Racing Christmas is over but NASCAR is back on track this Sunday for the Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter at WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY. To most, this is Gateway — a flat track that blends short-track and intermediate-track racing.
As always, trust the data but also trust your eyes. Here are the best bets for the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter at WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY.
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Speaking of being “back on track,” or just “on track” because back infers there was a period of being off, the NASCAR Best Bets article continues to pick winners again this season. The article has hit three weeks in a row — William Byron at Darlington, Kyle Larson at North Wilkesboro and Ryan Blaney at Charlotte. Those picks weren’t reaches, but if you’re reaching this season, then you’re losing. It’s 2023 and chalk rules. At Gateway, the elite should repeat.
Race Winner — Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter at Gateway
Ryan Blaney +1200
Back-to-back wins are rare. Out of principle, some might not bet on Blaney after winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on Memorial Day. This is an erroneous position. Back-to-back wins are rare because of the level of competition but also because the tracks can differ widely from week to week. This is no such case. Gateway and Charlotte are not similar, but Blaney has been successful at both tracks. The intermediate track package will once again be employed. Blaney’s average lap time was the fastest at Dover in this package. The setup at Charlotte is similar to Dover, and as predicted, he won. The package is the same for Gateway but the setup will be different. That’s fine because Team Penske nailed the setup at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWT or Gateway) last season. Joey Logano (+1200) won the race and Austin Cindric (+6500) had the sixth-best driver rating. Blaney’s 118.2 driver rating in the 2022 Gateway race ranked second. If not for a pit road mistake, Blaney would have likely won the race.
Kyle Larson +450
The Hendrick Chevys struggled at Gateway last season. This track has been a staple of the Truck Series but only the Truck Series. The Hendrick stable lacks experience at this flat, intermediate track. The Cup Series’ return in 2022 was Larson’s first laps at Gateway. It’s fair to assume that he might struggle again. He may not pick it up in his second spin. Hendrick might continue to struggle with the setup. That’s fair, but betting against Larson and Hendrick speed in 2023 has not been a wise proposition. With 200 laps at the 1.25-mile intermediate track on the docket for Sunday, it’s hard to imagine that Larson won’t be in the top 5 battling for the win in the end.
Check back later this week for additional NASCAR matchup bets and prop bets as they become available on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Race Winner — Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter at Gateway
Martin Truex Jr. +1000
It’s been awhile since many of these drivers raced at Gateway. Some have never raced at St. Louis (technically Madison, IL). Truex was in the 2004 and 2005 Xfinity Series races at Gateway. He led 123 laps and won at Gateway in 2004 driving for Chance 2 Motorsports (DEI and Dale Earnhardt Jr). In his return last season, Truex quickly knocked the rust off with a sixth-place finish and 42 laps led. That was a solid showing during a trying season. This season has not been a struggle. Truex won the preseason opener in LA and won a month ago at Dover. The JGR Toyotas have been every bit as fast as the Hendrick Chevys at the intermediate tracks over the last month. On top of that, JGR starts with a much better baseline for setups. Kyle Busch should have won the 2022 Gateway race for JGR. He earned the best driver rating but finished second due to a late-race caution.
Kyle Busch +1100
His 66 laps led in the 2022 Gateway race were the most, but he got passed by Joey Logano during the overtime restart. His car took several laps to really fire off and poor timing/communication prevented his brother Kurt from giving him the push necessary to win. His prowess at Gateway should come as no surprise given Busch’s propensity to race in the lower series. In his last Xfinity Series race at Gateway in 2009, Busch won and led 90 laps racing a JGR Toyota. The No. 8 RCR Chevy hasn’t been great over the last month, but it’s closer than most think. A tire issue ruined Busch’s day at Dover and he got wrecked on a restart at Kansas. At Darlington, he did not lead a lap, but earned a top-3 driver rating and followed that intermediate-track race with a top-5 driver rating in the 400-lap race at Charlotte. This car is close.
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