | Full list here
• First time for everything: Winners of recent inaugural Cup Series races | See them all
• Virtual view: eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series goes green from WWT Raceway | Watch the highlight
Fast facts ⏩
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• Nine drivers expected to compete this weekend have won in the Xfinity Series and/or Truck Series at Gateway. • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished top 10 in the last four races, his longest Cup Series top-10 streak and also JTG Daugherty’s longest. • Two of Denny Hamlin’s three top 10s in 2022 are wins. The last driver to have multiple wins with only three top 10s through 14 races in a season was Derrike Cope in 1990. • The pass for the win came in the final 10 laps in 11 of the 14 regular-season races in 2022. • Kyle Larson is on a 12-race winless streak, the longest of his career with Hendrick Motorsports.
Say what? 🎙
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
• “The opportunity Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice and LeafFilter are giving me to race their car — we’re in it together. And Matt and Chris and LeafFilter, they don’t have unreal expectations. We’re extremely realistic on where we think we should be. We don’t think we’re gonna go out there every weekend and win and just blow the world on fire. But it’s a possibility.” — Justin Haley, driver of the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet (via Haley’s feature story before Gateway)
• “It’s exciting, I think mainly for the crew chiefs. When you look at it, 15 minutes of practice and now we get an hour, they’re probably itching to try a bunch of different things that they’ve been thinking about in their heads and talking with engineers, so I think you’ll see a lot of guys trying some things because now we’re to the point where everybody probably has a little bit of a baseline of where they’re at with these cars, but now you’re gonna try some little different things to get that little bit extra speed, so having this hour-long practice, I think you’ll definitely see some guys trying some different setups and things like that. It’ll be cool. It’ll be interesting. Gateway is a hard track to get a hold of because it’s two different ends. There’s gonna be a lot of shifting like we said before, so we’ll see who comes out on top.” — Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
• “I feel like it’s going to be pretty hard to pass. I expect to be shifting at both ends of the track every lap, so we’re going to have our hands full. Qualifying and executing on pit road are going to be very important to keep track position throughout the race, so we’re going to have to be on our game all weekend.” — Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
See where your favorite driver will pit in Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300, the NASCAR Cup Series’ first race at World Wide Technology Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Chase Briscoe rolled to his first Busch Light Pole Award in Saturday qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series’ debut race at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Briscoe set a best lap of 138.274 mph in the final round of qualifying, putting the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in the No. 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
“Yeah, I mean it is cool to be on the pole, right?” said Briscoe, who is the series’ fifth first-time pole winner this year. “I say it all the time. I never thought I would run a Cup race or even a Truck race. To be able to say you are a winner in the Cup Series and now a pole winner is really special. To do it at an inaugural event is even cooler. I think it will hit me a lot more tomorrow when we roll off and there is not a single seat available. I am excited for sure.”
Austin Cindric is set to share an all-Ford front row after posting the second-fastest speed (137.775 mph) in the final round with the Team Penske No. 2 Mustang. Christopher Bell was third, Tyler Reddick fourth and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five qualifiers on the 1.25-mile track.
Denny Hamlin, last week’s winner in the Coca-Cola 600, was sixth fastest in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Zane Smith qualified 32nd for his Cup Series debut in a fill-in role with the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford operation. The Camping World Truck Series regular was announced Thursday as a substitute for Chris Buescher, who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the team.
Sunday’s race will mark the first Cup Series event at the Madison, Illinois, track in suburban St. Louis. The venue hosted the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 1997-2010, and Camping World Trucks from 1998-2010 and 2014 to this year.
