GFT Facts & Stats Friday: NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway
30 May 2024
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News
MADISON, IL — Its a split venue weekend with the Cup and Truck series racing at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis, and the Xfinity series racing on the road course at Portland International Raceway.
The Enjoy Illinois 300 (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), is the 15th race of the 26-race regular season schedule, and with just 12 races left to decide who makes the Playoffs, time is of the essence for drivers and teams to secure their spot.
The previous two NASCAR Cup Series World Wide Technology Raceway winners — Joey Logano (2022) and Kyle Busch (2023) — are both still looking for their first win of 2024.
This weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300 marks the third time the NASCAR Cup Series has competed at World Wide Technology Raceway. This Sunday’s event will be 300 miles (240 laps).
Practice and Busch Light Pole Qualifying will take place on Saturday, June 1 from 9:30 a.m. — 11 a.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300
World Wide Technology Raceway
Sunday, June 2, 2024
3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,776,907
TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (240 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 140), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 240)
Track Facts: World Wide Technology Raceway
Track Length: 1.25 Miles asphalt oval
Race Length: N/A
First Race: June 5, 2022 — NASCAR Cup Series Inaugural Race
Grandstand Seating Capacity: 65,000+
Degree of Banking Corners: 11 degrees: Turn 1 & 2; 9 degrees: Turn 3 & 4
Length of Frontstretch: 1,922 feet
Length of Backstretch: 1,976 feet
Qualifying & Race Records
Qualifying: Chase Briscoe — 138.274 mph (06/05/22)
Race: Joey Logano — 97.965mph (06/05/22)
Track Records
Most Wins: 1 — Kyle Busch, Joey Logano
Most Poles: 1 — Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch
Most Top Fives: 1 — Kyle Busch, Joey Logano
The current 1.25-mile oval that is World Wide Technology Raceway has a unique shape and different degrees of banking in each set of turns. The backstretch is confined to run parallel with Illinois Route 203, making Turns 1 & 2 a tighter radius than Turns 3 & 4. Turns 1 & 2 have similar characteristics to New Hampshire Motor Speedway while Turns 3 & 4 are similar to Phoenix Raceway. The track’s egg shape mimics the legendary Darlington Raceway. The facility has more than 700 acres welcoming fans this weekend.
Playoff Bubble: Just eight postseason spots still open following Charlotte
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell scored himself a NASCAR Cup Series ‘crown jewel’ win last weekend taking home the trophy for the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 — the series’ longest race. Bell is now one of four drivers this season with multiple wins. Looking to this weekend, the Cup Series competitors turn their attention to World Wide Technology Raceway knowing time is running out to secure their spots in the postseason. Half of the Playoff field positions is already spoken for, leaving just eight spots left with 12 races to go in the regular season.
The eight drivers that have earned a spot in the Playoff by virtue of their wins are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski and Daniel Suarez.
Currently riding the cut line for the postseason is RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher, who made the Playoffs last season. Buescher is ranked 16th in the Playoff projection, 11 points up on Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in 17th, and 30 points ahead of two-time Cup Series champion and Team Penske driver Joey Logano in 18th.
NASCAR’s Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Enjoy Illinois 300
(Same data set, sorted by Driver Rating)
WINS
· A total of two different drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway — Joey Logano (2022) and Kyle Busch (2023).
· Team Penske’s Joey Logano won the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 5, 2022 — he started from the seventh position and led 22 laps.
· Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch won the second NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 4, 2023 — he started from the pole position and led 121 laps.
· Youngest race winner at World Wide Technology Raceway: Joey Logano (June 5, 2022–32 years, 0 months and 12 days).
· Oldest race winner at World Wide Technology Raceway: Kyle Busch (June 4, 2023–38 years, 1 month and 2 days).
· Two different starting positions on the grid have led to victories in the NASCAR Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway:
o Joey Logano won after starting from the seventh-place starting position in 2022.
o Kyle Busch won after starting from the pole in 2023.
· Two organizations have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway:
o Team Penske (Joey Logano, 2022)
o Richard Childress Racing (Kyle Busch, 2023)
· Two manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway — Ford in 2022 and Chevrolet in 2023.
ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS
Runner-Up Finishes:
· Two drivers have finished runner-up in the two NASCAR Cup Series races at World Wide Technology Raceway — Kyle Busch (2022) and Denny Hamlin (2023).
· Kyle Busch finished runner-up in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race World Wide Technology Raceway in 2022.
· Denny Hamlin finished runner-up in the second NASCAR Cup Series race World Wide Technology Raceway in 2023.
Top-Five Finishes:
· A total of eight different drivers have finished in the top-five in the NASCAR Cup Series races at World Wide Technology Raceway:
Drivers
Top Five Finishes
Joey Logano 2
Kyle Busch 2
Denny Hamlin 1
Kyle Larson 1
Martin Truex Jr 1
Ryan Blaney 1
Joey Logano and Kyle Busch lead the NASCAR Cup Series in top-five finishes at World Wide Technology Raceway with two each.
GO FULL THROTTLE NASCAR CUP SERIES BOX SCORES
GO FULL THROTTLE NASCAR FANTASY LIVE BOX SCORES
The Go Full Throttle #AI Race Prediction model delivered 186 points with the Charlotte Coke 600 results in NASCAR Fantasy Live — TMD NASCAR League play. GFT AI 1 is now in 556th place vs 4,617 players in the #TMDNASCAR league, dropping outside the Top 10 at 12.04% vs all players.
Initial GFT NASCAR Fantasy Live Picks for the Enjoy Illinois 300
**NOTE** Be sure to follow us on X (aka Twitter) to see the updated GFT NASCAR Fantasy Live picks AFTER our AI models ingest the Practice and Qualifying data. For a Sunday race, this usually happens overnight Saturday and is published Sunday morning at least 2 hours before the green flag.
