NASCAR Enjoy Illinois 300 preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

On Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series head to the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway just outside St. Louis for the running of the Enjoy Illinois 300 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Here is what you need to know ahead of the second race in the Round of 16 of the playoffs.

Favorite: Ryan Blaney (+500, per DraftKings)

Although Blaney enters the weekend as the co-favorite with Christopher Bell as of Friday, he gets the nod here after running out of fuel as the leader taking the white flag in the 2024 race.

In his two prior starts at WWTR, Blaney has a pair of top-10s and finished inside the top five at Iowa and Richmond, the two most recent tracks 1.25 miles and under that the series has visited. After a disappointing 18th-place outcome in the playoff opener at Darlington, this seems like an excellent opportunity for Blaney to bounce back.

Underdog: Kyle Busch (+2000, per DraftKings)

It is still hard to refer to the two-time champion as an underdog, but considering he is on a career-long 84-race winless streak, that is where we are. Busch recovered from an opening-lap spin in the Southern 500 to finish eighth and heads to the site of his most recent win in 2023 before the winless streak ensued.

Richard Childress Racing tends to excel at shorter, flatter tracks. After Austin Dillon's playoff-clinching win at Richmond a few weeks ago, perhaps it is finally Busch's time to return to Victory Lane and spoil the playoff party.

Can Hendrick Motorsports bounce back from Darlington letdown?

For an organization that owns the most wins (16), top-fives (58) and top-10s (97) at Darlington, it was an uncharacteristic night at "The Lady in Black" with the highest finishing driver, Chase Elliott, in 17th, marking the first time in the team's storied history that it has not placed a driver in the top 16 in the Southern 500.

With only three combined top-10s at WWTR, an immediate bounce back is no sure thing this weekend. However, Kyle Larson has finished no worse than 12th there in three starts while William Byron won on a similar layout at Iowa back in August, proving it is hard to keep Hendrick Motorsports down for long.

Will Team Penske's World Wide Technology Raceway dominance continue?

Team Penske has won two of the three races at the 1.25-mile track with Joey Logano (2022) and Austin Cindric (2024) taking the checkered flag. Let's not forget about Blaney, who should have won there last year before his misfortune.

According to NASCAR Insights, the Team Penske trio has scored the most points of anyone at WWTR. The organization seems to have a handle on the Midwest track, and Sunday could be the latest reminder.

No driver is truly out of playoff contention yet

While Logano (-3), Austin Dillon (-8), Alex Bowman (-19) and Josh Berry (-19) are below the cutline, they are certainly not eliminated from playoff contention yet.

Bowman and Berry find themselves in a more precarious position, but are by no means in a must-win situation if bubble drivers like Cindric (+12), Bell (+11), Elliott (+9) or Shane van Gisbergen (+3) have a hiccup. If they are still in a similar spot after Sunday, though, that will make for a challenging cutoff race at Bristol next week.