Report: NASCAR teams lose internet, SMT data at World Wide Technology Raceway

Several teams have lost the internet at World Wide Technology Raceway, the site of Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300, according to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic.

As a result, those teams with no internet have lost access to their SMT data. It’s the same issue that happened during last year’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

While certainly an issue for those teams, the bigger issue at hand is who in the field is gonna stop Christopher Bell. Bell, who started P4, passed Michael McDowell for the lead near the end of Stage 1 and hasn’t looked back since.

Drivers chasing Christopher Bell at World Wide Technology Raceway

Other than a brief period at the beginning of Stage 2 when Kyle Busch led some laps, Bell has been out front majority of the time, winning both stages. Dating back to last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Bell has picked up four consecutive stage victories. He, of course, was credited with the victory at Charlotte due to being the leader at the time rain halted the race and NASCAR later called it.

“It feels so good,” Bell said after the race. “And really, the last two Coca-Cola 600s I felt like we’ve had the potential to go to victory lane and both times we haven’t been able to do it. So, to come back in 2024 — and we’ve really been in a slump the last couple of weeks — so to come out here and have a banner day — it’s such a high profile, prestigious event — is really big for us.”

Bell now looks primed to win his second straight race and third of the season. Though the wins are nice, Bell admitted earlier this week he’s been disappointed in his season up to this point. Bell notably has three DNFs through 14 races this season.

“Honestly, this No. 20 team is at a really good spot because now we’re sitting halfway through the regular season with two wins, which is amazing,” Bell said, via Sportskeeda. “But we’ve been extremely disappointed with how our season has gone.”