Published on September 5, 2025 6:39 am
Last Updated on September 5, 2025 6:42 am
MADISON, Ill. –World Wide Technology Raceway will play host to its first-ever NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race with Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 serving as the second race in the opening Round of 16.
The Cup Series is coming off Sunday’s playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, which was won by Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing. Up next is the Enjoy Illinois 300 (2 p.m. CT, TV: USA Network, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM) and then the first round closes out Saturday, Sept. 13, at Bristol Motor Speedway with four of the 16 playoff drivers being eliminated.
The Cup Series action at WWT Raceway begins Saturday with a 50-minute, split-group practice at 3:30 p.m. and immediately followed by one-lap pole qualifying at 4:40 p.m.
Here are “Five Things To Watch” at the Enjoy Illinois 300:
1) Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe, who opened the playoffs as the eighth seed, is the first driver to advance to the Round of 12 by virtue of Sunday’s victory at Darlington Raceway. He won the Cook Out Southern 500 for the second year in a row in dominant fashion, leading nine times for 309 of the 367 laps. He can breathe more easily now, especially coming to WWT Raceway where he had not finished better than 17thin three starts while with Stewart-Haas Racing. His WWT Raceway highlight is winning the pole for the inaugural 2022 race.
2) Three-time and defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano is currently below the cut line in 13th, but a visit to WWT Raceway could provide the Team Penske driver’s playoff chances with a major boost. Logano is the only driver to record top-five finishes in all three races at the 1.25-mile oval. He won the inaugural race in 2022 and then followed with a third in ’23 and fifth last season. Logano is not the only Team Penske driver who should benefit from a visit to WWT Raceway as all three playoff contenders are strong there. Austin Cindric is the defending Enjoy Illinois 300 winner and ranks second to Logano (3.0) for best average finishing position at 8.3. Ryan Blaney, who was leading last year’s race until running out of fuel on the final lap and tumbling to 24th, is fifth on that list at 11.3. Blaney owns a pair of top-six finishes, including a best of fourth in ’22, and ranks second among all drivers for laps led with 115. Both have been outstanding qualifiers with Blaney ranking first (3.0) and Cindric second (8.3). Blaney has started among the top five in all three races, including a best of second in 2023, while Cindric has started second on two occasions (2022, ’24).
3) Conversely, this has not been a track that has bred much success for the Hendrick Motorsports organization. In 11 combined starts from playoff contenders Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman, they have managed just three top-10 finishes. Larson has been the most successful of the foursome with two of the top-10 efforts, paced by a fourth in 2023. Byron had the other with an eighth in that same race. They also are the only two Hendrick drivers to lead laps at WWT Raceway as Byron has 30 and Larson 12. The best finish is 13th for both Elliott (2024) and Bowman (‘22). Elliott has made just two starts at WWT Raceway after missing the 2023 event due to a one-race suspension.
4) The 23XI Racing duo of Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace were among the biggest movers following Sunday’s race at Darlington. Reddick opened the playoffs as the No. 14 seed, but vaulted a playoff-best 10 positions to No. 4 following his runner-up finish. Reddick, still chasing his first win of the season, is three points behind third-place Larson and eight shy of second-place Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing. Wallace improved four positions from his opening No. 9 seeding to No. 5 after a sixth-place finish at Darlington. He is 10 points behind Reddick.
5) If someone is going to crash the playoff party this weekend, keep an eye on Kyle Busch of Richard Childress Racing. Busch, coming off an eighth-place finish at Darlington, has enjoyed plenty of success at WWT Raceway. He finished runner-up in the inaugural 2022 race with Joe Gibbs Racing and then followed with a win from the pole in 2023 for RCR. Last season, he started 10th and led 15 laps before a crash midway through the race led to a 35th-place finish. Busch has led in all three races and his 202 laps led is tops among all drivers. The next closest is Blaney at a distant 115 laps led. The victory at WWT Raceway was Busch’s last and the two-time series champion and 63-time Cup Series winner is looking to end an 84-race winless streak on Sunday.
Limited tickets remain for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 and are available by visiting www.wwtraceway.com.
Xfinity Series Makes Return To World Wide Technology Raceway
The NASCAR Xfinity Series makes its long-awaited return to World Wide Technology Raceway with the drama of a Playoff berth being on the line for several drivers.
The Xfinity Series, making its first visit to WWT Raceway since 2010, will have Saturday’s Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog (6:30 p.m. CT, TV: The CW Network, Radio: MRN Radio) serve as the series’ regular-season finale that will have the final hand in determining the 12-driver field that will qualify for the playoffs.
Eight drivers – Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith and Nick Sanchez – already have secured berths with a victory this season while Carson Kvapil locked in the ninth with his points standing. That leaves three berths available for drivers to secure with a win in the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog or through points. Drivers already qualified for the Playoffs are still incentivized with the opportunity to gain some valuable playoff points to better position them for a post-season run.
The Xfinity Series opens the weekend’s on-track action with a 50-minute practice session Friday beginning at 4:05 p.m. CT. Qualifying will be held Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.
Here are “Five Things To Watch” at the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog:
1) Not even a broken collarbone can slow down 19-year-old rookie phenom Connor Zilisch. Since having surgery Aug. 12 where he had a plate and more than 10 screws inserted to stabilize and help heal the collarbone following his Victory Lane fall at Watkins Glen, Zilisch has won the ensuing two races from the pole. He started the Aug. 22 race at Daytona, but was forced to exit the JR Motorsports entry during a caution on Lap 13 due to the pain. He was replaced by Parker Kligerman, who went on to win the race but NASCAR rules credit the driver who started the race with the victory. Zilisch showed no ill effects from the injury this past Saturday at Portland International Raceway, where he won the pole and led 70 of the 78 laps en route to the overtime victory. It was his eighth on the season, allowing Zilisch to break the series record for most wins by a rookie (7) that was previously held by Christopher Bell.
2) Heading into Saturday’s Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog, the three drivers currently in points position to make the 12-driver playoff field are Sheldon Creed of the Haas Factory Team, Taylor Gray of Joe Gibbs Racing and Harrison Burton of AM Racing. Currently 13th and looking in from the outside is Jeb Burton of Jordan Anderson Racing. Creed is 10th and 65 points ahead of Burton while Gray is up 60 and his cousin Harrison by 31. Should an eligible driver who has not currently qualified for the playoffs win the race, it would bump one of the three depending on where they sit in points following the regular-season finale. All four have made at least one NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at WWT Raceway. Creed has had the most success with victories in 2020 and ’21. Gray has raced at WWT Raceway the last four seasons with a best finish of 12th in 2021. Harrison Burton made a start in 2019 and finished 16th while Jeb made a visit in 2014 and finished 18th.
3) The talented 2025 Xfinity Series rookie class already has three of the eight with a secured playoff berth. Joining Zilisch is Carson Kvapil of JR Motorsports and Nick Sanchez of Big Machine Racing. A fourth – Gray – is in the mix to possibly grab a berth via points if he doesn’t win at WWT Raceway. Kvapil’s sixth-place finish this past Saturday at Portland locked him into a playoff berth via points. His season has been highlighted by five top-five finishes, including runner-up finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. Sanchez has six top-five performances on the season, led by his first career series win at Atlanta in late June. The rookie class flexed their collective muscle at Portland by taking the top four finishing positions and five of the first six.
4) It has been 15 years since the Xfinity Series has competed at WWT Raceway, but there are actually two full-time drivers in the field who previously raced at the 1.25-mile oval. Justin Allgaier, the 39-year-old defending series champion with JR Motorsports, has made three career starts, with his most recent one in 2010 being his best performance. He won the pole and went on to finish third. Jeremy Clements, the 40-year-old veteran with Jeremy Clements Racing, also has made three starts and his best finish also came in 2010 when he was 10th.
5) The list of former Xfinity Series winners at WWT Raceway reads like a “Who’s Who” of Cup Series stars. WWT Raceway hosted 15 races from 1997-2010 and the previous winners included NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998, ’99 winner), 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Carl Edwards (2006, ’08, ’10), 2015 and ’19 Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (2009), 2014 Cup Series champ Kevin Harvick (2000, ‘01) and 2012 Cup Series champ Brad Keselowski (2010). And add in Greg Biffle (2002) for good measure, a 19-time Cup Series race winner who also was the 2002 Xfinity Series champion and 2000 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champ.