NASCAR is back on the road again after a weekend at the sports home track. Both the Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series will be heading to the Gateway of the West, St. Louis. Meanwhile, the Xfinity Series will be heading to the Pacific Northwest for the third consecutive year to visit Portland International Raceway.

Toyota 200

Saturday, June 1 @ 1:30PM EST

Madison, Illinois

160 Laps/200 Miles

Nick Sanchez expertly held off a hard-charging Corey Heim on a late restart to win his second race of the season last weekend at Charlotte after Heim dominated most of the race.

Most Recent Winner At St. Louis

Grant Enfinger won in St. Louis last season, holding off Christian Eckes and Stewart Friesen in an overtime restart.

Names To Watch

Andres Perez De Lara: Andres Perez, an ARCA Menards Series regular for Rev Racing and the Craftsman Truck Series newest debutant, will drive the #7 for Spire Motorsports this weekend. Perez hails from Mexico City, Mexico, and is currently the ARCA Menards Series points leader.

Luke Fenhaus: The Wausau, Wisconsin native will also make his Truck Series debut this weekend for ThorSport Racing in the #66. Fenhaus is a three-time ARCA winner with two wins in the East Series and one in the National Tour. He has proven to be an underrated prospect thus far, but that may change this weekend.

My Pick To Win: Christian Eckes

Pacific Office Automation 147

Saturday, June 1 @ 4:30PM EST

Portland, Oregon

75 Laps/147.75 Miles

Chase Elliott gradually made his way to the front from a 30th-place starting spot to grab the checkered flag at Charlotte. The win was his first in the series since 2016.

Most Recent Winner At Portland

Cole Custer won in the City of Roses one year ago en route to his maiden Championship in the Xfinity Series; Custer is still in pursuit of his first win this season.

Names To Watch

Josh Bilicki: If you are not familiar with Josh Bilicki, allow me to enlighten you, Bilicki has been primarily a part-time driver for start and park or back marker teams across both the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series, and he has made a career doing that. But now, Bilicki has been given his big break with Joe Gibbs Racing in the #19. Bilicki is known as an excellent road racer, and many people will be watching to see if the Wisconsin native can make JGR’s bold choice a good one.

Sage Karam: INDYCAR driver turned NASCAR driver Karam continues his part-time gig with Sam Hunt Racing (Now the only true SHR), in which he came up just short of a shocking upset win at Road America last Summer. Karam’s driving style seems to be much more suited for NASCAR than it was for INDYCAR; he is always fun to watch when he hops in a car.

My Pick To Win: Shane van Gisbergen

Enjoy Illinois 300

It has been a dramatic and chaotic week for the Cup Series. It all started when a very fun Coca-Cola 600 was spoiled along with Kyle Larson’s attempt at the double as the rains came to ruin the fun just as Larson’s helicopter came into view (I’m not going to dwell on this any more than that). Followed by an announcement that would have seemed unfathomable just a few short years ago, with Stewart-Haas Racing announcing that it would close its doors at the end of this season. And a chaotic few days ended with news that would have been huge on any other week, but not this one, Spire Motorsports announced that Clint Bowyer will be returning to the drivers seat to pilot their #7 Chevy Silverado in the Craftsman Truck Series at Nashville Superspeedway in June.

Most Recent Winner at St. Louis

Kyle Busch won last Summer in dominating fashion, holding off Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the process. It has been a tough year for Busch and the entire Richard Childress Racing team. They will look to rebound at a track Busch has been strong at in both races there since 2022.

Names To Watch

Kyle Busch: The aforementioned Kyle Busch, has been remarkable in St. Louis since the inaugural race there in 2022, leading 66 laps and finishing 2nd in ‘22 and dominating by way of leading 121 laps and grabbing the win in ‘23.

Joey Logano: Logano falls into the same boat as Busch, with a win in the inaugural race in ‘22 and finishing 3rd a year ago to Busch and Hamlin.

My Pick To Win: Brad Keselowski

Header Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images