Three to watch, one to avoid for NASCAR at Gateway

After last weekend's rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, for Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300. 

The track, more commonly referred to as Gateway, is fairly new to the Cup schedule, with only two previous events (2022 and 2023). Here are three drivers to watch — a favorite, a contender and a dark horse — as well as one to avoid putting your money on.

Favorite: Martin Truex Jr. (+900, per DraftKings as of Friday afternoon)

Truex has finished sixth and fifth in Gateway's two previous Cup events. He was in position to win in 2022 before a botched pit strategy late in the race cost him. Given the speed of Joe Gibbs Racing's Toyotas this season — and especially on this track type — it feels like this could be the weekend for Truex, who remains winless in 2024.

The 2017 Cup Series champion is tied for the fifth-best odds to win, which may be a bargain. If you're looking for the slam-dunk pick, Truex could be your best bet.

Contender: Joey Logano (+900)

Logano won at Gateway in 2022 and had a third-place finish in 2023. It's somewhat hard to trust him this season because he sits outside the playoffs in 17th in points, which is why he's not listed as the favorite. However, he won the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, a similarly flat track in which passing is tricky.

This could be a positive weekend for Penske Racing and Logano, who could use a big day as he looks to put himself back inside the playoff picture.

Dark horse: Josh Berry (+5500)

We'll go with a true long shot this week. Despite riding back-to-back top-10 finishes and having finished no worse than 16th in his past five races, Berry has long odds. That's insanely good value, especially considering Gateway is the type of shorter, flatter oval that should fall right into Berry's wheelhouse.

If you're the type who likes to swing for the fences, you should be licking your chops at the opportunity to put some money on Berry this week. You won't often find better value than this.

Avoid: William Byron (+900)

Byron took the favorite slot for last week's Coca-Cola 600, but that's not the case for this race. Hendrick Motorsports has not had much speed in two previous Gateway races, and Byron is unlikely to be much of a threat unless that changes. He ran an uneventful 19th at this track in 2022, and though he led 30 laps in 2023 at Gateway, he faded to eighth.

There's a chance Byron could build off of his run last year and contend for the win, but considering the other drivers available at the same price or lower, you should probably stay away from him this week.