With nine races left in the title run, the NASCAR Cup Series makes its fifth stop at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday afternoon in Madison, Ill.
Three of the previous four winners at the track could use another checkered flag in their quest for a title in the 300-mile race.
Defending champ Denny Hamlin (polesitter) and 2024 winner Austin Cindric (second) both started on Row 1 when they won, while the late Kyle Busch was the top qualifier before his 2023 victory — his 63rd and final win. Joey Logano, currently eighth in points, started seventh and won the 2022 inaugural event.
So qualifying well has proven to be crucial at the 1.25-mile Gateway Motorsports Park track across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, which at 240 laps and roughly three hours makes for a race that could be run quickly, increasing the importance of a strong showing in Saturday’s qualifying.
Times are getting testy in the 2026 season and will only ramp up from here to Homestead.
The tension at Darlington Raceway between Michiganders Brad Keselowski and Carson Hocevar — NASCAR’s bad boy du jour — is a storyline worth watching.
Thus far, Hocevar is a little more early-era Ernie Irvan, circa 1990, than Dale Earnhardt, displaying much more style than substance.
The 23-year-old Hocevar, who won at Talladega and gridded as the top Chevrolet driver in the standings (fifth) after the Brickyard 400, arrived at the Southern 500 with August frustrations trailing him.
In four races last month at Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire and Daytona, the No. 77 Spire Motorsports racer accumulated just 35 points thanks to last-place efforts at Virginia’s capital and the World Center of Racing.
His 11th-place run at Darlington kept him where he started in The Chase — in 12th, the only driver from positions 8 to 16 who did not move down or up at all.
Well, Hocevar did move up once.
With Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford near the track’s wall in Stage 1 of the crown jewel race, Hocevar drifted up and ruined the RFK Racing racer’s day.
It was just another tally in Hocevar’s season of slip-ups, leaving analyst Jeff Burton to lash out against the talented but often reckless hotshoe who has made enemies at a much faster pace than he has at collecting trophies.
Keselowski was even harsher.
“He ran into me,” the 2012 champion said after Christopher Bell had finally won after seven runner-up finishes. “There will be (some history made). His day is coming, and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson.”
Said Hocevar, nonchalantly: “I don’t know what happened. He spun.”
Earning a championship from as far back as Hocevar is trailing is nearly impossible in The Chase format because too many moments would have to go right for him.
The fourth-year Cup driver would have to craft a memorable string of victories and constantly run in the top five while also rely on the 11 drivers in front of him to have problems almost every start — all across just nine races.
Creating the wild card of potential payback from a fellow competitor who feels he has an axe to grind with the No. 77 car is also an unlikely winning championship strategy.
