NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Will Master Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway?
For only the fourth time ever St. Louis is gearing up to welcome the NASCAR Cup Series. Unlike years past though, Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway hosts a coveted Playoff date. The technical 1.25-mile oval will soon become the 19th different track represented in the NASCAR postseason. Here are a few drivers who aim high to leave the Enjoy Illinois 300 one step closer to a championship.
Joey Logano
Gateway’s inaugural winner, Joey Logano got the upper hand on Kyle Busch in overtime here three years ago. Since then, the Penske driver has established himself as the most consistent driver in St. Louis. Logano was likewise third in 2023 and fifth last year. The only man with a perfect 3-3 Gateway top-five record, Logano shared insight into why Penske cars are so great here.
“It just seems like for us right now most of the time our cars are pretty fast at the flat one-mile type racetracks,” Logano said. “Whether that’s Phoenix, Gateway, Loudon, Richmond kind of falls in there, but it’s quite a bit of a different track as well, but it’s similar speed-wise. It seems like we have a pretty good handle on that type of thing and that type of track, so hopefully that’s the case again. Like I said, a lot of things happen in a year, whether it’s manufacturers or teams. The 20 was really strong there at Gateway last year, so I would expect him to be fast again, and some others. It’s been a good one, but with that said, there are a lot of things that can happen at that racetrack. It doesn’t seem like we’ve had a lot of fall off there in the past. I don’t know what this tire will bring – possibly more – but with the lack of tire fall off that’s been there in the past, the strategy, if you get a caution that falls in the middle of a stage, it really jumbles it up like it did last year and it can happen again.”
“Honestly the years I felt like we should have won the championship we didn’t, so I think the key lesson of all that is you’re never out of it. Until you are out, you are not out. Even last year when I thought I was out I was not out. It’s a very interesting 10 weeks that’s gonna come at us and it’s unpredictable. I don’t know how exactly it’s gonna play out. Nobody knows. That’s why the plan is one week at a time because you just don’t know what the next race is gonna bring at you, so you handle what’s ahead of you and you just take it one week at a time. You handle today. Tomorrow will take care of itself. It’s no different than what our parents taught us. It’s the same stuff.”
Entering Playoff race two three points below the Round of 12 cut line, Gateway comes in perfect time for Logano. No track in Cup has been as dependable for team 22 as Gateway, without a bad race yet. It will be intriguing to see if Logano’s incredible Gateway record can stay intact this weekend, and if they can possibly challenge for another win here.
Denny Hamlin
While Logano holds a series-best Gateway record through three seasons, Denny Hamlin is not far behind. The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 was wrecked from sixth-place in Gateway’s inaugural race, and has been second here in the two years since. Nobody’s been closer to multiple Gateway wins and struck out than the 11.
Positioned very nicely 43 points above the cut line, Hamlin hopes to join his teammate Briscoe in the Playoff win column this week. Hamlin recently said he wants his 60th Cup win to come at Martinsville in October. Should that come to fruition, Hamlin would have to also win one of the next seven weeks. Boasting back-to-back Gateway runner-ups, Hamlin should be seen as a strong contender to finish one spot better this weekend.
Kyle Larson
Gateway has rightly or wrong been labelled as Hendrick Motorsports’ worst racetrack. Despite no HMS result here better than fourth, Kyle Larson has carried this team in STL. Driver 5 has that fourth-place run from 2023 and a 10th-place effort last year. Larson also took part in a recent Goodyear tire test at Gateway, where he thinks their short track package may have turned a corner.
“We had a great test at Gateway earlier this year that led us down a different path with our short-track program,” Larson said. “We feel we have learned some things that have made that program a little bit better since then. I think we should be more competitive and at least start the weekend better than we have. If we can be good at Gateway, that will give us some confidence going to Phoenix.”
Like Larson said, Gateway can be a bit of a Phoenix preview with both tracks being flat, short ovals. Tire tests have yielded recent success for some drivers, like Joey Logano’s All-Star Race win two years ago. Coming off a company-wide horrendous night in Darlington, Larson hopes to lead Hendrick into victory lane at Gateway.
Ryan Blaney
No driver has led more laps and failed to find Gateway victory lane than Ryan Blaney. The Penske No. 12 had this race won a year ago, before being one lap short on gas. This miscalculation cost Blaney an assured win, with the 12 coasting to the checkers in 24th. That also ended a perfect Gateway top-10 streak. In short, Blaney’s been lights out here but the effort has yet to fully pay off.
“That racetrack is fantastic, it puts on good shows,” Blaney said. “Hopefully we can continue our success at that place.”
“[The Playoffs] is mentally a tougher time, I feel like. I try not to approach races differently as far as my midweek prep. But I feel like when you’re at the track and going through the race in the Playoffs, what’s really tough about it is mistakes are blown up like crazy. You can’t afford mistakes. There are a lot of ups and downs, it’s how do you handle emotions and try to just simplify everything. At the end of the day, we’re going racing and you’re doing the best job that you can. But you also know what you’re going for and that makes it pretty tough.”
Can the one that got away come back to Blaney in 2025? The 12 has never started outside of the top-five at Gateway, has laps led in all three races, and comes into this weekend as the favorite. Several factors are seemingly pointing to a breakout Blaney win. The 2023 champ is poised for a banner Sunday ahead. Should Blaney take the Gateway checkers, all three Penske drivers will be victorious across four STL races.
Christopher Bell
If not for late engine woes in last year’s race, Christopher Bell may have set sail for Gateway victory lane. Blowing up while battling Ryan Blaney for the lead, Bell backslid to take the checkers in seventh. This still marked the 20’s best finish here, with no result worse than 11th. Sweeping both stages in last June’s Enjoy Illinois 300, Bell eyes retribution this time around at Gateway.
Bell is only 11 points above the cut line, meaning a strong run is needed for the 20. If anyone can possibly end Penske’s Gateway reign of terror, Bell was beating on Blaney’s bumper last year. The 20 should be class of the non-Penske field this weekend, entering Gateway tied with Blaney as a co-favorite.
Austin Cindric
One of 2024’s biggest upset moments, Ryan Blaney running out of fuel on the last lap gave Gateway’s win to Austin Cindric. Coming into this weekend as the most recent winner in STL, a lot is looking up for the 2 crew. After being “glad to be invisible” in Darlington, Cindric should be a strong threat for another Gateway triumph.
“Our team, for whatever reason, has really been strong at that racetrack,” Cindric said. “I do feel like it suits our engine package with the Ford Mustang and Roush Yates. I feel like there’s no reason why we can’t go back and have some strengths, but we have a different tire there this time and obviously it’s a different time of year as well. It’s a fun racetrack for sure. It’s very unique compared to other tracks of that size on the schedule, but Darlington and the Southern 500, having that before that race and then Bristol afterwards. You can look at St. Louis as a race everyone wants to have a base hit at because the other two are so unpredictable. I feel like after Darlington, two or three guys on the Playoff grid are already in dire straits. So it’s kind of about getting there and still having the freedom to go push hard, instead of being in savings mode.”
“It’s a really unique track, just because the straightaways are so long in comparison to the corner radius. You actually have quite a bit of straight line braking into turn one and double downshifts, double upshifts on exit. Two and three are much more of a sweeper. The one surprising thing to me has been how much the track has actually moved around each time we’ve gone there to where you can run the bottom, you can run the top or the middle as the track rubbers up, so the track has taken rubber really well over the last couple years. I’m interested to see with the tire that we’re bringing this year how much that happens, if not more. It’s been a great track for our company. For whatever reason it’s one of those that we don’t have any shining stars on why it’s been so good for our team. Obviously, the Ford has been quick. I think it really does complement our engine package, so we’ll see. It’s a good one to have in the Playoffs for us and a good opportunity.”
“It definitely changes the first round, especially Atlanta last year with a speedway race and that format. Whereas St. Louis I’m sure most probably look at that as their best opportunity for a base hit. It’s not a very normal racetrack, but you could look at it and think, ‘OK, there’s Darlington and Bristol. This is the only one that’s not crazy.’ I think it’s best to not be able to put yourself in a position to where that race has to be incredibly important.”
Aside from last year’s breakthrough win and 53 laps led, Cindric rounds out a Penske perfect Gateway trio. The top points earners in Gateway’s three year Cup history are all from Penske. Cindric finds himself a not-so-distant third in this category. A quiet Darlington netted 12th-place for this team; expect the 2 to be a top-10 if not winning threat on Sunday.
The NASCAR Playoffs have never seen a taste of St. Louis flair, until this weekend. Race two in the postseason has the ability to send one of 15 contenders onto the next cut. For one lucky driver, Worldwide Technology Raceway may be a Gateway onto the Round of 12. The Enjoy Illinois 300 will go green Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Possibly acting as a Phoenix precursor, whoever runs well at Gateway may enter the finale on an upper hand.
Written by Peter Stratta
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