By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Tighter at the top, NASCAR Cup Chase heads to WWT Raceway

In racing circles, the term “compression” most commonly refers to the engines that supply power to race cars.

Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Menards/Atlas Ford, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Dent Wizard Ford, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway on June 05, 2022 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)

As the NASCAR Cup Series prepares for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), “compression” also is an apt descriptor for the Chase standings.

Where top-seeded Denny Hamlin entered last Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 with a 25-point edge over second place Ryan Blaney, now four drivers arrive in Greater St. Louis separated by just 24 points.

Naturally enough, race winner Christopher Bell made the most significant move at Darlington Raceway. With the victory, a stage win and the fastest lap, Bell scored 73 points at the Lady in Black—just three shy of a perfect night—and gained 38 points on Hamlin.

Bell vaulted into second place in the standings, just 12 points behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. Blaney is third in the Chase standings, 16 points off the lead, and Tyler Reddick is fourth, 24 points back.

At Darlington, trouble on pit road and an on-track run-in with Michael McDowell proved costly to Hamlin, who finished 18th and lost 13 points of his postseason lead.

“It was apparent to me, probably around the end of the first stage, that he (Bell) had a car that was coming through the pack and was very, very competitive,” Hamlin said Monday on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast.

“We all knew that ‘CBell’ has clearly had enough speed to win races this year, but their team clearly got it done when it really mattered most at Darlington. Takes him from 50 (points back) to 12. That’s certainly a big chunk, and certainly that team feels like they don’t have necessarily any weaknesses in the Chase.”

Hamlin, however, has plenty of reason to stay positive. He’s the defending winner at World Wide Technology Raceway, and before last year’s victory, he finished second in the previous two races there.

Bell’s brilliance at Gateway has not been as consistent, though he did lead 80 laps and win both stages in 2024 before dropping a cylinder in his engine—the result of a broken valve spring.

On the other hand, consistent excellence has been the hallmark of Joey Logano’s performance at the 1.25-mile track. Winner of the inaugural WWT Raceway event in 2022, Logano is the only driver who has finished in the top five (and top 10) in all four races there.

Logano finished ninth at Darlington and lost seven points to the Chase lead, leaving him eighth in the standings and 72 points in arrears.

From the standpoint of Cup Series manufacturers, Gateway has been a mixed affair. After Logano won the inaugural event in a Ford, Kyle Busch claimed the 63rd and final victory of his career in a Chevrolet in 2023.

A year later, Bell’s engine problems were serendipity for Austin Cindric, Logano’s teammate at Team Penske, who picked up the second of his three career victories. With a 13th-place finish last Sunday at Darlington, Cindric gained one position to 14th in the Chase standings but lost seven points to the leader.

Now trailing by 102 points, Cindric certainly could use a second victory at WWT Raceway.

In a season dominated by Toyota drivers led by Hamlin, Blaney consistently has been the top competitor behind the wheel of a Ford. Chevrolet drivers, on the other hand, have swapped their top position within the brand.

After running fifth at Darlington and finishing second in Stage 2, defending series champion Kyle Larson now holds that distinction. The driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is seventh in the Chase standings, 49 points behind Hamlin.

Larson has finished 12th or better in all four of his WWT Raceway starts, and his top-five result at Darlington has raised his confidence level entering the Gateway race.

“(The fifth-place run) was a good start to our Chase,” said Larson, who led 52 laps at Gateway before finishing 12th last year. “I think it went better than I anticipated based on the last two Darlington races for us, so I was happy with it. It was the first really legitimate shot at a race win we’ve had in a while, based on car speed and execution, so I was extremely encouraged. I thought our team did a really good job.”

“Last year when we were (at WWT Raceway), I thought we had one of, if not the best car in the field. We were really strong in terms of car speed and grip. I’m encouraged to go back there and hopeful that we can have a day similar to last year, give ourselves an opportunity to score a lot of points and contend for a win.”

WWT Raceway presents formidable challenge to top NASCAR O’Reilly drivers

The top two drivers in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings would just as soon forget last year’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Both Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed, however, will have a chance at redemption when the series returns to the 1.25-mile track for Saturday’s Nu Way 225 powered by Bobcat and sauced by Blues Hog (7:30 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

In last year’s race, Creed lost third gear on a Lap 135 restart, stacked up the field in a multicar accident and ultimately finished 30th. Allgaier was nicked with a pit road speeding penalty at the end of the second stage, suffered damage in the Lap 135 crash and finished 28th.

Creed, at least, comes to the banks of the Mississippi River with considerable momentum. In last Saturday’s O’Reilly Series Chase opener at Darlington Raceway, the driver of the No. 00 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet picked up the second win of his career and trimmed Allgaier’s lead in the standings to seven points.

Allgaier, on the other hand, started strong and won the first stage, but contact with the outside wall cost him dearly in the late going, dropping him to 17th at the finish.

In a field that includes no former Gateway winners, both Creed and Allgaier are hopeful for better results. For Allgaier, from Riverton, Illinois, the race is a home game of sorts.

“It’s always special to be able to come back and race this close to home—not only for me, but for everyone at (sponsor) Brandt Professional Agriculture as well,” said Allgaier, who won a pole at WWT Raceway in 2010. “They are going to have a strong presence at the track this weekend, and hopefully we can go out there and put on a great show for them.

(Crew chief) Andrew (Overstreet) and all the guys on this team have been working hard all week long, and we are ready to go.”

Allgaier’s JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil—third in the Chase standings and 19 points back after running 12th from the pole at Darlington—likewise has work to do at Gateway. Kvapil finished 37th in his only start there last year after an engine failure.

“We’ve have been working hard in the sim this week preparing for St. Louis,” Kvapil said. “I know (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) and this entire No. 1 WILDE Cracker team will unload another rocket ship at the track this weekend.

“We just need to go out and execute like we know we can, and if we do, we will continue to chip away at the points deficit.”

The Chase driver who had the best result in last year’s race is Brandon Jones, who finished fourth. Jones is eighth in the standings after Darlington, 58 points behind Allgaier.

Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love, the defending series champion, finished fifth last year. Love is sixth in the standings after the Chase opener, trailing Allgaier by 48 points.

And by the way, here’s one note of caution for Creed. In the 10-year history of postseason racing in the O’Reilly Series, never has the winner of the postseason opener gone on to win the title.