World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is one of only two tracks on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule that did not appear on the regular season schedule, the other being championship host Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The 240-lap Enjoy Illinois 300 around the four-turn, 1.25-mile (2.012-kilometer) Madison, Illinois oval is the second of 10 races on the postseason calendar, and it is scheduled to take place this Sunday afternoon.
Since this past weekend's playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, the only two changes to the entry list have been the removals of the two non-chartered (open) cars, as Sunday's Gateway race is set to be the fifth race of the year consisting of only the 36 chartered cars.
Chad Finchum drove the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford and Corey Heim drove the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota at Darlington, but neither car is entered this weekend. Both are scheduled to return later in the year.
The 36-car qualifying order was determined by the same two-variable qualifying metric that NASCAR has used since the 2025 season began (30% owner standings, 70% most recent race result). During the playoffs, however, NASCAR effectively separates the non-playoff drivers from the 16 playoff drivers to guarantee that the non-playoff drivers qualify first.
After qualifying was canceled for the Southern 500, the weather forecast is looking good for Saturday's qualifying session at Gateway. Here's a look at the order for what should be the first playoff qualifying session of the year.
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying order at Gateway
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
2 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
3 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
4 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
5 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
6 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
7 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
8 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
9 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
10 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
11 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
12 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
13 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
14 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
15 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
16 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
17 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
18 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
19 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
20 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
21 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
22 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
23 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
24 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
25 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
26 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
27 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
28 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
29 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
30 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
31 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
32 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
33 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
34 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
35 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
36 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
The Enjoy Illinois 300 is set to be shown live on USA Network from World Wide Technology Raceway from Gateway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 13.
Add us as a preferred source on Google