RACE #15 – WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY
In a season full of new with the competition debut of the Next Gen car, this weekend adds another unknown element for teams of the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) to face. For the first time in the series’ history, World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) will be the host of NASCAR’s premier series for the Enjoy Illinois 300 Presented by TicketSmarter. The inaugural trip to the 1.25-mile oval located just east of St. Louis, Missouri, marks the only new points-paying venue on the NCS schedule for 2022. Last season, four new venues made their debut on the NCS schedule, all of which were won by Chevrolet drivers:
· Circuit of The Americas: Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
· Nashville Superspeedway: Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
· Road America: Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
· Indianapolis Road Course: AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Joining the NASCAR Cup Series for a trip to the Midwest is the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) with the Toyota 200; the series’ 11th race of the 2022 season. While World Wide Technology Raceway may be new to the NCS, it’s familiar territory for the NCWTS. The series debuted at WWTR in 1998, competing through 2010, and later returned to the schedule in 2014. Within that timeframe, WWTR has hosted 21 NCWTS races. Chevrolet has recorded a manufacturer-leading 11 victories, including the inaugural event when Rick Carelli drove his Chevrolet-powered machine to victory lane. On that list of wins includes a streak of the last five, the most recent by Sheldon Creed when he drove the No. 2 GMS Racing Silverado to the win of the NCWTS Playoff Opener that was held at the track in 2021.
NXS HEADS TO PACIFIC NORTHWEST
The NASCAR Cup Series isn’t the only series to face the challenges of a new track this weekend. For the first time in NASCAR Xfinity Series history, teams will make the venture to the Pacific Northwest to Portland International Raceway (PIR) for the Pacific Office Automation 147 on Saturday, June 4. The 1.97-mile, 12-turn road course will mark just the second road course race for the series thus far in 2022.
Earlier this season at Circuit of The Americas, notable road course master, AJ Allmendinger, drove his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS to his 11th-career NASCAR Xfinity Series win; and his first of the 2022 season to secure a Playoff berth. In the last 10 road course events in the NXS, AJ Allmendinger leads all drivers with four wins, nine top-five’s and 116 laps led.
While it’s a new track to the series, Allmendinger already has success at the Oregon road course circuit, where he won the 2006 ChampCar race held at the venue. This weekend’s trip to PIR will be Allmendinger’s first time back to the track since that triumph. Following Saturday’s NXS race at PIR, Allmendinger will head back east to join the NASCAR Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway, pulling double duty for Kaulig Racing.
GOING FOR SIX-IN-A-ROW AT PORTLAND
In another dominant day for Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Camaro SS captured its fifth-consecutive victory when Josh Berry powered the JR Motorsports No. 8 Camaro SS to victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was a special win for the Chevrolet team as it marked the organization’s first-ever win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the hometown track for JR Motorsports. Berry took the Stage One win, going on to lead a race-high 89 laps en route to his second win of 2022 by an impressive 18.039 seconds over the runner-up finisher.
Berry’s win was celebrated by a strong day posted by all of his JR Motorsports teammates. Of the five drivers that led laps in last Saturday’s event, four of them came from JR Motorsports, totaling 190 laps led of the 200-lap race. Joining Berry in the stage win category, Justin Allgaier picked up the Stage Two win to give JR Motorsports its 10th-consecutive stage victory; a feat that extended the series record the Chevrolet team accomplished at Kansas Speedway.
Chevrolet had seven drivers finish inside the top-10, including three of the top-five positions. JR Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Jordan Anderson Racing were all represented in the top-10 at the conclusion of the 200-lap event. Now sitting at eight wins in 13 races, Chevrolet has posted double the win count of its manufacturer competitors.
Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger maintains the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver points lead by 33-points over fellow Chevrolet driver, Noah Gragson. Four Chevrolet drivers make up the top-five in the standings, with seven rounding out the top-10. Chevrolet also remains in the lead of the NXS manufacturer standings by 57-points over second.
SILVERADO RST LOOKING TO GO BACK-TO-BACK
In a thrilling overtime victory, Ross Chastain drove Chevrolet to its second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of the season. Chastain took the victory after fellow Chevrolet driver, Grant Enfinger, pushed Chastain past John Hunter Nemechek on a final lap run to take the checkered flag by 0.102 seconds over Enfinger to give Chevrolet a 1-2 finish. The win marked Chastain’s fourth-career NCWTS win and his first at the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval.
Chastain’s Niece Motorsports teammate, Carson Hocevar, was a key storyline driver of the night. The 19-year-old driver’s first-career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win has been on the horizon in recent weeks and Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway looked to be his night. Hocevar had led a race-high 57-laps ahead of the first attempt at an overtime finish. Battling to keep the lead following the restart, contact with the second-place truck took Hocevar out of contention, resulting in a 16th-place finish.
Heading into the World Wide Technology Raceway weekend, Hocevar leads Chevrolet in the eighth position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver points standings. Grant Enfinger, who drove his No. 23 GMS Racing Silverado RST to his third top-five finish in the last four races, sits in the ninth spot in the driver standings to round out the Team Chevy top-10.
NEW TO THE SERIES, FAMILIAR TO SOME DRIVERS
World Wide Technology Raceway may be a new track to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, but some drivers won’t be getting on-track for the first time. With The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series having history at the track, a variety of drivers in NASCAR’s premier series already have wins at the Illinois venue on their resume. Of that elite list includes Chevrolet’s Ross Chastain and Justin Haley.
In the year that Ross Chastain came home runner-up in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship standings (2019), Chastain drove his Niece Motorsports Silverado to victory lane at World Wide Technology Raceway that June, marking his second-career win in the series. WWTR also holds a special spot in Justin Haley’s career, where Haley scored his first-career NCWTS win at the track in June 2018.
STANDINGS CHECK
Already tapped as the longest race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 made the record books as the longest race in NASCAR’s history; with two overtime finishes pushing the race to 413-laps/619.5 miles. In a race that saw 18 cautions and 31 lead changes, the final running order saw four Camaro ZL1’s battle to top-10 finishes, with Tyler Reddick leading the charge for Chevrolet in sixth-place.
Of the 13 drivers who led laps in the crown jewel event, six of which were Chevrolet drivers, totaling 346 laps led for the Camaro ZL1. The top-four drivers with the most laps led came from the bowtie brigade, with Ross Chastain topping the charts with a race-high 153-laps led in his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1.
Chevrolet drivers also performed a sweep in stage wins – (Chase Elliott; Stage One winner); (Daniel Suarez; Stage Two winner); and (Ross Chastain; Stage Three winner) – bringing Chevrolet to a manufacturer-leading 15 stage wins in 2022 thus far. Each of the race’s 100-mile markers also saw a Camaro ZL1 out front: Chase Elliott (100 mile; 200 mile); Daniel Suarez (300 mile); Ross Chastain (400 mile; 500 mile); and Kyle Larson (600 mile).
With 14 NASCAR Cup Series events in the books, here’s a look at the points standings:
· For the 10th-consecutive week, Chase Elliott remains in the top spot of the NCS driver standings, with a 34-point lead over fellow Chevrolet driver, Ross Chastain.
· Chevrolet drivers make up five of the top-10 in the NCS driver standings, with Elliott leading Ross Chastain (2nd), William Byron (7th), Alex Bowman (8th) and Kyle Larson (9th).
· All five of those drivers have recorded wins already this season to take a spot in the 16-driver NCS playoff field.
· Chevrolet continues to lead in the NCS manufacturer standings, with a 26-point lead over second.
BOWTIE BULLETS
· Of the active NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have previously won at World Wide Technology Raceway in either the NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, two of which are Chevrolet drivers:
Justin Haley, GMS Racing Silverado in the NCWTS (2018)
Ross Chastain, Niece Motorsports Silverado in the NCWTS (2019)
· With 14 NASCAR Cup Series races complete in the 2022 season, Chevrolet continues to lead all manufacturers in NCS wins (7), top-five’s (36), top-10’s (67), laps led (2,230) and stage wins (15).
· Chevrolet led 346 of the 413 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend, with Ross Chastain leading a race-high 153 of those laps. This marks the most laps that Chastain has led in a single event in his six year NASCAR Cup Series career.
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. posted a seventh-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600, extending his top-10 streak to four-consecutive races. This feat marks not only the longest streak of Stenhouse’s NASCAR Cup Series career, but the most for JTG Daugherty since they entered NCS competition in 2009.
· Seven Team Chevy drivers have combined 15 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins: Tyler Reddick 2 – (Fontanax2)
Alex Bowman 1 – (Las Vegas)
Ross Chastain 3 – (Las Vegas), (Darlington), (Charlotte)
William Byron 3 – (Phoenix), (Atlanta), (Talladega)
Daniel Suarez 2 – (COTA), (Charlotte)
Chase Elliott 3 – (Martinsvillex2), (Charlotte)
Kyle Larson 1 – (Bristol)
· Of the three NASCAR Cup Series drivers that have recorded multiple wins this season, two come from the Chevrolet camp: (Ross Chastain – COTA, Talladega), (William Byron – Atlanta, Martinsville).
· Chevrolet leads the driver points standing in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Chase Elliott remains in the top position in the NCS standings with a 34-point advantage over second; and AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the NXS standings by 33-points. Chevrolet also remains atop both the NCS and NXS manufacturer points standings.
· With its 40 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships; 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships; and 821 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR.
TUNE IN
FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 Presented by TicketSmarter at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 5. FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 4. Live coverage of both events can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pacific Office Automation 147 at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 4. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL1
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES FOR DRIVERS AT GATEWAY?
“The heat of course. No matter what time of day, it will be hot and couple that together with heavy braking. I think of that track a lot like a yo-yo. You build up speed through turns 3 and 4. It’s flat but it is a wider turn so you have a lot of speed off turn 4. You get down to turn 1, you really have to slow the car down and that creates a lot of heat in the brakes, and causes the tires to slide. Creating the momentum in 3 and 4, to make a pass in turn 1, out brake somebody and slide up in front of them, downshift, and all of that work coupled with the heat and humidity that we’ll have there. You’re going to have to be on it to make it through a whole Cup race there. I was worn out after the truck race and that’s a lot shorter.”
TALK ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE RACING AT GATEWAY:
“I’ve raced twice at Gateway. Start and parked a truck in 2018. I went back in 2019 and won the race which is unheard of. I’m looking to build off of the base I have there and with this current car, we will be shifting. We were shifting with the trucks so we will be with the car. The weather, it’s summertime, the chances for a late afternoon storm and a green track to race on and the challenges that presents.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 GET BIOETHANOL CAMARO ZL1
YOU’VE COMPETED AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY IN THE NASCAR TRUCK SERIES, BUT IT’S BEEN A FEW YEARS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WEEKEND?
“Like everyone else, I’m not sure what to expect. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced at Gateway in the NASCAR Truck Series. I remember we did okay in the race, but a lot can change about a track in 12 years. I do think our Richard Childress Racing team has performed well this season, and a mile-long track like World Wide Technology Raceway will play into our strengths. I’ve been spending time on the simulator to prepare for the race, and I feel ready and excited to get there.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1
LARSON ON PREPARING FOR THE INAUGURAL WWTR RACE:
“I’ll watch some (NASCAR Camping World) Truck Series races on YouTube – probably the most recent truck races and maybe some old Xfinity races. It looks like a cool track and I’m sure Cliff (Daniels, crew chief of No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1) and the team have been using every tool and resource possible to ensure we have a good package when we unload there.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1
DANIELS ON PREPARING FOR THE FIRST RACE AT THE MADISON, ILLINOIS, TRACK:
“The trucks just raced there last year or the year before, and I have been watching that race today. We also have data from a wheel-force tire test a few weeks ago, so we have data and in-car cameras from that – all OEM’s do. That data is super valuable just to help understand our simulation tools and how those match up to what we saw on the track data. Then we try to understand the nuance of the track and compare it to similar tracks we’ve been to with a Next Gen car, which would probably be Phoenix (Raceway). Fortunately, we do have the 50-minute practice on Friday to really tune on the car. It’s not a lot of time, but it’s enough to get a good feel for things.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1
“There are a lot of unknowns this weekend at Gateway for sure. This is the first Cup race there with the Next Gen car. We’ve spent a lot of time in the SIM preparing for this race but I’m sure once we get on the track there will be other things we’ll need to work on. This practice on Friday afternoon is extremely important to get our 3CHI Chevrolet driving good. I’m excited for this new challenge.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1
ELLIOTT ON HEADING TO THE 1.25-MILE OVAL FOR THE FIRST TIME:
“I think anytime you head to a new track it’s tough. You can do everything to try to prepare, but you’re not really going to know until you make those first laps in practice. We’re getting a little more track time than we do at most tracks so that will help give us an opportunity to try to figure some things out ahead of Sunday. There are a lot of unknowns, but I’m looking forward to heading there and seeing what we can do.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1
GUSTAFSON ON RACING AT THE ST. LOUIS-AREA TRACK:
“We’re just going to have to be prepared to adapt. We’ve been looking at our notes from Phoenix (Raceway) and Richmond (Raceway) and trying to put them together as we’ve been anticipating what to expect. I don’t really think anybody is going to be able to hit it right off the truck, so that’s where you’re going to have to be able to adapt and adjust. Whoever does a good job of that is going to be fast. Chase always does great at providing feedback and telling us what he needs out of the car, so hopefully we’ll be in a good position heading into Sunday.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1
BYRON ON HIS THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKEND:
“I don’t know what to expect this weekend really. I think Gateway will race similar to how Phoenix (Raceway) does. We had some speed there earlier this year so I think we have a good starting point, plus we have a full 50-minute practice this Friday to really feel things out. It’s been a few years since I’ve raced there, and when I did, we had a good race going and led a bunch of laps. The last few weeks we haven’t gotten the results we’ve wanted despite leading laps and running up front. This weekend is a good chance for us to turn that around heading into the summer stretch of the season.”
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1
FUGLE ON WHAT HE THINKS IT WILL TAKE TO WIN ON SUNDAY:
“Gateway may be a mile-and-a-quarter long but it races more like a short track with long straightaways. So far this season with the Next Gen car, we have been fast on those style tracks so that gives us confidence heading into this weekend. It’s a unique track that’s tough to figure out and those are the challenges I enjoy as a crew chief. I think it’s safe to say that track position is going to be a major factor this weekend and that pit stops are going to be a major key to that. We’ve really improved on pit road the last few weeks, so that gives me confidence as well. You always go to the race track wanting to win, but with this being the first Cup Series race there, everyone wants to be able to say that they were the winner of an inaugural event.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP CAMARO ZL1
YOU’VE BEEN TO WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY BEFORE, BUT THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME THE CUP SERIES HAS RACED AT THE TRACK. TALK ABOUT THE TRACK AND WHAT YOU EXPECT THIS WEEKEND.
“I’m looking forward to getting there. World Wide Technology Raceway is a fun track. I’ve been there a few times in Trucks. It’s always a great crowd, so that’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s kind of a, I always think of it as a big Martinsville, but it does race a little different from that. Turns one and two are pretty tight and turns three and four are pretty big sweeping corners. I know they’ve paved it since the last time I was there, so that will be quite a bit different. It will be fun to get there with the new car, new venue. I always enjoy switching it up in the Cup Series and going to new tracks with these cars. Obviously, I think World Wide Technology Raceway is going to be a good one for us. It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be a tough weekend. I know it’ll be warm there. I’m excited to get there and see what these cars do there.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 SUNNYD CAMARO ZL1
“It will be interesting this weekend because you can downshift so easy. Shifting wise, there are two different corners like Phoenix Raceway. We’ve been working hard and hope we have improved our short track program. We’ll continue learning and working on it throughout the race weekend. We want to keep our good runs going and have a solid performance for SunnyD and Kroger in our Camaro on Sunday.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
BOWMAN ON HIS CONSISTENCY THIS SEASON:
“I am happy that we have been able to finish in the top-10 as much as we have, but I think we are capable of more. Our goal was to be more consistent this year and we are achieving that – now we need to stay consistent and move our aim to higher finishes. We have been close to the front at the end of races and have been able to make a few passes when it counts. Just need to find a way to be in the front of the pack and contend for more wins. I am proud of the effort every week from our guys, and we will continue to work hard and try to knock off a few more wins this year.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1
IVES ON HOW HE IS PREPARING FOR THE RACE AT THE ILLINOIS-BASED TRACK:
“Our short track package is pretty good – we have run well at Richmond (Raceway) and Martinsville (Speedway). We will lean on our notes from those tracks and what I have learned from conversations with Rudy (Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1). He has run there in the (NASCAR Camping World) Truck Series and though they aren’t Cup cars, it helps us with how the track will progress through the race and what to expect the racing to look like as the day goes on.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1
CAN YOU TAKE MOMENTUM FROM SUNDAY NIGHT TO ST. LOUIS?
“I know we can. Trackhouse Racing is building rocket ships for Ross and I. We didn’t get the finishes we wanted in Charlotte, but we are learning and I believe they will come soon. This weekend is a different type of track, but I am very confident we’ll have good cars there.”
GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RST
“I am heading into this weekend’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway with a lot of confidence. Charles and all of GMS Racing team have been putting in so much effort, and I feel like it’s starting to pay off. Gateway is a track that falls right in my wheelhouse, and knowing the team’s successful history here, I am ready to capitalize on a great race. We have been showing some signs of great improvement over the past few weeks, and I feel that we should be able to contend for the win this weekend.”
JACK WOOD, NO. 24 TWO FRIENDS GOLF SILVERADO RST
“I’m really looking forward to going back to Gateway, I earned my first top-10 finish there last year, so there’s definitely some high hopes to go back there and have a solid run. It’s going to be nice to go back to somewhat a short track, which is similar to what I grew up racing on. We are still waiting to find that race to turn our season around, but there is a lot of confidence in this No. 24 team, so we are going to put our heads down and give it all we’ve got with our Two Friends Golf Chevy.”
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