With most of the attention turned to Kyle Larson’s failed bid to drive in “The Double” Sunday, NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell was awarded the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Larson placed 18th during his weather-delayed Indianapolis 500 debut, the 2021 Cup Series champion arrived in Charlotte, N.C., moments before heavy rains canceled the event after 249 of 400 rotations.
Not all race fans were pleased with the outcome. They wanted to see Larson get a shot at competing in an abbreviated “H1100” and booed Bell following the end-of-event announcement.
“It’s still a win for me,” Bell told Fox Sports. “And, you know, like I said the last two years, we have been really competitive in this event. So, it’s not like we’ve lucked into this thing.
“You know, we led laps, I passed for the lead, We had great pitstops, pit crew did amazing. Uhh, it was just 400 miles, instead of 600 miles.”
Below, we’ll preview the top storylines heading into Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300, go over the odds, and give our best bets for the 14th race on the 2024 NASCAR schedule.
This one’s for the Kennedy family and all of the military families. Thank you for the land of the free 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xirUY6GJdR
— Christopher Bell (@CBellRacing) May 27, 2024
Enjoy Illinois 300 Storylines
- Brad Keselowski continued his hot streak. After starting P30, Keselowski challenged, but fell short, of overtaking Bell on what proved to be the final restart Sunday night. He has four top-two finishes in his past six outings.
- Denny Hamlin failed to lead a lap Sunday night for the first time this season. His focus was thrown off a bit with a few pit row confrontations with Chris Buescher. The circuit’s new points leader place P2 at Gateway in 2023.
- Ryan Blaney, the defending Coca-Cola 500 titleholder, couldn’t make it out of the second stage after striking the wall along Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 143. The reigning circuit champion has placed P39 and P36 in his past two outings.
Brad Keselowski has scored 4 top 2 finishes in the last 6 races
This is the first time Brad has finished top 2 in 4 of 6 races since the Summer of 2018 pic.twitter.com/i7nxeZ4cEm
— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) May 27, 2024
Enjoy Illinois 300 Driver Odds
Here is an early look at the drivers’ odds for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:
| Driver | NASCAR Cup Series’ Enjoy Illinois 300 Odds |
Play |
|---|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | +575 |  |
| Kyle Larson | +600 | |
| Ryan Blaney | +800 | |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +900 | |
| Christopher Bell | +900 | |
| Brad Keselowski | +1000 | |
| William Byron | +1000 | |
| Tyler Reddick | +1000 | |
| Ty Gibbs | +1200 | |
| Joey Logano | +1200 | |
| Kyle Busch | +1200 | |
| Chase Elliott | +1500 | |
| Chris Buescher | +1600 | |
| Ross Chastain | +1800 | |
| Bubba Wallace | +4000 | |
| Alex Bowman | +4000 | |
| Josh Berry | +4000 | |
| Chase Briscoe | +5000 | |
| Noah Gragson | +6600 | |
| Erik Jones | +6600 | |
| Daniel Suarez | +10000 | |
| Michael McDowell | +15000 | |
| Austin Cindric | +15000 | |
| Carson Hocevar | +20000 | |
| Austin Dillon | +20000 | |
| Ryan Preece | +30000 | |
| Todd Gilliland | +30000 | |
| Corey LaJoie | +30000 | |
| Justin Haley | +30000 | |
| John Hunter Nemechek | +50000 | |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +50000 | |
| Zane Smith | +50000 | |
| Harrison Burton | +100000 | |
| Daniel Hemric | +100000 | |
| Derek Kraus | +100000 | |
| Kaz Grala | +100000 | |
*Odds current at time of publication
Enjoy Illinois 300 Predictions and Picks
Here are our best NASCAR bets for the Enjoy Illinois 300 At World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway:
Kyle Larson (+600)
After “The Double’s” disappointing outcome and losing his top spot in the Cup Series’ regular-season standings, Larson will look to make up for his lost weekend.
Tyler Reddick (+1000)
Reddick’s streaky season continued Sunday night, placing P4 for his first top-10 finish since winning at Talladega Superspeedway on April 21. With the No. 45 Toyota team trending up, Reddick has qualified for the playoffs, but seeks a more consistent second half.
Kyle Busch (+1200)
In his past two outings at Gateway, Busch placed first and second. Is there a driver on the circuit that needs a return trip to Victory Lane more?
While we’re all pretty upset about last night, let’s not forget what today is about in remembering those gave the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to all of those who have served, or are currently serving. 🇺🇸
Side note: Really proud of our team battling all the way back up to P4.… pic.twitter.com/KekltB2iFd
— Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) May 27, 2024
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