It was a dramatic week for NASCAR. Chase Elliott was suspended. Chase Briscoe was penalized into oblivion, but it’s time for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Worldwide Technology Raceway! This course is a former road course turned oval, with a distance of 1.25 miles. The only race in the Cup Series history was run last year and won by #22 Joey Logano. Kyle and Kurt Busch followed closely in second and third.
This will be an interesting race to follow, as there’s not a whole lot of information to go off of. But I think there’s a good mix of drivers who ran well here last year, and drivers in interesting situations this time around. So without further delay, here are five drivers I’m looking at to be winners, or just guys to watch for the Enjoy Illinois 300!
#9 Corey Lajoie
Now if you haven’t followed closely, you might be thinking “Hey, that’s Chase Elliott’s number!”. Not this week, as he serves a one-race suspension for his contact with #11 Denny Hamlin last weekend. And instead of Josh Berry, who’s filled in for the #9 previously this year, Corey Lajoie steps into the equipment. Spire Motorsports made him available from his duties in the #7 car for Hendrick Motorsports to throw him into Elliott’s spot in the lineup. Last year, he finished dead last at this track. But he’s a driver to watch because this is his first run in some of the best tools in NASCAR. We’ll see what Lajoie can do for HMS in a brief experiment, and he should certainly improve from last year’s mark.
#12 Ryan Blaney
Finally. After 59 races in the Cup Series without a win, Ryan Blaney found himself in victory lane. It was a hard-fought outing between him and #24 William Byron to the end, but the #12 was just way too fast for anybody to keep up. He’d been building up some momentum for weeks, and it finally cashed in. He celebrated handsomely at the Coca-Cola 600 last week. But my gut says he’s not done running quality races. Last year, he finished fourth on this track. He’ll be a favorite again coming into this week and should be running hard all race long.
#22 Joey Logano
As the only winner of the Cup Series at this track, Logano gets a mention. It’s been quite a weird year for the #22 car. He won at Atlanta earlier this year, but he’s been inconsistent for much of the rest of the season. With six top-10 finishes, three inside the top five, it’s been solid. But he’s had two DNFs and never holds the front line for long if he makes it to the leaders.
With a win already, he’s locked into the post-season without too much worry. But a top-five finish and even possibly a win at the Enjoy Illinois 300 will put him back on the map among the best this season. As well as signify a huge rebound for the Fords across the board if they can net back-to-back wins. The manufacturer could use a positive moment after the #14 team received one of the largest penalties in NASCAR history.
#24 William Byron
The #24 team has had one of the most successful cars this season. Between William Byron and the #5 of Kyle Larson, it’s hard to name two cars better. Byron clearly had the second-best car at Charlotte last weekend. If Blaney wasn’t in a literal rocketship, Byron has his fourth win on the season. And we’re only in June. This seems to be the breakout year for Billy, and he’ll probably be the best Chevy on the block if Larson isn’t. He finished 19th at this track last year and garnered 18 points from the race. He’ll almost certainly beat that on Sunday, and will finish at the minimum top-10 if nothing fishy happens.
#45 Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick has been insanely impressive this year. He has his win at the Circuit of the Americas a few months ago. Plus, he’s been maybe the best Toyota on the season running at the front line at some point in most races. His pit crew has been great, his car has been fast. He’s representing the 23XI team well. He’s got an average finish inside the top-15 and has garnered five top-five finishes with an additional two top-10s. Last year at the Enjoy Illinois 300, Reddick finished 16th and brought in 28 points. He and teammate #23 Bubba Wallace have been nothing short of terrific lately. And I expect both drivers to continue to shine and maybe even pick up the win in Madison, Illinois this weekend.
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