After racing 600 miles at Charlotte, drivers will need to re-energize for the next race on the Cup schedule, which is June 4 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Memorial Day Weekend always feels long, but especially so this time around as rain postponed the Coca-Cola 600 to Monday. More showers in the area kept interrupting the action on the track, but in the end it was worth the wait for Ryan Blaney and Team Penske. Blaney ended his 59-race winless streak and vaulted himself to fourth in the playoff standings heading into the second half of the regular season.
The next stop on the calendar comes next weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway in St Louis, also known to many as Gateway. This will be just the second ever Cup race on the 1.250-mile egg-shaped oval. Joey Logano won the first race there last year, and will hope for a repeat as his No. 22 team has been out of their groove over the last few weeks.
Blaney enters the weekend with all of the momentum, and he ran well at Gateway last year, finishing 4th. It was a Penske party as all three drivers finished inside the top 11, which includes the race win. It has been quite the month for The Captain, who swept the weekend with Josef Newgarden winning the Indianapolis 500 and Blaney winning the 600 at Charlotte. This is the first time his organization has won both in the same year.
The two-day event begins with Saturday morning practice, followed immediately by qualifying for the Enjoy Illinois 300. There will be several storylines to monitor before that, as NASCAR officials are going to investigate the incident between Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott, where the Hendrick Motorsports driver retaliated in a dangerous way, sending Hamlin head-first into the outside wall at Charlotte.
Race weekend schedule (Eastern Standard Time)
Saturday June 3
10:00 am – Practice
10:45 am – Qualifying
Sunday June 4
3:30 pm – Race
Keyword: NASCAR: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway: Full Weekend Race Schedule