NASCAR Enjoy Illinois 300 betting odds released following Chase Elliott suspension

After an exhilarating Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series is taking on Gateway Motorsports Park for the Enjoy Illinois 300.

Last season, it was Joey Logano, the eventual champion of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series, who found victory at Gateway, with Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney following in order. It wasn’t a good afternoon for Chevrolet, as Erik Jones was the highest finisher in P7 among the manufacturer.

Of course, this weekend’s event will have the cloud of Chase Elliott’s absence hanging over it, as the reigning recipient of the NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award will miss the race while serving a suspension, stemming from an incident with Denny Hamlin during the Coca-Cola 600.

Elliott hooked Hamlin on the straightaway after the two made contact repeatedly throughout the laps prior, and the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman took to Twitter to share some damning SMT data after Elliott claimed his car was un-drivable. Afterwards, NASCAR came to the conclusion that Elliott purposefully wrecked Hamlin, and made the difficult decision to suspend him.

Alas, that opens up the door for a bevy of drivers, from Elliott’s Hendrick teammates to the rest of the field. Here’s who has the best odds for NASCAR’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway, per DraftKings Sportsbook.

NASCAR Enjoy Illinois 300 betting odds, via DraftKings Sportsbook:

• #5 Kyle Larson (+500)
• #24 William Byron (+700)
• #8 Kyle Busch (+750)
• #12 Ryan Blaney (+850)
• #22 Joey Logano (+850)
• #19 Martin Truex Jr. (+1000)
• #11 Denny Hamlin (+1100)
• #20 Christopher Bell (+1100)
• #1 Ross Chastain (+1400)
• #4 Kevin Harvick (+1400)
• #45 Tyler Reddick (+1600)
• #14 Chase Briscoe (+3000)
• #6 Brad Keselowski (+3000)
• #48 Alex Bowman (+3000)
• #7 Corey LaJoie (+3500)
• #23 Bubba Wallace (+4000)
• #54 Ty Gibbs (+4000)

As you can see, DraftKings Sportsbook has Elliott’s Hendrick teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron with the top odds to find Victory Lane at Gateway. Evidently, they’re not scared off by Chevrolet’s troubles at the track in 2022, as the aforementioned Busch, who switched to the manufacturer this season, follows with the third best odds.

Moreover, DraftKings believes in Blaney’s attempt to secure back-to-back wins, as they have him at +850, while his teammate, last season’s winner at Gateway in the aforementioned Logano, also possess the same odds.

Nevertheless, it’ll all be settled on the track. Chase Elliott or no Chase Elliott, Gateway should be a fun race to watch.