World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis will prepare to host its third NASCAR Cup Series race with the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday. Two drivers have separated themselves from the rest of the pack at NASCAR at Gateway, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. Busch has a win and a runner-up in this race, while Logano has a win and a third-place finish. In addition to stepping onto Gateway with confidence, both will have motivation for the Enjoy Illinois 300 2024 since they are looking for their first wins of the season.
The green flag drops at 3:30 p.m. ET, with Kyle Larson the 11-2 favorite after competing in the Indy 500 last week. Current points leader Denny Hamlin follows at 6-1 in the latest 2024 NASCAR at Gateway odds, with Ryan Blaney at 8-1. Logano (12-1) and Busch (14-1) are both longshots to utilize in your Enjoy Illinois 300 bets. Before making any 2024 NASCAR at Gateway predictions, be sure to see the latest 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 picks from SportsLine’s proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary NASCAR prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results.
McClure’s model was red-hot in 2023, nailing Martin Truex Jr.’s Clash win (20-1) as well as his win in New Hampshire (11-2), Joey Logano’s Duel win (8-1), Kyle Busch’s Fontana victory (10-1), Denny Hamlin’s triumph in Kansas (6-1) and Kyle Larson’s wins at Martinsville (6-1) and the NASCAR All-Star Race (13-2). The model correctly predicted winners in two of the playoff races as well, with Ryan Blaney scoring a 12-1 payout at Talladega and Larson winning at 9-2 in Las Vegas.
Then it called its first winner of the 2024 season with Larson in Las Vegas for a 21-5 payout and predicted Hamlin’s wins in Bristol at 5-1 and Richmond at 17-4. It also impressively nailed five of Larson’s wins during his historic season in 2021. All told, the model has nailed a whopping 18 winners since 2021, including nine last year and three in the first seven races this season. Anyone who followed its lead on those NASCAR picks saw huge returns.
Now, the model simulated the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected NASCAR at Gateway leaderboard.
Top 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 predictions
For the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300, the model is high on Chase Elliott, even though he’s a 15-1 longshot in the latest 2024 NASCAR at Gateway odds. He’s a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. After a rough 2023 season, Elliott has reinserted himself into the NASCAR Cup Series championship race. He sits fourth in the NASCAR standings, and arguably no driver has been better over the last eight races. Elliott has top-15s in all eight, as well as six top-10s and a victory at Texas Motor Speedway.
Elliott has just one previous start at Gateway, but he’s excelled at comparable tracks. His average finish on these intermediate tracks is 12.2 over his career, which ranks third among all active drivers. Over his last 15 starts at intermediate tracks, nearly half of them (seven) have resulted in top-fives, and he’s finished outside the top 20 just twice over that span.
Another massive shocker: William Byron, one of the top Vegas favorites at 9-1, stumbles and fails to crack the top five. There are far better values in the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 starting lineup. Byron and Hamlin are the only three-time winners in the NASCAR Cup Series so far this season and he’s coming off a strong third-place run in Charlotte last week at the Coca-Cola 600.
However, he’s finished 19th and eighth in his two career starts at Gateway and he’s had three finishes outside the top 20 this year. He also failed to crack the top 10 in his only career start at Gateway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2016. See which other drivers to avoid and the rest of the projected NASCAR leaderboard at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 NASCAR at Gateway picks
The model is also targeting three other drivers with 2024 Enjoy Illinois odds longer than 10-1 to make a serious run at the checkered flag. Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it big. You can see all of the model’s NASCAR picks over at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300, and which longshot is a must-back? Check out the latest 2024 NASCAR at Gateway odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2024 NASCAR at Gateway leaderboard, all from the model that has nailed 18 winners, including three already this year.
2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 odds, drivers, lineup
See full NASCAR at Gateway picks at SportsLine
Kyle Larson 11-2
Denny Hamlin 6-1
Ryan Blaney 8-1
William Byron 9-1
Martin Truex Jr. 9-1
Christopher Bell 10-1
Ty Gibbs 11-1
Brad Keselowski 11-1
Tyler Reddick 11-1
Joey Logano 12-1
Kyle Busch 14-1
Chase Elliott 15-1
Chris Buescher 16-1
Ross Chastain 22-1
Bubba Wallace 35-1
Alex Bowman 40-1
Josh Berry 50-1
Noah Gragson 60-1
Chase Briscoe 60-1
Daniel Suarez 100-1
Erik Jones 150-1
Austin Dillon 200-1
Austin Cindric 200-1
Michael McDowell 200-1
Ryan Preece 250-1
Carson Hocevar 250-1
Todd Gilliland 350-1
Justin Haley 400-1
Corey Lajoie 400-1
John Hunter Nemechek 750-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 750-1
Harrison Burton 1000-1
Zane Smith 1000-1
Daniel Hemric 1500-1
Kaz Grala 2500-1
Derek Kraus 2500-1