LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY
PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: Enjoy Illinois 300
DATE: Sept. 7, 2025
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series 28 of 36
TRACK: World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. | 1.25-Mile Oval
CLUB MINUTES:
ST. LOUIS AND NASCAR: Prior to the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural race at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) in Madison, Illinois, the track had hosted races for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the ARCA Menards Series. In July 1997, the track hosted its first NASCAR top-tier series race with the Xfinity Series. The winner of that race was Elliott Sadler. It followed that up in September 1997 with an ARCA Menards Series race. The following year in September 1998, the track added the Truck Series to its lineup, where Rick Carelli, Erik Jones’ former spotter, was the race winner. The Xfinity Series continued to hold races at the track until 2010, while the Truck Series continued to run there through present day. Prior to the 2022 season, the 1.25-mile oval was added to the NASCAR Cup Series schedule to hold its inaugural race for the series.
JJ AT WWTR: While LEGACY MC co-owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson never raced in the Cup Series at the track formerly known as Gateway, he does own three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track. He never finished outside the top-15 in these starts. In his first start in October 1998, Johnson started 36th but found himself in the lead on Lap 85 where he led for 10 laps. He ultimately finished 15th. In July 2000, Johnson started 16th and finished 13th. In his final start in July 2001, he started ninth and finished 14th.
KENSETH WWTR STATS: LEGACY MC Competition Advisor Matt Kenseth also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track formerly known as Gateway. He owns two top-10 finishes at the track with a best finish of second, earned in October 1998 where he finished 3.254 seconds behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. He followed that up with a sixth-place result in July 1999 after starting 21st.
NEVER SETTLE: Join ESPN’s Marty Smith and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s co-owner Jimmie Johnson for their weekly podcast, “Never Settle”. The podcast airs live on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 at 2 p.m. ET every Wednesday and can be downloaded wherever fans source their podcasts.
This week’s episode will be Part 2 of the Greg Olsen interview. Fans can now tune into Never Settle on YouTube and watch the behind the scenes as well as full episodes. Click HERE to watch and subscribe.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JHN AT WWTR: Last year’s June race at World Wide Technology Raceway was John Hunter Nemechek’s first career NASCAR Cup Series start at the track. He started 33rd for the 240-lap race and finished 27th. Although last year was his first Cup Series race, Nemechek does have seven starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he won in June 2017. He earned a total of three top-10 finishes at WWTR with a fourth-place result in June 2015 and a sixth-place finish in June 2016.
TRUCK SERIES WINNER AT WWTR: In August 2017, Nemechek took home the checkered flag in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race after starting second at WWTR. He led 46 out of 160 laps and won with a 1.635 margin of victory over Chase Briscoe. Nemechek was running a full-time season in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2017, and this marked his first of two wins that season.
T-MACK WWTR STATS: Sunday afternoon’s race will be crew chief Travis Mack’s third NASCAR Cup Series race at WWTR. His first outing at the 1.25-mile oval came in June 2022 with Daniel Suárez where he finished 23rd. Mack’s highest finish of seventh came with Suárez in June 2023 after starting 13th. Mack returned to WWTR in the Cup Series with Derek Kraus in June 2024, where the duo finished 30th.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“World Wide Technology Raceway has been a good racetrack for me. I’ve had success there in the Truck Series, and I’ve led a bunch of laps there in addition to running up front. Last year’s Cup Series race didn’t go so hot for us, but I’m looking forward to going back there this year with the new changes and improvements we’ve made to our cars over the 2025 season. I hope to build on the momentum coming off Daytona and Darlington. Metrics are going to be really important for Bristol, so there’s even more emphasis on having a good run this weekend.”
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“I haven’t been to WWTR with John Hunter yet, but the No. 43 team tested there earlier this year, so we’ll make the most of what we learned. We’re looking to carry the momentum from Darlington and continue building on the strength of our intermediate package.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 FAMILY DOLLAR TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES WWTR STATS: Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 will mark Erik Jones’ fourth NASCAR Cup Series start at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. In his prior three starts, Jones earned one top-10 and two top-20s. He earned a best finish of seventh in the Cup Series’ inaugural race at the track in June 2022. Jones started 21st and led four laps en route to his top-10 finish. He has an additional three starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at WWTR where he started in the top-three twice and earned a fifth-place finish in June 2016, his best at the track. He led a total of 88 laps at WWTR in his Truck Series in his career.
THE WIN THAT GOT AWAY: In June 2015, Jones started on the pole for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at WWTR. He was favored to win as he had been knocking on the door of the win with four top-three finishes in seven races so far that year. He led the opening 55 laps of the race before coming to pit road and handing over the lead to Matt Crafton. He took the lead back on Lap 63 and led for an additional 20 laps. After several lead changes from strategy, he took the lead for a final time on Lap 111 for nine laps. An accident on Lap 145 with the No. 1 truck of Ryan Ellis derailed his day though and problems sustained from that incident forced him to retire after leading 84 laps. Cole Custer went on to win that race. Jones went on to win the next weekend at Iowa Speedway and won two more races that season before clinching his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
ZIGAZOO COMES TO WWTR: In partnership with Zigazoo, Jones is inviting another content creator out to the racetrack to experience the fast life of NASCAR at World Wide Technology Raceway. This weekend, Sydney Thomas, a well-known Influencer and Zigazoo content creator, will join Jones and the No. 43 team as a special guest. On Instagram alone, Thomas has over 101K followers with another 855K followers on TikTok. Fans can follow along with her weekend at the track at @Sydneytaleah on Instagram and @TheSydneySmiles on TikTok. Learn more about Zigazoo at www.Zigazoo.com.
BESHORE AT ST. LOUIS: Crew chief Ben Beshore has two NASCAR Cup Series races on top of the box at WWTR with Kyle Busch in June 2022 and John Hunter Nemechek in June 2024. His best finish of second came in 2022 when Busch started 12th, led 66 laps, and finished .655 of second behind race winner Joey Logano, who passed Busch with just two laps to go in the race. In last year’s race at WWTR, Beshore and Nemechek started 22nd and finished 26th.
ERIK JONES QUOTE
“WWTR is a unique track, but it reminds me a lot of Phoenix. I enjoy racing there. It seems like the track has gotten pretty wide the last few years, so that gives us a bunch of options to move around and do stuff. That’s always a positive when we go to these places. We’ll have to see what it does this time around. We’re bringing a different tire than what we raced there before too. It’s been a good race with a great crowd, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the track widens out and what kind of options we have.”
BEN BESHORE QUOTE
“WWTR tends to be very track-position based as it’s been hard to pass there. You see a lot of guys have success there doing fuel only and two-tire stop strategies to try and get out front at the end. It’s another track that’s asymmetric, similar to Darlington. Turns 1 and 2 are tighter than Turns 3 and 4. From a setup standpoint, you’re just trying to compromise the best you can on each end of the track.”
CLUB APPEARANCES:
No. 42 crew chief Travis Mack will be on SiriusXM Channel 90 on Tuesday, September 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
No. 43 crew chief Ben Beshore will be on SiriusXM Channel 90 on Wednesday, September 3 at 8:30 a.m. ET, and John Hunter Nemechek will call in later that day at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Erik Jones will be on SiriusXM Channel 90 on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Nemechek will be at the NASCAR Classics trackside merchandise rig to sign for fans at 10 a.m. local time on Sunday, Sept. 7.
TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. on Sunday, September 7 at 3 p.m. ET on USA, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: (LEGACY MC) is a premier auto racing organization co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, “The King”, serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.
