WWT Raceway (Gateway) Confidence Rankings / Post Practice Predictions
On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup series will be making its debut at WWT Raceway (Gateway). Gateway is a 1.25-mile egg shaped oval that certainly isn’t new. For the last +20 years, NASCAR’s lower ranks have competed here (Check out who has track history). At Gateway, I would approach it as you would a “Shorter-Flat Track” (Phoenix, New Hampshire and Richmond). In a post-qualifying interview, Kurt Busch said, “This place is racing so much like Phoenix it’s not even funny.” Chase Elliott was also interviewed, and he mentioned it will be tough to pass and likely be a track position race. The green flag time for Sunday is slated for 3:42 PM ET.
On Friday, NASCAR held a 50-minute practice session for Gateway. This gave teams plenty of time to try things out, and after practice teams were also allowed to make adjustments they can’t make on a typical race weekend. It’s possible some teams that didn’t look good on Friday, will be a lot more competitive than what they shown for that reason. Here’s Gateway Practice Notes, Gateway 5,10 and 15 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet and Gateway Practice Speeds.
On Saturday morning, qualifying was held. Here’s a look at the Gateway Starting Lineup.
Gateway Full Field Fantasy Rankings
1) Joey Logano
Start 8th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – 2nd / 10 Lap Average – 1st / 15 Lap Average – 1st
WWT Raceway Breakdown – At Gateway, look for Joey Logano to be a factor. Racing at shorter-flat tracks has been a key strength of his, and since 2020 on this sub-track type minus Richmond this spring where he was a top five contender but had problems on pit road late, Logano has a 4.4 average finish. Over all 11 combined races on this sub-track type since 2020, Logano has a series best 5.5 average finish. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Logano is tied for having the 6th best Total Speed Ranking and in the results column, you’ll see results of 8th (Phoenix) and 17th (Richmond). As you read above though, Logano was a top five contender at Richmond until he had problems on pit road late. In practice, Logano was a stopwatch standout and had the best 10 and 15 lap averages.
DraftKings $8,900 / FanDuel $10,000 / DK Betting Odds To Win +900
Further Recommended Reading – WWT Raceway Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings WWT Playability Value Chart, FanDuel WWT Raceway Playability Value Chart
2) Chase Briscoe
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – 6th / 10 Lap Average – 11th / 15 Lap Average – 8th
WWT Raceway Breakdown – At Gateway, polesitter Chase Briscoe will be tough to beat. I think shifting will be a huge deal at WWT Raceway, and Briscoe has demonstrated he has an advantage when its a factor. This spring at Phoenix, Chase utilized that to his advantage and raced his way to victory lane. Additionally in the desert, Briscoe had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking, had a 4.6 average running position, was the 5th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and led 101 laps. At Richmond, the other shorter-flat track visited this year, Briscoe finished 11th, had a 16.9 average running position and the 18th best Total Speed Ranking. At Gateway, Briscoe made a start in 2017 and in that race he started on the pole, led 88 laps and then finished runner-up. In practice, Briscoe was fast and had the 6th best 5 lap average and the 11th best 10 lap average.
DraftKings $7,800 / FanDuel $8,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +1200
3) Denny Hamlin
Start 6th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| 5 Lap Average – 9th / 10 Lap Average – 7th
WWT Raceway Breakdown – My long running fantasy mantra for Denny Hamlin is, “If its short or flat, pick Hamlin.” Gateway checks both of those boxes, and I think a “Hot Hamlin” will be a factor. When it comes to racing at shorter-flat tracks, a strong case could be made that Hamlin’s the premiere performer in the series on this track type. Going all the way back to 2019 at shorter-flat tracks (last 15 races), Hamlin has 2 wins, a series best 5.5 average finish, the best driver rating and he’s averaged leading a series best 55.7 laps per race. In 2021 on this track type, Hamlin had the best Total Speed Ranking and a series best 4.0 average finish. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Hamlin raced his way to victory lane at Richmond and at Phoenix he finished 13th. You can kind of get out asterisk marks out for both of those races. Phoenix was early in the season before the #11 team started to click, and at Richmond his average running position was 8.2, and that reflects his performance a lot better than his win (tire strategy). In the Xfinity series, Hamlin has a few starts under his belt at Gateway (3rd in 2006, 11th in 2005). In practice, Hamlin had the 7th best 10 lap average.
DraftKings $10,600 / FanDuel $12,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +1200
