Cup Series Preview Sunday, September 13, 2026

Enjoy Illinois 300

World Wide Technology Raceway

Laps 240 Distance 300 mi Type short Coverage USA · 3:00 PM ET Stages 45 / 140 / 240

1.25

asphalt

Surface

Race Complete

Sunday, September 13, 2026

3:00 PM ET

Pre-Race Race Day Post-Race

The Hook

Your watchlist, historical context, and race-week curiosities.

Your Drivers' Outlook

Historical Context

Denny Hamlin has 5 starts at World Wide Technology Raceway with 1 win and a 9.6 average finish.
Ryan Blaney has 5 starts at World Wide Technology Raceway with a 14.6 average finish.
Christopher Bell has 5 starts at World Wide Technology Raceway with a 10.6 average finish.

Based on Cup Series results at World Wide Technology Raceway from 1949-2026.

The Story

The narrative arc, drivers to watch, and race-weekend color.

The Data

Schedule, predictions, entry list, track history, fantasy, and betting angles.

TV & Start Time

What channel is the Enjoy Illinois 300 on?

The Enjoy Illinois 300 airs on USA on Sunday, September 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET, broadcast from World Wide Technology Raceway. The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule splits between FOX, FS1, TNT, NBC, USA, and Amazon Prime Video.

What time does the NASCAR Cup race start this race weekend?

The Enjoy Illinois 300 ran on Sunday, September 13, 2026 with a 3:00 PM ET green flag on USA.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

#	Driver	Badge	Elo Rating	Starts	Wins	Last Finish
1	Kyle Larson	Prev Winner	1672	5	1	P1 (2026)
2	Denny Hamlin	Prev Winner	1650	5	1	P9 (2026)
3	Ryan Blaney		1633	5	0	P35 (2026)
4	Joey Logano	Prev Winner	1616	5	1	P3 (2026)
5	Christopher Bell		1615	5	0	P19 (2026)
6	Ty Gibbs		1577	4	0	P18 (2026)
7	Chase Elliott		1560	4	0	P31 (2026)
8	William Byron		1550	5	0	P4 (2026)
9	Ryan Preece		1541	4	0	P17 (2026)
10	Brad Keselowski		1541	5	0	P12 (2026)

NR-Rating: Elo-based rating from the NR-Rating prediction model. Higher = stronger at this track type. = Previous winner at this track

NR-Rating Predictions

Last updated: Mon, Sep 28, 2026, 07:16 AM ET

#	Driver	Tier	Exp. Finish	Win %	Top 5 %	Top 10 %
1	Denny Hamlin Best in Field	Favorite	6.2	18.2%	58.6%	76.5%
2	Ryan Blaney	Favorite	7.8	17.8%	58.4%	76.5%
3	Christopher Bell	Favorite	8.2	16.3%	55.9%	74.6%
4	Chase Briscoe	Favorite	9.2	15.5%	54.2%	73.0%
5	Ty Gibbs	Favorite	9.2	12.8%	49.3%	69.3%
6	Tyler Reddick	Favorite	10.1	11.1%	46.6%	67.3%
7	Chase Elliott	Contender	10.7	9.9%	43.8%	65.4%
8	Chris Buescher	Contender	10.7	8.8%	41.5%	63.4%
9	Joey Logano	Contender	11.2	7.8%	38.7%	61.0%
10	Bubba Wallace	Contender	11.9	6.8%	36.2%	59.2%
11	Kyle Larson	Contender	11.9	5.5%	33.7%	57.5%
12	Daniel Suarez	Contender	12.7	5.1%	31.7%	55.8%
13	Ryan Preece	Contender	13.1	4.7%	28.7%	53.8%
14	William Byron	Contender	13.2	4.0%	26.9%	51.9%
15	Carson Hocevar	Mid-Pack	13.3	3.6%	25.0%	50.1%
16	Austin Cindric	Mid-Pack	14.5	3.1%	21.5%	47.1%
17	Alex Bowman	Mid-Pack	14.5	2.8%	19.4%	44.5%
18	Brad Keselowski	Mid-Pack	15.4	2.4%	17.5%	41.8%
19	Ross Chastain	Mid-Pack	15.4	2.0%	15.4%	39.0%
20	Michael McDowell	Mid-Pack	16.2	1.8%	13.6%	36.4%
21	Erik Jones	Mid-Pack	16.7	1.6%	13.3%	35.8%
22	Todd Gilliland	Mid-Pack	17.1	0.9%	10.4%	30.4%
23	A.J. Allmendinger	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.8%	9.6%	28.6%
24	Shane van Gisbergen	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.7%	8.4%	27.0%
25	John Hunter Nemechek	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.5%	7.3%	24.6%
26	Zane Smith	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.5%	7.3%	24.6%
27	Casey Mears	Dark Horse	19.1	0.5%	6.5%	22.5%
28	Austin Dillon	Dark Horse	19.1	0.4%	5.8%	21.1%
29	Josh Berry	Dark Horse	19.9	0.4%	5.3%	20.2%
30	Jimmie Johnson	Dark Horse	19.9	0.4%	4.9%	19.4%
31	Kevin Magnussen	Dark Horse	19.9	0.3%	4.7%	18.5%
32	Riley Herbst	Dark Horse	20.9	0.2%	3.6%	15.6%
33	Noah Gragson	Dark Horse	22.9	0.2%	2.0%	10.9%
34	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Dark Horse	21.0	0.1%	2.7%	14.2%
35	Cole Custer	Dark Horse	22.9	0.1%	2.1%	11.6%
36	Katherine Legge	Dark Horse	22.2	0.1%	2.1%	12.0%
37	Ty Dillon	Dark Horse	23.4	0.1%	1.7%	9.6%
38	B.J. McLeod	Dark Horse	23.9	0.1%	1.3%	7.8%
39	Connor Zilisch	Dark Horse	28.9	0.0%	0.1%	1.7%
40	Cody Ware	Dark Horse	58.0	0.0%	0.1%	1.3%

Win probabilities reflect full-field Monte Carlo simulations. A 10% pWin means roughly 1-in-10 chance of winning, higher than most bettors realize for a 36-car field where the average driver has ~2.8% odds. Top 5 and Top 10 percentages similarly reflect simulated outcomes, not historical averages. Learn how the model works.

Predictions powered by NR-Rating model (MAE: 8.5 positions)

Prediction Scorecard

Enjoy Illinois 300: Model picked Denny Hamlin at P1 → Actual P9

(0/5 top-5 hits)

35% top-5 hit rate across 8 races

History at World Wide Technology Raceway

Cup Series data from 1949-2026 (5 races)

Recent Results

Year	Race	Winner	Margin	Team	Laps Led
2026	Enjoy Illinois 300	Kyle Larson	+.333	Hendrick Motorsports	80
2025	Enjoy Illinois 300	Denny Hamlin	—	Joe Gibbs Racing	75
2024	Enjoy Illinois 300	Austin Cindric	—	Team Penske	53
2023	Enjoy Illinois 300	Kyle Busch	—	Richard Childress Racing	121
2022	Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter	Joey Logano	—	Team Penske	22

All Results at This Track

2026 Larson 2025 Hamlin 2024 Cindric 2023 Busch 2022 Logano

Laps Led Leaders

Driver	Total Laps Led
Kyle Busch	202
Kyle Larson	144
Joey Logano	121
Ryan Blaney	120
Brad Keselowski	85

Track Type Tendencies

short

World Wide Technology Raceway is a short track where driver skill and aggression take center stage. Passing requires contact, tempers run hot, and strategy around restarts and pit timing can make or break a race.

Short tracks historically produce the most lead changes and the closest finishes.