Cup heads to Gateway for 240 laps, with familiar tires and a complete salary board ahead of Saturday's on-track sessions.
<p>The Enjoy Illinois 300 brings the Cup Series to World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, September 13, at 2 p.m. Central. The 1.25-mile oval will host 240 laps and 300 miles to close Gateway's NASCAR doubleheader.</p><p>Goodyear is returning with the tire combination used in last year's Gateway Cup race. That gives teams an established reference, although the full combination has not appeared earlier this season. Nine new race sets are allotted. Our early takeaway is to watch sustained pace and how teams manage their tires during Saturday's practice, rather than treating a familiar setup as a guarantee of the same result.</p><h2>The Early Salary Board</h2><p>All 36 active entries have FantasyJolt salaries, ranging from $3 to $14. The top salary tier contains #20 Christopher Bell, #11 Denny Hamlin, #12 Ryan Blaney. These are salary tiers, not a prediction of finishing order.</p><p>At a $50 cap for five drivers, three $14 selections leave $8 for the other two slots. That makes the lower tiers important to roster construction, but a low price alone does not establish value.</p><h2>What Comes Next</h2><p>Saturday practice is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Central, with qualifying at 3:35 p.m. Central. As of this September 10 preview, FantasyJolt's race-specific ML projections are not yet published. No starting positions, projected scores, or model picks are being claimed here. Review the official grid and updated projections before finalizing a team.</p><p>This is an early race preview, not a final lineup recommendation. Inspection and driver-change news still require a race-weekend check.</p>