NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Enjoy Illinois 300 at Wide World Technology Raceway

 

 

 

Distance: 1.25 miles
Backstretch Length: 1,976 feet
Frontstretch Length: 1,922-feet
Turns 1 & 2 Banking: 11 degrees
Turns 3 & 4 Banking: 9 degrees

 

After a record-tying seven runner-up finishes, Christopher Bell finally earned his first win of the season last week at Darlington, and it couldn't have come at a better time — the first race of the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. Bell's 14th Cup Series victory, which kicked a 33-race winless streak to the curb, was also his first at Darlington in a Cup Series car. He earned a Darlington trophy in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2024. 

With the race win, stage and laps led points, Bell walked away from the Darlington Southern 500 with 73 points, catapulting the No. 20 team four spots in the Chase standings. Going into this week's race, Bell sits in second place in the Chase standings, just 12 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. 

 

Oh, did I mention that Christopher Bell isn't too shabby at Gateway? He has a sporty 8.5 average finish here and a driver rating of 103.4, fifth-best among active Cup Series drivers. Also, way back in 2016, Bell won here in the NASCAR Truck Series.  

 
This Week's Pick Strategy: I will initially load my roster with drivers who are masters at double-shifting and hard-braking elite drivers. Those skills will serve drivers well this weekend. I will then sprinkle in drivers who are more apt to score me some bonus qualifying points. I will finalize my team based on qualifying and favor those drivers in the front row and P7, which is where the four previous races have been won from. 

Good luck!

Active Cup Series Drivers with Most Top 10s
4 Races (2022 - 2025)

Joey Logano - 4
All with 3 - Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson - 2

Active Active Cup Series Drivers with Most Top 5s
4 Races (2022 - 2025)
Joey Logano - 4
Denny Hamlin - 3
Ryan Blaney - 2

Active Cup Series with Most Top 10s at similar flat tracks (Darlington, Iowa, New Hampshire, Phoenix and Richmond)
36 Races (2022-2026)
Christopher Bell - 23
Denny Hamlin - 22

Ryan Blaney - 21
Kyle Larson - 20
Both with 19 - Joey Logano and William Byron
Tyler Reddick - 18
Brad Keselowski - 16
All with 15 - Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, and Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott - 14

Both with 13 -  Ross Chastain and Josh Berry

Last Year's Pole Winner:  Denny Hamlin

Last Year's Race Winner: Denny Hamlin

The Likely Suspects:  My Gateway go-tos are Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Austin Cindric.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is Joey Logano. My next picks are Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher, and Ty Gibbs. I will complete my team with AJ Allmendinger and Erik Jones.

My Final Four: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger.

Second-Look Driver:  This week's second-look driver is Michael McDowell. Michael finished 14th in this race last year, earned the pole in 2024, and finished ninth here in 2023. His 74 laps led at Gateway (40 laps from the 2024 race and 34 from 2022) from are his most at any non-drafting track. Plus, his 16.5 average finish is his best among all ovals on the schedule. While Michael is not competing for the championship, there were times this year when the Spire Motorsports No.71 was the highest running Chevy. Maybe, just maybe he can give the fans that underdog, feel-good victory on Sunday.

 

Points to Ponder:

• A total of four drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series pole at World Wide Technology Raceway – Chase Briscoe (2022), Kyle Busch (2023), Michael McDowell (2024), Denny Hamlin (2025).
• A total of four different drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway – Joey Logano (2022), Kyle Busch (2023), Austin Cindric (2024), and Denny Hamlin (2025).
•  The first starting position is the most proficient starting position on the grid, having led to more victories (two) in the NASCAR Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway than any other starting position. Kyle Busch won from the pole position in 2023 and Denny Hamlin won from the pole in 2025. Joey Logano won after starting from the seventh starting position in 2022. Austin Cindric earned his victory after starting from the second in 2024.
• Denny Hamlin has finished runner-up in two of the four races at Gateway (2023 and 2024). 
• Joey Logano leads the NASCAR Cup Series in both Top 5s and Top 10s at World Wide Technology Raceway with four. He also leads in average finishes at World Wide Technology Raceway with a 3.5 in four starts.
• Four drivers have posted average finishes inside the Top 10 heading into this weekend: Joey Logano (3.5), Christopher Bell (8.5), Kyle Larson (9.5), Ryan Blaney (9.5), and Denny Hamlin (9.75). 
• Ryan Blaney leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in laps led at WWTR with 120 (12%).  

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 12th, and your final picks by 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 13th. 

 

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 19 years. She launched NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or volunteering in or around Queen Anne's County, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.