After qualifying was canceled for the opening round of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series posteason at Darlington Raceway one week ago, the weather forecast is far better this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
The full qualifying order for Saturday afternoon's qualifying session at the four-turn, 1.25-mile (2.012-kilometer) Madison, Illinois oval was determined by the same two-variable qualifying metric that has been used by NASCAR since the start of the 2025 season.
Each car's rank in the owner standings is weighted at 30%, and each car's finish in the most recent race is weighted at 70%. For the postseason, the non-playoff drivers are slotted into the order first, to guarantee that the 16 playoff drivers are the final 16 drivers to qualify.
With Gateway being considered an intermediate track, each driver is set to make one single-car qualifying attempt in Saturday's single-car session. There is no second lap like there is on short tracks, and there is no second round shootout for pole like there is on superspeedways.
Follow along with our Enjoy Illinois 300 qualifying updates from Gateway.
NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Gateway
1 - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford - 137.124
2 - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - 135.98
3 - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford - 135.898
4 - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota - 135.767
5 - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota - 135.546
6 - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet - 135.395
7 - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota - 135.355
8 - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - 135.302
9 - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota - 135.294
10 - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota - 135.086
11 - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - 134.702
12 - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford - 134.65
13 - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford - 134.565
14 - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford - 134.381
15 - Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet - 134.36
16 - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford - 134.316
17 - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet - 134.14
18 - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota - 134.1
19 - Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet - 134.04
20 - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet - 133.996
21 - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford - 133.901
22 - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet - 133.833
23 - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford - 133.575
24 - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - 133.531
25 - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota - 133.48
26 - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet - 133.432
27 - Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet - 133.262
28 - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota - 133.097
29 - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet - 132.83
30 - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet - 132.624
31 - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford - 132.61
32 - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet - 132.575
33 - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota - 132.112
34 - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford - 132.1
35 - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet - 131.633
36 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet - 131.521
USA Network's live coverage of the Enjoy Illinois 300 from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is set to start at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 13, so don't miss any of the action from the second race on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series postseason calendar!
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