The Enjoy Illinois 300 featured its share of drama, including Ryan Blaney running out a gas during the final lap as he was leading the NASCAR race. Austin Cindricwon the race at Gateway, and it’s his second Cup Series race victory of his young career.
With Cindric’s victory on Sunday, nine drivers have won at least one race this season. And now that the race in St. Louis is in the books, NASCAR has named itsthree drivers who are up and three drivers who are down heading into next Sunday’s race at Sonoma.
NASCAR Three Up
1. Austin Dillon
After a slow start during the Enjoy Illinois 300, Dillon worked his way up to the top 10, finishing in sixth place. It’s his second top 10 of the year and first since April at Texas Motor Speedway.
Dillon is looking have a strong 2024 season after finishing 29th in the standing last year. His best finish at Sonoma was in 2023 when he placed 11th.
2. Carson Hocevar
Hocevar, a rookie driver, earned a P8 at Gateway, the best finish in his young career. He jumped 12 positions from Stage 1 to finish Stage 2 in eighth and held the position for the rest of the race.
Hocevar will be driver on Sonoma Raceway for the first time as a Cup Driver on Sunday. However, he drove on the track as a Truck Series driver and earned a P6 in 2022.
3. Justin Haley
Haley had a strong showing at the St. Louis Race, finish in ninth place. The Rick Ware Racing driver has finished in the top 10 in two of his last three races.
Haley looks to keep the momentum going at Sonoma. His bet finish came in 2022 when he finished 12th as the driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing.
NASCAR Three Down
1. Kyle Busch
Sunday was not a good day for Busch who was involved in a wreck and suffered his first DNF of the season. Busch is still looking for his first win of the season to keep his 20-year streak of winning least one race a year.
The good news is Busch has had a lot of success at Sonoma. He finished second at the track last year and has won there twice.
2. Martin Truex Jr.
Truex could not get anything going on Sunday. He suffered a flat left-reat tire during the second stage and finished 34th. Truex has finished outside the top 20 in two of his last three races and has yet to win a race this year.
But like Busch, Sonoma is a place where Truex has had a lot of fun. He won there last year and has a total of four Cup victories at the track.
3. Michael McDowell
McDowell started the Enjoy Illinos 300 strong, finishing second after Stage 1. But he could not capitalize on the restarts and ultimately finished 25th.
McDowell is looking for his first Cup Series race win of the year and thrid of his career. He has had success at Sonoma recently, finishing seventh last year and third in 2022.
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