September 13, 2025

There aren't many race tracks where Ty Gibbs is considered a contender for the race win, but Bristol is one of those places. In the Next Gen era, Gibbs has the fourth-most laps led (239) among active drivers, and he posted a career-best third-place result here in the spring race earlier this season. In three of the last four Bristol races, Gibbs has finished ninth or better, with the exception being his 15th-place run last fall. As far as this weekend goes, the No. 54 Toyota will roll off the starting grid from fourth-place on Saturday night, and the car looked solid in practice. When it came to 30-lap average, Gibbs was seventh-fastest in the session, right in line with his Toyota teammates. At $8,700 on DraftKings this weekend, Ty Gibbs definitely isn't his usual cheaper-side DFS option, but he's still a viable fantasy play in this weekend's race. --Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace

September 13, 2025

In a pretty surprising upset, AJ Allmendinger was the fastest car in qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday evening, and now the Kaulig Racing driver will lead the Cup Series field to the green for this weekend's Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Allmendinger posted a lap of 15.117 seconds, narrowly beating out Ryan Blaney's 15.120-second lap. This is AJ's first-ever pole at Bristol Motor Speedway and just the second time he will start from a top-five position. Earlier this spring, Allmendinger finished ninth here in Thunder Valley after qualifying eighth, and another top-10 finish could definitely be in the cards for this weekend's pole sitter. As far as DFS goes, Allmendinger is a cheap play ($6,600 on DraftKings), but he's probably going to drop back from his starting spot and may not lead much. If you do roll the dice with Dinger on Saturday night, don't go too heavy with your daily fantasy lines.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Jayski

September 8, 2025

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin won Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway and led the most laps in the process, showcasing a powerful run. Hamlin started the race in first after winning the pole during qualifying on Saturday and held the lead for the first eight laps until he was passed by Kyle Larson. Hamlin regained the lead on lap 33 after the race's first pit stop, but quickly lost it in one lap to Chase Briscoe. Hamlin finished the first stage in third behind Briscoe and Larson, collecting eight stage points. In the second stage, Hamlin went to pit road and ended up in the middle of the pack to start. Hamlin later returned to the top five midway through the stage, but eventually pitted again after a lap 134 caution that sent him to the back half of the top 10. Hamlin finished the second stage in seventh, adding four more stage points to his total. In the final stage, Hamlin went back to the lead and led for a while until his green flag pit stop on lap 196, which put him a lap down until he regained it back midway through green flag pit stops. After a caution came out, Hamlin stayed out and restarted second on lap 216 behind Brad Keselowski. Hamlin quickly took the lead from Keselowski and never looked back, winning at WWTR for the first time in his Cup career over teammate Briscoe. Hamlin's win locked him into the Round of 12 and made him one of two drivers continuing through the playoffs past Bristol.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 8, 2025

Kyle Larson had one of the fastest cars in Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300, but suffered a few setbacks that prevented him from winning at World Wide Technology Raceway. Larson began the race from second place, then, in just a few laps, took the lead from Denny Hamlin until the race's first caution. Larson went to pit road and then worked his way through the field throughout the rest of the stage, but fell short of winning it as he could not get past Chase Briscoe for the stage victory. Larson still scored many stage points from finishing second at the end of stage one. In stage two, Larson inherited the lead until midway through the stage, when he went to pit road for the first time. Larson spent most of the stage recovering back to the front until lap 134, when he clipped Ryan Blaney in the corner of his car, sending him spinning. Larson stayed on track and went on to finish the second stage in fourth, earning more stage points. In the final stage, Larson competed for the lead against Bubba Wallace and Joey Logano, mainly running as high as second until Wallace had trouble with his gearshift during one restart, causing Larson to get some damage from getting into Wallace and other cars behind him. This led to an issue on Larson's diffuser, causing him to lose positions as his team fixed the issue. As a result, Larson spent the rest of the stage trying to get back to the top 10, but fell short of that goal as he finished 12th. Despite missing the top 10, Larson sits at 60 points ahead of the playoff cut line entering the final race of the Round of 16 at Bristol. It is all but certain that Larson will advance to the next round of the playoffs unless he has a catastrophically terrible race.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 8, 2025

Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing ran consistently in the top 10 throughout the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Bell's race began from the eighth position, but early on, he climbed up to fifth before he went to pit road during the race's first caution on lap 27. Bell restarted outside of the top 10, but made it back up to seventh at the end of the first stage and scored four stage points. In the second stage, Bell showcased plenty of speed as he went both forward on the track, passing many cars, and back due to the multiple pit stops he made during the stage. At the end of stage two, Bell would end up fifth and pick up several more stage points. In the final stage, Bell ran inside the top five once again until two late race pit stops would set him back once again before the race's final restart. The No. 20 Toyota driver took advantage of his car's speed and raced his way up to seventh, where he eventually finished. This marked Bell's third top-10 finish at the site, and he now sits 32 points above the playoff cut line heading into the final race of the Round of 16.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 8, 2025

Team Penske's Joey Logano finished fifth in Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Logano started 13th during Sunday's race and struggled to advance through the pack in the first stage. The No. 22 Ford driver finished 15th at the end of stage one and failed to earn any stage points. He stayed out of pit road during the middle of stage two and finally gained some track position as a result, restarting up as high as the second position alongside Bubba Wallace. Logano maintained a top-5 running position through the rest of the stage and eventually finished it in third, collecting more stage points. In the final stage, Logano ran second for most of the first half of the stage until he eventually pitted during the green flag, which set him back a few positions. By the race's final restart, Logno tried to make it to the end on fuel and successfully made it to the finish, placing fifth at the end and maintaining his perfect streak of top-5 finishes at WWTR. Heading into the last race of the Round of 16 in the playoffs at Bristol, Logano now sits 21 points ahead of the cutoff line, meaning he has to have a relatively decent day this next weekend to avoid being eliminated from the playoffs.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 8, 2025

Ryan Blaney went through some struggles, but recovered well during Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway to finish in the fourth position. Blaney started the race from the fifth position and ran in the top five throughout the first stage. He also stayed off of pit road and went on to finish the stage in fifth, earning six stage points. During the second stage, Blaney went to pit road and wound up deep in the field, leading him to spend the rest of the stage trying to recover up to the front. Blaney did eventually reach the top five once again, but lost his position after being spun by Kyle Larson on lap 134. Blaney finished stage two in 18th, making him unable to earn further stage points. Blaney then once again drove from the back of the pack to the front in the final stage, making it back to the top five once again and even briefly inheriting the lead during a green flag pit stop sequence. Although he ran as high as second in the closing laps, he could not hold off Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott and finished the race in fourth position. Blaney is now 42 points ahead of the playoff cut line heading into the last race of the Round of 16 at Bristol, giving him a solid chance of advancing to the Round of 12.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 8, 2025

Chase Elliott typically didn't run very well at Gateway but stumbled into a third-place finish, making him the only Chevrolet driver to finish in the top 10, even though his teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson had outrun him all race. Elliott only ran in the top 10 for a single lap of Stage 1, but he made it count as he passed Shane van Gisbergen for 10th on the last lap of the stage. After spending most of Stage 2 outside the top 10 as well, he finished eighth, but he did run in the top 10 for most of Stage 3 before good strategy in pitting before a late caution came out elevated him to the top five ahead of Bubba Wallace and Larson, who had dominated much of the race. Elliott's best finish since Sonoma placed him 28 points ahead of Austin Dillon for the final spot in the Round of 12, a pretty safe position.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

September 8, 2025

Like all the Toyotas, Bubba Wallace was very fast at Gateway. Although he started only 14th, he finished seventh in Stage 1 and emerged as a threat in Stage 2 when he took the lead after Kyle Larson pitted (after having pitted himself on the previous caution). He led almost the rest of the stage until Brad Keselowski stayed out in an attempt to win Stage 2 before Wallace passed him on the last lap of the stage. However, while leading on a lap 155 restart, his car was stuck in gear, which bunched up the field and helped trigger Shane van Gisbergen's crash. Wallace pitted on that caution and continued to lead the cars on that strategy for quite some time over William Byron and Larson until both passed him. However, all three were effectively forced to pit for tires under caution after other drivers made their final pit stop, which ruined their strategy and resulted in a seventh-place finish for Wallace. With a 50-point advantage on Austin Dillon for the final transfer spot, he's almost guaranteed to advance to the Round of 12.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

September 8, 2025

Tyler Reddick made the best of a bad situation on Sunday at Gateway, where he had two botched pit stops and a loss of third gear but still finished 16th to maintain a strong 37-point lead over his former teammate Austin Dillon for the final transfer spot in the Round of 12, which he may need since he hasn't been very good at Bristol. Reddick started seventh and consistently ran in eighth until he pulled into his boss Denny Hamlin's pit box for a loose wheel, after which he was penalized. On a subsequent pit stop, he left the pits with the gas can attached, so he failed to score any stage points. By the time of his gearing issue, he had fallen to the 30s in Stage 3, but strong strategy and fuel saving might have salvaged his season as he finished far better than it looked like he was going to.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

September 8, 2025

Chase Briscoe had a topsy-turvy day at Gateway, where he started third and finish second but as usual struggled a lot more than his finishing result implies. When leader Kyle Larson pitted on the first caution, that allowed Briscoe's teammate Denny Hamlin to take the lead with Briscoe moving into second. In a replay of last week at Darlington, Briscoe quickly dispensed of Hamlin to win Stage 1, but he never led again. After locking up his wheels, he wrecked Daniel Suárez, which took Suárez out of the race and did some minor damage to Briscoe's car. However, savvy pit strategy allowed Briscoe to return to the front as he jumped the eventual winner Hamlin on his final pit stop after taking two tires before Hamlin eventually passed them before the race's final and they both passed Brad Keselowski who stayed out of the pits. Briscoe falls to second in points behind Hamlin, but that's basically irrelevant since he won last week.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

September 8, 2025

William Byron started sixth, finished 11th, and never led at Gateway on Sunday, but he still ran pretty well. After finishing fourth in Stage 1, he ran as high as second in Stage 2 before a pit stop early in that stage relegated him to 24th. He struggled to move through the field for the remainder of the stage and only finished 14th in Stage 2, but he resurfaced in Stage 3 as he, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson made their intended final pit stop under the caution triggered by Shane van Gisbergen's crash. Although Byron restarted behind Wallace, he and Larson eventually passed Wallace and were about to inherit first and second when all the other leaders pitted. However, when the caution came out again, that trio was effectively forced to pit again for tires, which took them out of the race. Nonetheless, Byron leads Austin Dillon by 39 points and will almost certainly make the Round of 12.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

September 7, 2025

Don't be surprised if the road to victory lane at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday afternoon goes through Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske group. Blaney has led in every single Cup Series race ran at this track and has finished third or better in each of the last five Stages here as well. Long-run speed is always a strength of the No. 12 Ford and it looked strong once again in practice this weekend, as Blaney was third-best when it came to 30-lap average in practice. As far as similar tracks go, Blaney has been elite at Phoenix over the last few years and he had one of the best cars at Iowa this season. Goodyear is using the exact same tire setup at Gateway this weekend that was used to Iowa last month. Blaney will start from fifth-place for this weekend's Enjoy Illinois 300 and is a solid fantasy pick in all formats this weekend. --Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace

September 7, 2025

Denny Hamlin will lead the field to the green for the second straight NASCAR Playoffs weekend, as the No. 11 Toyota was the fastest in qualifying on Saturday evening with a lap of 32.330 seconds (139.190 mph). Hamlin was also on the pole for last weekend's race at Darlington but led just 12 laps before ultimately finishing seventh. Looking at Gateway, this track is one where it is very difficult to pass, so as long as Hamlin gets the lead early, he should be able to stay in front for quite a while. Denny is an elite racer on flat tracks and here specifically he has finished second in each of the last two races. In practice this weekend, the No. 11 Toyota looked solid, ranking eighth-best in 30-lap average. Additionally, Hamlin finished second at Phoenix earlier this season (a very comparable track), so it's set up to be a strong weekend for the No. 11 team. Hamlin is a solid DFS option even at his $10,700 price tag.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Jayski

September 7, 2025

Last season's race at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway) looked to be another Christopher Bell domination at a short, flat track, but the No. 20 Toyota engine had other plans. In that race, Bell won both Stages and led 80 laps, but his engine started to expire near the end and he ended up crossing the finish line in seventh-place. Surprisingly, that is his best career Cup Series finish at this race track. However, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team has been elite at the short, flat tracks over the last two seasons, including at Phoenix, which is the most comparable track to Gateway. This weekend, Bell will start from eighth-place for the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday afternoon, making him a prime DFS pick at $10,500 on DraftKings due to his decent Place Differential upside as well as his dominating potential. --Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace