{"id":54355,"date":"2025-09-06T16:45:28","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T21:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=54355"},"modified":"2025-09-07T10:53:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T15:53:53","slug":"nascar-saturday-world-wide-technology-raceway-notebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/06\/nascar-saturday-world-wide-technology-raceway-notebook\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Saturday World Wide Technology Raceway Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

Chase Briscoe enjoys flexibility entering second Playoff race<\/b><\/p>\n

MADISON, Ill. \u2014 Needless to say, Chase Briscoe is in a unique and enviable position entering Sunday\u2019s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 30, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

As the only driver locked in for the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Briscoe has more options than any other postseason competitor when it comes to last two races in the Round of 16 at Gateway and Bristol Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and crew chief James Small have considerable flexibility when it comes to strategy. If they so choose, they also can look ahead to the first race in the Round of 12 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and concentrate their efforts on that event.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, the biggest thing (at Darlington), probably was the Playoff points\u2014just that we gained,\u201d Briscoe said Saturday before NASCAR Cup Series practice at the 1.25-mile track. \u201cI think we went from 10 to 17, so basically doubled our Playoff points for the next round.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, this week and next week still, if there is a situation that arises throughout the race, say a caution comes out with five to go before a stage, all of those guys are going to have to stay out and get the points. Where, obviously, if we were leading, we would probably stay out to get the Playoff point.\u201d<\/p>\n

The victory at Darlington, Briscoe\u2019s second straight in the Southern 500, is a game-changer from the driver\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows us to be really aggressive on strategy and do things opposite, so hopefully line us up better to win the race and get five Playoff points, so it definitely changes some stuff for us,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThis week, we didn\u2019t do anything on New Hampshire, but I\u2019m sure next week we will just get a week ahead, and that\u2019s the advantage of winning that first race in the round, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chase Briscoe (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) Interview:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Denny Hamlin seeks to augment his points cushion for Bristol race<\/b><\/p>\n

A seventh-place finish in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway left perennial Playoff driver Denny Hamlin 43 points above the current elimination line for the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series postseason.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, speaks to the media after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 30, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

At World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, Hamlin hopes to increase that total to facilitate a stress-free run in the following week\u2019s elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything 50 or more (points) is a pretty comfortable spot, even if you typically DNF (did not finish),\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cYou have to add in if the people below the cut\u2014are they really legitimate contenders to win a race or not, at Bristol?<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, 50 or more would be fine. Even if it is less than that, it\u2019s fine. We were far less than that last year at Bristol and unfortunately had to run that race a little bit more conservatively because we weren\u2019t in as comfortable of a spot as I was hoping for. So I would like to go to Bristol not having to worry about anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamlin also hopes to be one of a small group of drivers who can race at Bristol without fear of failure. At the opposite end of the spectrum likely will be drivers who must win to advance to the Round of 12.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cEveryone\u2019s situation is different,\u201d Hamlin said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s speed is different. Everyone\u2019s ability to win is different, and so I would say that everyone\u2019s mind-set is probably a little different.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is probably will be a couple of guys below the cut probably praying something bad happens to the guys in front of them, because that is really their only shot. They are not going to gain that many points to the cut line. You maybe will have one that will have to win, so on and so forth.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s situation will be a little different. I can only speak for our team, and that we want to go to Bristol with the opportunity to win. I want to be 100 percent. That is the only mind-set, win and who cares if you finish last, and that is probably a unique place that only two or three guys will have at that track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) Interview:<\/strong><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/HamlinWWTR.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Justin Allgaier committed to defense of second place in standings<\/b><\/p>\n

Entering Saturday night\u2018s NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season finale, reigning champion Justin Allgaier said he was more concerned about protecting second place in the standings, rather than trying to overtake JR Motorsports teammate Connor Zilisch for the regular-season title.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 BRANDT Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog at WWT Raceway on September 05, 2025 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Allgaier trails Zilisch by 20 points and leads Sam Mayer in third place by 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s definitely Connor\u2019s to lose,\u201d Allgaier said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to wish bad on him as a teammate\u2026 My job is to go out and put us in the best position possible, do everything we can. I\u2019m not going to wish ill intent on anything for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long a JR Motorsports Chevrolet gets the regular-season championship, we\u2019ve won.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the July 19 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Dover Motor Speedway, Allgaier topped the standings by 55 points over his 19-year-old teammate. But Zilisch has won four of the subsequent five races, and Allgaier has encountered a succession of costly issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m mad at ourselves, because we\u2019ve given away so many points this year\u2014just scenarios, parts failures, stupid stuff. Then again, this sport is about doing the right thing and executing when the time comes. We\u2019ve not done a good job of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping Mayer behind him\u2014and avoiding a swing of four Playoff points\u2014was top of mind for Allgaier entering the Nu Way 200 Sauced by Blues Hog.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that damage control with Sam is more important than going after Connor,\u201d Allgaier acknowledged.<\/p>\n

Justin Allgaier (No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) Interview:<\/strong><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/WWTRNXSJustinAllgaier090525.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Chase Briscoe enjoys flexibility entering second Playoff race MADISON, Ill. \u2014 Needless to say, Chase Briscoe is in a unique and enviable position entering Sunday\u2019s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). As the only driver locked in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":54358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,784],"class_list":["post-54355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-world-wide-technology-raceway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-e8H","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2233912475-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54355"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54381,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54355\/revisions\/54381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}