NASCAR is getting ready to make history. On Sunday, the World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, will host the Enjoy Illinois 300, making it the first time the race track has ever held a Cup Series race. The Enjoy Illinois 300 will start at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on FS1.
With this being the 15th race of the season, drivers know there is no room for error in order to make a push to the playoffs. Despite Chase Elliott being first in the Cup Series standings, no driver has been dominant this season as there have been only three drivers to win at least two races. And with this being the first time NASCAR has held a Cup Series race at the World Wide Technology Raceway, there is no telling what will happen on Sunday.
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“I feel like it’s going to be pretty hard to pass,” Martin Truex Jr. said this week. “I expect to be shifting at both ends of the track every lap, so we’re going to have our hands full. Qualifying and executing on pit road are going to be very important to keep track position throughout the race, so we’re going to have to be on our game all weekend.”
Denny Hamlin would not qualify for the playoffs if it started today. However, the 41-year-old seems to be getting things going as he had two top-five finishes the last two weeks, including a win at the Coca-Cola 600 last weekend. Of Hamlin’s three top 10 finishes this season, two are wins, making him the first driver since Derrike Cope in 1990 to have multiple wins with only three top 10s through 14 races in a season.
“I just need some kind of break to fall our way when it counts,” Hamlin told Racer.com earlier this year. “You know, anytime you have one racer take all, you have to have some elements that are out of your control and go your way, and I just haven’t had that moment happen yet. Absolutely we can win. We’ve been in the final four now in the last three years, so yes, every year is a new opportunity.”
