4 Takeaways From NASCAR’s St. Louis Race

Nascar just finished its second race in the 2025 Chase Playoffs with the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Denny Hamlin put on a dominant performance after starting on the pole and winning the race.

Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace finished in the top 10 and kept their championship hopes alive.

Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron and Kyle Larson came away with top 15 finishes. But it was another rough week for Alex Bowman and Josh Berry, who finished 26th and 36th, respectively.

With St. Louis in the books and Bristol this coming weekend, here’s 4 predictions for the Chase elimination race.

1. Denny Hamlin is the favorite to win the Championship

NASCAR fans have a love/hate relationship with Denny Hamlin. While his attitude sometimes runs people the wrong way, there’s no denying that he’s an excellent driver. 2025 has been a phenomenal season for him so far. St. Louis marks his 5th win of the year and he’s currently #1 in the Chase standings.

Hamlin has been in every Chase playoffs since his 2006 rookie season. He’s come close, but so far hasn’t won the coveted championship. With tracks such as New Hampshire, Kansas, and Martinsville coming up, Hamlin’s got a good shot at scoring another victory and making it to the final 4, where he’ll hopefully win the title.

2. Don’t count out Chase Briscoe

Last week, Chase Briscoe earned his spot in the next round of the playoffs with his Darlington win. Although Briscoe has two wins this season and 14 top 10 finishes, many don’t consider him a threat for the championship. But everyone might want to reconsider after his impressive playoff performance. At St. Louis, he had a shot at back-to-back wins, but came in second to Joe Gibbs teammate Hamlin. While Briscoe is a dark horse in the playoffs, he could end up a legitimate contender if his momentum continues.

3. Josh Berry’s championship hopes are over

The Chase playoffs have been unkind to some drivers, but nobody has had worse luck than Josh Berry. The Wood Brothers driver qualified for the Chase with his Las Vegas win earlier this year. However, it’s been downhill since then. Any hope that Berry had of turning his season around and making a run at the championship has diminished. A 38th finish at Darlington and 36th place finish at St. Louis has him at the bottom of the Chase standings. Unless Berry lucks up and wins at Bristol, then it’s safe to say he’ll be a first round elimination.

4. Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson spark a new rivalry

With 16 drivers battling for the Championship, things are bound to get hearted on and off the track. St. Louis might have launched NASCAR’s next rivalry with Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. On lap 135, the two were battling for fifth place when Larson spun Blaney out. Luckily, there wasn’t any damage to Blaney’s car and he was able to keep going. Blaney came away with a 4th place finish, while Larson finished 12th. After the race, there wasn’t any two calmly talked on pit road. But later when talking with reporters, Blaney hinted it might not be over with him and Larson. Although Blaney believed it was a mistake and Larson didn’t spin him on purpose, it’s something he won’t forget. “Even though it wasn’t done with malicious intent, I’ll still remember it,” he explained.

Blaney and Larson are bound to have more run-ins on the track, and the Penske driver won’t take it easy on the 5 car. Could payback happen at Bristol or another of the Chase races?