The NASCAR Cup Series will travel to World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway), right outside of St. Louis this weekend. The tracks get hotter and slicker once the calendar turns to June. This often allows teams who have not had speed in the spring to step up their game and become a factor in the summer races. We will get to see if that trend continues when the Cup Series races just outside of St. Louis Sunday.
The Cup Series had their normal practice session at Gateway. The teams had 30-minutes to shake down their cars before they lined up for qualifying. Most of the teams were able to make some long runs. We will need drivers who were fast on the long-runs for our lineups Sunday.
Here is my starting lineup for the Enjoy Illinois 300…
DENNY HAMLIN (7): Hamlin has dominated the short tracks this year. He won at Bristol, Richmond and Dover. He was also good at Gateway last year. Hamlin qualified 3rd, finished 3rd in Stage 1, 3rd in Stage 2 and 2nd in the race. The No. 11 car looks fast again this week. Hamlin posted the fourth-fastest speed on the long runs in practice and qualified sixth for the race. Hamlin starts up front since qualifying was washed out. The No. 11 car has led laps in every race this year. Hamlin should lead a lot more Sunday and have a good chance to be the top scoring driver in the Driver Group Game.
JOEY LOGANO (8): There is a lot to like about Logano this week. He won the race at Gateway in 2022 and he finished third at this track last year. The No. 22 team hit on something during the tire test at North Wilksboro. They took that information to Richmond and the No. 22 car finished second. They brought it back to the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro and Logano nearly lead every lap in the race. The No. 22 car looks fast again, so I will use one of my allocations with Logano Sunday.
BRAD KESELOWSKI (5): Keselowski has been on a hot streak over the last month. He finished second at Texas, second at Talladega, won at Darlington and finished second at Charlotte. Keselowski was not very good in the two races at Gateway, but the No. 6 team is red hot right now. Keselowski just tested at Iowa Speedway and that data should give them something to work with for the race Sunday. I expect the No. 6 car to be up front again at Gateway.
CHASE BRISCOE (5): Briscoe has a history of running well on the flat tracks. His only win in the Cup Series came at Phoenix in 2022. His stats at Gateway suck, but there is more to the story than what his finishing position says. Briscoe won the pole, led the first 27 laps and then was spun out at Gateway in 2022. He had a top-five car in that race. Briscoe has been hit or miss this year, but the upside is too good to fade this week. I will take a chance with Briscoe in Group C Sunday.
Follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR
If you like Fantasy NASCAR, LIKE my Fantasy NASCAR Tips Page on Facebook