What’s Happening?

After a “Crown Jewel” weekend, NASCAR’s National Touring Series will split up into different locations for the first time this season. While the Cup and Truck Series travels to the St. Louis metro area and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway Motorsports Park, the Xfinity Series heads to the Pacific Northwest and the Portland International Raceway.

• World Wide Technology Raceway is one of the newest tracks on the Cup Series calendar. The track joined the calendar in 2022, and the grandstands have sold out both seasons. On the other hand, the Truck Series has competed at the track since 1998. This will be the 24th Truck Series race at the track.
• Portland International Raceway is also a relatively new addition to the Xfinity Series calendar. The 1.967-mile road course hosts the only NASCAR National Touring Series race in the Pacific Northwest, with the Xfinity Series making their third trip to the venue since 2022.
• This weekend is intriguing for fans. Gateway has become a popular venue, and having a rare standalone race for the Xfinity Series makes the weekend even more interesting.

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Weekend Schedule (All Times ET)

Friday, May 31st – Truck Series Practice

• (Gateway) 6:00-7:30 PM – Truck Series Practice and Qualifying on FS1
• (Portland) 7:00 PM – ARCA West RACE on FloRacing

Saturday, June 1st – Truck Series and Xfinity Series RACE

• (Gateway) 9:30 AM-11:30 AM – Cup Series Practice/Qualifying on FS1
• (Portland) 11:30 AM-1:00 PM – Xfinity Series Practice/Qualifying on FS1
• (Gateway) 1:00-1:30 PM – Truck Series RaceDay on FOX
• (Gateway) 1:30 PM – Truck Series Toyota 200 on FOX
• (Portland) 4:00-4:30 PM – Xfinity Series RaceDay on FS1
• (Portland) 4:30 PM – Xfinity Series Pacific Automation 147 on FS1

Sunday, June 2nd – Cup Series RACE

• (Gateway) 2:00-3:30 PM – NASCAR RaceDay on FS1
• (Gateway) 3:30 PM – Cup Series EnjoyIllinois 300 on FS1

Race Facts

World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway)

• Year Built: 1997
• Length: 1.25 Miles
• Shape: Egg-Shaped Oval
• Banking: 11 Degrees in Turns 1-2; 9 Degrees in Turns 3-4;
• Surface: Asphalt
• Lights?: Yes
• Rain Tires?: No

Portland International Raceway

• Year Built: 1961
• Length: 1.967 Miles
• Shape: Road Course
• Banking: None
• Surface: Asphalt
• Lights?: No
• Rain Tires?: Yes

Truck Series

• Race Length: 160 Laps (200 Miles)
• Stages: 35 Laps (Stage 1 and 2), 90 Laps (Stage 3)
• Purse: $752,252
• 2023 Winner: Grant Enfinger
• Former Winners in the Field: Corey Heim and Grant Enfinger

Xfinity Series

• Race Length: 75 Laps (147.525 Miles)
• Stages: 25 Laps (All 3 Stages)
• Purse: $1,408,568
• 2023 Winner: Cole Custer
• Former Winners in the Field: Cole Custer and A.J. Allmendinger

Cup Series

• Race Length: 240 Laps (300 MIles)
• Stages: 45 Laps (Stage 1), 95 Laps (Stage 2), 100 Laps (Stage 3)
• Purse: $7,776,907
• 2023 Winner: Kyle Busch
• Former Winners in the Field: Kyle Busch and Joey Logano
  • *Former Winners in Lower Series: Martin Truex Jr (2004 Xfinity), Kyle Busch (2009 Xfinity), Brad Keselowski (2010 Xfinity), Bubba Wallace (2014 Trucks), Christopher Bell (2016 Trucks), John Hunter Nemechek (2017 Trucks), Justin Haley (2018 Trucks), Ross Chastain (2019 Trucks)

Entry Lists

Truck Series

A total of 32 trucks are on the entry list for 36 spots at Gateway, meaning no drivers will go home. Notable entries include Colby Howard (No. 1), Andres Perez deLara (No. 7), Keith McGee (No. 22), Connor Mosack (No. 45), and Luke Fenhaus (No. 66).

*While not reflected on the entry list, Vicente Salas will drive the McAnally-Hilgemann No. 91 car.

Xfinity Series

The Xfinity Series has 39 drivers competing for 38 spots on the grid at Portland, meaning 1 driver will go home. Notable entrants include Patrick Gallagher (No. 4), Logan Bearden (No. 07), Josh Bilicki (No. 19), Ryan Truex (No. 20), Ed Jones (No. 24), Sage Karam (No. 26), Austin Green (No. 32), and Frankie Muniz (No. 35). The SS Greenlight No. 14 car and DGM Racing No. 92 car are currently listed as TBA.

Cup Series

Gateway’s Cup Series entry list features 36 cars for 40 spots, meaning no drivers will go home. Cody Ware (No. 15) and Derek Kraus (No. 16) are driving the two “All-Star Cars” this week.

What To Watch For

Truck Series

Grant Enfinger dominated at Gateway last year, winning again later that season at the very similar Milwaukee Mile. He’s also on a hot streak as well with two consecutive top-3 finishes this season, so he will be a threat this weekend. Corey Heim is coming off of a disqualification at Charlotte, but he’s also a former winner at the venue.

Xfinity Series

Despite Sheldon Creed dominating the 2023 race, leading 47 of 77 laps, the race came down to Cole Custer and Justin Allgaier, with Custer taking the lead with only 2 laps to go. However, all three must contend with the Kaulig Racing road course “Dream Team” of A.J. Allmendinger and Shane Van Gisbergen. The pair dominated the first road course race of the season at COTA, leading a combined 40 of 50 laps.

Cup Series

Kyle Busch dominated the 2023 race at Gateway en route to his 3rd win of the season, leading the most laps in the event for his 2nd season in a row. The Fords will also be the ones to watch this weekend, with Joey Logano having two top-5s at Gateway including a win in 2022. Ryan Blaney led 83 laps in 2023, and Michael McDowell came home 9th in 2023.

This article will be updated as the week progresses.