For the first time ever, the NASCAR Cup Series will have a race at the World Wide Technology Raceway. Who will come away with the checkered flag this coming Sunday at the 2022 Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter? With that said, let’s now check out some of the favorites, sleepers, and a long shot for this upcoming race.
Busch nearly nailed his second win of the season when he finished runner-up to Denny Hamlin last Sunday at the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Nevertheless, he’s now got five top 5s and 10 top 10s in 12 starts this season. Busch can add to those numbers with a race this weekend on an intermediate track. In his career, Busch has made 98 starts on intermediate tracks (1 mile) and won nine times with 36 top 5s, 61 top 10s, and 73 top 20s to go with a career average finish of 13.0.
Larson is also coming off a top-10 finish in his last start, placing ninth at the 2022 Coca-Cola 600. That’s his third top 10 in his last five starts overall, a stretch that also includes his second-place finish at the 2022 AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. On intermediate tracks (1 mile), Larson has a career total of two wins and 17 top 5s in 41 starts. Moreover, Larson has cracked the top 7 in eight of his last nine starts on an intermediate track (1 mile). Earlier last month, he finished sixth at the 2022 DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne at Dover International Speedway.
Hamlin is on a groove. He is coming off his second win of the season, taking the checkered flag at the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 just after he finished second at the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race. And prior to that race, Hamlin was fourth at the 2022 AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Here’s what we have to say about Suarez in our 2022 Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter sleepers piece:
Suarez won the 2022 NASCAR Cup All-Star Open race and then placed fifth at the main All-Star Race. However, he was not able to sustain his momentum from those races, as he was unable to finish last week’s 2022 Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway due to an accident. Still, it’s not such a bad idea to place action on Suarez, who’s got a total of 10 top 10s on races on an intermediate track (1 mile) in his career, thus far. Last month, he finished 14th in Dover during the 2022 DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne. He also finished ninth last March at the 2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
Here’s what we have to say about Dillon in our 2022 Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter sleepers piece:
Like Suarez, Dillon also failed to finish the race last week because of an accident. He’s been fairly competitive this season, though, and it could just be a matter of time before he sticks his first win of the year. Dillon has made it to the top 5 in three of 12 starts this season and also six times in the top 10. He is winless in his career in races done on intermediate tracks (1 mile) but six top 10s and 29 top 20s suggest that he’s not too bad when he’s revving his engine in such locations.
With just 255 points so far this season, Haley is going to need a win to book a ticket to the playoffs. In 12 starts this year, Haley has cracked the top 10 just once, when he finished third at Darlington earlier last May.
Writer’s Prediction
Denny Hamlin wins the 2022 Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter.
