After the fireworks from the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR heads to World Wide Technology Raceway, a 1.25-mile speedway just outside of St. Louis. Sunday’s race (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1) marks the second time the Cup Series has raced at this track.
Much is at stake. The race to win the regular season championship has intensified. Tempers are high. The pressure to make the playoffs builds. Ten drivers have wins this season. Twelve races remain in the regular season.
FRONTRUNNERS
Kyle Larson
- Points position: 11th
- Best finish this season: 1st (Richmond, Martinsville)
- Past at WWTR: 12th last year
While a driver coming off back-to-back finishes of 20th or worse might not seem like a frontrunner, it actually does make Larson one. His topsy-turvy season has seen him place outside the top 10 in back-to-back races four times. In the three previous times he had consecutive finishes outside the top 10, he came back to finish second, first and second. Can he keep that streak going this weekend?
Bubba Wallace
- Points position: 15th
- Best finish this season: 4th (Las Vegas I, Kansas I, Coca-Cola 600)
- Past at WWTR: 26th last year
Wallace has scored three consecutive top-five finishes, his best streak in his Cup career. He has climbed from 21st to 15th in the standings during this run.
William Byron
- Points position: 3rd
- Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I, Phoenix I, Darlington I)
- Past at WWTR: 19th last year
Byron has finished no worse than seventh in the last five races. He’s led nearly 20% of the laps run during that time. Byron has averaged nearly 47 points a race during that streak.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Corey LaJoie
- Points position: 20th
- Best finish this season: 4th (Atlanta I)
- Past at WWTR: 36th last season
NASCAR’s one-race suspension to Chase Elliott gives LaJoie the chance to drive a Hendrick Motorsports car for the first time. This will be the best car LaJoie has driven in his career. Many eyes will be on him to see how he does.
Ross Chastain
- Points position: 1st
- Best finish this season: 2nd (Dover)
- Past at WWTR: Finished 8th last year after angering Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott in separate incidents
Chastain has finished 29th and 22nd in the last two points races. He’s not gone more than three races without a top-10 finish this season. After his struggles last weekend at Charlotte, Chastain saw his lead cut to one point over Coca-Cola 600 winner Ryan Blaney in the standings. Five drivers are within 17 points of Chastain in the season standings.
Aric Almirola
- Points position: 26th
- Best finish this season: 6th (Martinsville I)
- Past at WWTR: 5th last year
Almirola has finished 13th or worse in all but one race this season for Stewart-Haas Racing. In the five races since placing sixth at Martinsville, Almirola has finished an average of 21.0.