It’s the second race of the Round of 16 for the NASCAR Playoffs. They go from a grueling 500-mile race under the lights to a 300-mile Sunday afternoon drive in Madison, Illinois. They’ll take on the 1.25-mile oval of World Wide Technology Raceway for the fourth time in Cup Series history. Let’s take a look at this week’s NASCAR picks, odds, and best bets for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Chase Briscoe basically had a bye for the next two weeks, where the team can work on setups and try to stack up more playoff points. His win in the Southern 500 secured him a spot in the Round of 12, which kicks off in two weeks at New Hampshire. The 15 other playoff drivers will be looking to join Chase by winning Sunday in St. Louis. A few could also get enough points to lock into the next round and have a sweat-free Bristol Night Race next week.
Odds to Win Enjoy Illinois 300
Christopher Bell +400
Ryan Blaney +500
Denny Hamlin +650
Joey Logano +1000
Kyle Larson +1000
Chase Briscoe +1200
William Byron +1400
Tyler Reddick +1600
Austin Cindric +1800
Bubba Wallace +2000
Josh Berry +2200
Brad Keselowski +2500
Chase Elliott +2500
Kyle Busch +2700
Ross Chastain +3300
Carson Hocevar +4000
Alex Bowman +4500
Austin Dillon +4500
Chris Buescher +4500
Ty Gibbs +6000
Ryan Preece +6000
Erik Jones +8000
John Hunter Nemechek +10000
AJ Allmendinger +17500
Daniel Suarez +22500
Michael McDowell +30000
Zane Smith +40000
Justin Haley +40000
Cole Custer +50000
Noah Gragson +50000
Shane Van Gisbergen +50000
Todd Gililland +50000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +50000
Ty Dillon +50000
Riley Herbst +50000
Cody Ware +50000
NASCAR Picks: Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Odds and Best Bets
Chase Briscoe Over William Byron (-110)
I’ve been banging the Chase Briscoe drum for several weeks. It paid off for us big time last week, so let’s keep on riding it. Briscoe dominated last week like we haven’t seen in the Southern 500 anytime in recent history. It was his fourth top-two finish in the last eight races, and eighth top-five since the All-Star Race. Briscoe’s already scored a pole here before, in the lesser Stewart-Haas equipment. His qualifying efforts have been lights out lately. He’ll likely start up front and keep the car up there throughout the day. Short-flat tracks are also his specialty, a match made in heaven.
William Byron and the entire Hendrick Motorsports team are coming off a concerning day at Darlington, where the whole team just looked off. Byron won at Iowa, a comparison track to Gateway, but he only has one top five in the last 13 races, compared to Briscoe’s six. Byron, nor any of the Hendrick team, have been very impressive at this track in the three races here. He has a pedestrian 14.0 average finish with an eighth-place run in 2023 as his highlight. I’m going to ride the hot hand in this one.
Chase Briscoe Top 5 (+160)
Rinse and repeat. While we’re riding the Briscoe train, let’s add his top-five finish to the card. He’s coming off the dominating win; we’ve documented all the top five finishes recently. Briscoe has also started in the top five in seven of the last nine races. He puts himself in a position to have track position. Briscoe led 81 laps at Iowa, a similar track to this one, and running the same tired code. He ended up finishing second, but had the best car on the day. New Hampshire, where he finished second last year, and Phoenix, where he snagged his first career win, have been two of his best tracks, and comp well to this one. Expect that 19 to run up front all day once again; he’s worth a bet to win as well at 12/1.
Carson Hocevar Top 10 (+160)
I love Carson Hocevar this week. In his two starts, this has been one of his best tracks. He made a start filling in for Corey Lajoie (who drove the #9 for an injured Elliott) in the #7 car for Spire in 2023. I believe this race got Hocevar his current job. He was running the best race that car had seen in a long time and looked very impressive. Unfortunately, a brake rotor exploded and cost him any type of finish on the scoreboard. Last year, he once again showed what he was capable of, scoring an eighth-place finish in this race. An eighth-place finish a few weeks ago at Iowa also makes me feel great about this one. Don’t be scared to bet Hocevar to win at 40/1; if there’s an upset winner this weekend, it’s Carson Hocevar.
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