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

Green Flag In

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Pre-Race Race Day Post-Race

The Hook

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

Your Drivers' Outlook

Historical Context

Denny Hamlin has 4 starts at World Wide Technology Raceway with 1 win and a 9.8 average finish.
Chase Briscoe has 4 starts at World Wide Technology Raceway with a 19.3 average finish.
Ryan Blaney has 4 starts at World Wide Technology Raceway with a 9.5 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 today?

The Enjoy Illinois 300 green flag is set for 3:00 PM ET on Sunday, September 13, 2026, airing on USA. All NASCAR start times are listed in Eastern Time.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

#	Driver	Badge	Elo Rating	Starts	Wins	Last Finish
1	Kyle Larson		1656	4	0	P12(2025)
2	Ryan Blaney		1646	4	0	P4(2025)
3	Denny Hamlin	Prev Winner	1642	4	1	P1(2025)
4	Joey Logano	Prev Winner	1605	4	1	P5(2025)
5	Christopher Bell		1595	4	0	P7(2025)
6	Chase Elliott		1582	3	0	P3(2025)
7	William Byron		1560	4	0	P11(2025)
8	Ty Gibbs		1557	3	0	P10(2025)
9	Chase Briscoe		1556	4	0	P2(2025)
10	Brad Keselowski		1535	4	0	P17(2025)

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: Sun, Aug 16, 2026, 07:09 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	Chase Briscoe	Favorite	7.8	17.8%	58.4%	76.5%
3	Ryan Blaney	Favorite	8.2	16.3%	55.9%	74.6%
4	Chris Buescher	Favorite	9.2	15.4%	54.1%	72.9%
5	Christopher Bell	Favorite	9.2	12.8%	49.3%	69.3%
6	Chase Elliott	Favorite	10.1	11.0%	46.4%	67.2%
7	Ty Gibbs	Contender	10.7	9.9%	43.9%	65.4%
8	William Byron	Contender	10.7	8.7%	41.6%	63.4%
9	Tyler Reddick	Contender	11.2	7.7%	38.1%	60.3%
10	Joey Logano	Contender	11.9	6.7%	35.8%	58.9%
11	Daniel Suarez	Contender	12.7	5.5%	33.7%	57.5%
12	Bubba Wallace	Contender	12.7	5.2%	31.7%	56.0%
13	Kyle Larson	Contender	13.1	4.5%	28.6%	53.7%
14	Carson Hocevar	Contender	13.2	3.9%	26.3%	50.8%
15	Ryan Preece	Mid-Pack	13.3	3.6%	24.9%	50.1%
16	Ross Chastain	Mid-Pack	14.5	3.1%	21.7%	47.6%
17	Erik Jones	Mid-Pack	14.7	2.8%	19.3%	44.4%
18	Austin Cindric	Mid-Pack	15.4	2.2%	16.4%	40.4%
19	Brad Keselowski	Mid-Pack	15.4	2.2%	16.4%	40.4%
20	Alex Bowman	Mid-Pack	16.2	1.7%	13.6%	36.6%
21	Michael McDowell	Mid-Pack	16.9	1.3%	12.4%	34.0%
22	A.J. Allmendinger	Mid-Pack	17.1	0.9%	10.1%	30.1%
23	Shane van Gisbergen	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.7%	8.9%	27.7%
24	John Hunter Nemechek	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.7%	8.1%	25.7%
25	Zane Smith	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.5%	7.3%	24.6%
26	Todd Gilliland	Mid-Pack	19.1	0.5%	6.6%	22.7%
27	Casey Mears	Dark Horse	19.1	0.5%	6.1%	21.9%
28	Austin Dillon	Dark Horse	19.9	0.4%	5.5%	20.9%
29	Riley Herbst	Dark Horse	19.9	0.3%	5.0%	19.7%
30	Kevin Magnussen	Dark Horse	19.9	0.3%	4.7%	18.4%
31	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Dark Horse	19.9	0.3%	4.6%	18.6%
32	Jimmie Johnson	Dark Horse	19.9	0.3%	4.1%	16.9%
33	Noah Gragson	Dark Horse	22.9	0.1%	2.0%	11.0%
34	Josh Berry	Dark Horse	21.4	0.1%	2.4%	13.1%
35	Cole Custer	Dark Horse	22.0	0.1%	2.0%	11.7%
36	Ty Dillon	Dark Horse	22.9	0.1%	1.9%	10.4%
37	Katherine Legge	Dark Horse	22.2	0.1%	2.1%	12.0%
38	B.J. McLeod	Dark Horse	24.7	0.1%	1.3%	7.8%
39	Connor Zilisch	Dark Horse	26.1	0.0%	0.5%	5.3%
40	Cody Ware	Dark Horse	57.0	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

Anduril 250: Model picked Chase Elliott at P1 → Actual P12

(1/5 top-5 hits)

37% top-5 hit rate across 13 races

History at World Wide Technology Raceway

Cup Series data from 1949-2026 (4 races)

Recent Results

Year	Race	Winner	Margin	Team	Laps Led
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

2025 Hamlin 2024 Cindric 2023 Busch 2022 Logano

Laps Led Leaders

Driver	Total Laps Led
Kyle Busch	202
Ryan Blaney	120
Christopher Bell	80
Austin Cindric	79
Denny Hamlin	75

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.