NASCAR drivers gear up for WWT Raceway: A championship preview?
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMIZ)
There are not many oval tracks on the NASCAR schedule like World Wide Technology Raceway. The mile-and-a-quarter track has a variety of different corners that keep the drivers on their toes around every turn as the NASCAR Cup Series gears up for just its third race in the St. Louis area.
“It’s kind of a unique place. We don’t go to a ton of one-mile tracks,” driver of the No. 43 Toyota for Legacy Motor Club, Erik Jones said. “The way it’s laid out it’s really different from [turns] one and two to three and four. One and two is kind of tight turn at a little bit higher banking than three and four but a real tight exit of it but then three and four are big sweeping kind of wide wide corners.”
The track’s distinct characteristics remind Jones of Phoenix Raceway, which has hosted the championship race for the last four years.
“The track is somewhat similar to Phoenix in some ways. It's obviously shaped very differently, but you know it reminds me of Phoenix in a way. It's fun, though, because it's wide, you know. I think the last two years we've been there in the Cup cars. We've been able to really move around from the bottom of the racetrack all the way up to the top in three and four, and even in one and two, we've been able to run up pretty high through there,” Jones told ABC 17.
“We all like that as drivers, you know. It's it's it's way better than being stuck in one lane. You know, right around the bottom when you can move around and do different stuff. So that's that's something I really enjoy about going there.”
If a driver wants any shot at winning the championship you have to be good at Phoenix Raceway, which is why Sunday’s race could provide an early championship preview. Joey Logano won the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway in 2022 then went on to hoist the championship trophy six months later after winning in Phoenix.
“I think there's a lot of guys that focus on this this race to go forward to Phoenix later in the year. We went to Phoenix once, and we'll probably bring a very similar package to what we ran at Phoenix this weekend to Gateway,” Jones explained. “When you can take something to a different place it’s always beneficial with how little practice we have now. It kind of puts a little more emphasis on us. I think there are a lot more people than what you think that focus on that. And the guys you see that ran well at Phoenix earlier in the year, I would I would expect to see them run well, this weekend, too.”
Erik Jones tells me the 43 team will be running a similar package to the one they ran in Phoenix. Says that @WWTRaceway provides a good opportunity for teams to expand their notebook for the championship race. pic.twitter.com/7RtoyKp7Wh
— Mitchell Kaminski (@MitchKaminski99) May 31, 2024
Daniel Hemric knows a thing or two about winning a championship. The driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing took home the Xfinity Series Championship in 2021. But to do so he had to do something he had never done before. Win a NASCAR race.
Hemric had been to the Xfinity Series Championship 4 Round three times despite never getting to victory lane. During that stretch tied a NASCAR record by finishing runner up in ten times in his NASCAR Xfinity career. In 2021 he finally got the monkey off his back, banging doors with fellow title contender Austin Cindric as he crossed the finish line in Phoenix.
It also put an end to him having to listen to questions and criticism from doubters about not winning a race. But Hemric says that overcoming those mental challenges have helped him grow as a person.
“There was times when I probably listened to it too much and then there’s times as I got further into life where you have more responsibilities and more things going on that the noise is just that. It’s just noise,” Hemric said. “I know mentally, even sitting here today I was in a better spot than I ever was you know winning that championship in 2021. Just with life and the experience you gain and just the ability to understand what we’re doing right now isn’t that deep. We are driving race cars for a living.”
Hemric is currently 29th in the standings and will likely need a victory if he wants any shot at the playoffs. However, he says that 31 teams have raced at WWT Raceway circled on their calendar.
Each of Kaulig’s cars finished inside the top 16 during last year’s race. Hemric has made two Craftsman Truck Series Starts at WTT Raceway in 2015 and 2016 and recorded a top-10 finish in each race for Brad Keselowski racing.
“That was before the repave, that place has changed a lot,” Hemric said when discussing his previous races at WWT Raceway. “It’s actually incredible to see the growth around that race. Obviously I’ve watched that race from a fan's perspective, on Saturdays in the Xfinity Series the last couple of years. Seeing the crowds on race day on TV and kind of the fan interaction and the fan zones from social media and stuff, I’m pumped to get back there.”
Daniel Hemric says Kaulig Racing has had the race @WWTRaceway circled on the calendar pic.twitter.com/Y534qrk6Rt
— Mitchell Kaminski (@MitchKaminski99) June 1, 2024
Sunday will mark his first opportunity to race on the track in the NASCAR Cup Series. Hemric took over the No. 31 car after its previous driver, Justin Haley, left for Rick Ware racing. While this is Hemric’s first full season driving a Gen-7 Cup car, otherwise known as a “Next-Gen car”, he got some experience driving one even before he earned a full-time ride in the Cup Series.
“I was fortunate enough to drive the Next-Gen car's initial iteration to our series back in 2022. I think I ran six, six, or eight starts, give or take. Had a mix of one mile and a half race, a couple of super speedways and when I looked at that car, then, it was incredible to see some of the smaller teams being so close to the big teams because they all had relatively the same parts and pieces,” Hemric said. “It was just a matter of how they wanted to go about putting the processes in to make the car their own that weekend.”
After being out of the Cup Series in 2023 altogether, Hemric feels that now some of the bigger teams have separated themselves. While a smaller team like Kaulig is at a disadvantage, Hemric feels like they can eventually close that gap.
“If you run 30th you get the same shocks as the guy who just won the race,” Hemric explained. “There’s a lot to be said about it but I think from the driver’s side not making excuses and knowing we get the same parts and pieces is pretty freeing.”
Unlike Hemric, Jones already has two starts in a Cup car at WWT Raceway. In the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 he finished seventh. Last year the 43 team took a step back and finished 18th, however, Jones is confident they can rebound this weekend.
“I think Phoenix went really well for us earlier in the year. We got caught in a wreck but I felt like we were a top ten car there so we’ll see how it plays out.”
NASCAR is fresh off one of its marquee events in Charlotte, the Coca-Cola 600. Jones says resetting as a team after a big event like that is an added challenge of this year’s race at WWT Raceway.
“I think the biggest thing that gets overlooked is that we’re back to traveling. You know, the last month we really got to stay at home. We went to Darlington, North Wilkesboro, and Charlotte. None of us in the industry really got on a plane for almost a month, which is very unique for us.”
While Jones may not be excited to get back on the road he is excited for the crowd on Sunday. WWT Raceway has seen sellout crowds in each of the last two years, something that Jones says is a testament to the racing culture in the Midwest and around the St. Louis area.
“I think we all love going there and seeing just the packed house and the support we get,” Jones said. “I don’t know if St. Louis is really considered the midwest, but I always have said that the middle part of the country is a bit underrepresented in NASCAR for how many fans there are and how many fans want to come out and see it.”
Jones grew up in Michigan and got his start racing quarter midgets outside of the Detroit area. He still returns to Michigan throughout the year to run late-model short-track races around the area where he grew up.
“The racing culture in the Midwest, from Michigan to Illinois, Wisconsin, that whole area is really strong,” Jones said. "St. Louis has really showed up for the last two years we've been there and I don't see it being any different again this year.
"Love the bigger moments, the brighter lights, and the sold-out crowds," Hemric added. "There's something about running around there, getting the one-to-go signal for the pace car. I never try to take it for granted. I always try to at least glance right to see the stands, and see the fans on their feet. It's something I've done, especially after losing these opportunities in years past, you learn to not take that stuff for granted."
