Fantasy Fastlane: Joey Logano rules the Gateway to the West

Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.

With The Chase presented by Mobil 1 opener in the books, the championship picture is beginning to take shape. The top seven drivers have separated themselves from eighth place, where Joey Logano and Chase Elliott are tied, 72 points back of the lead. But the No. 22 team remains a serious threat this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and could make a significant dent in that points deficit if Logano continues to deliver at tracks where he has historically excelled, as he did in recent visits to North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway.

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Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.

RELATED: NASCAR Fantasy Live hub | Play 36 for 36

MUST START

Driver: Joey Logano, Team Penske, No. 22 Ford
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Because of Logano’s tenacity, don’t count the No. 22 team out yet. He is the standard at Gateway, scoring top-five finishes in all four races at the 1.25-mile oval. No other driver has even finished inside the top 10 in all four tries.

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Driver: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Knowing that Toyotas have ruled intermediates this season, you may want to save Hamlin for upcoming races at Kansas Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But his St. Louis numbers aren’t too shabby either, with a victory and two runner-up finishes in the last three starts. A big part of that is track position at a track where he’s never qualified worse than sixth. Entering the weekend, Hamlin won’t be in my lineup.

Driver: Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, No. 12 Ford
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Gateway has similar characteristics to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Blaney was dominant last month. Blaney is the only driver to lead laps in all four races at Gateway, and was a lap away from victory when the No. 12 car ran out of fuel coming to the white flag in 2024. He coasted around to finish 24th, but the other three attempts have all resulted in finishes of sixth or better.

DRIVERS TO AVOID

Driver: Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Reddick has returned to his consistent ways the last two weeks, scoring consecutive top fives for the first time since May. However, the No. 45 team tends to struggle at flatter tracks, though Reddick placed eighth at New Hampshire. In four Gateway starts, he has one finish better than 16th (fourth, 2024).

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Driver: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Hendrick has improved its flat-track program, but the No. 9 team limped into The Chase and that volatility continued with a 14th-place finish at Darlington Raceway. Since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in early May, Elliott has two top-10 finishes in the last 16 races. On the bright side, Elliott finished third here last year, his only finish better than 13th in three starts (suspended for Gateway in 2023).

SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK

Driver: Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Cindric was the beneficiary of Blaney running on fumes in 2024, scoring his second Cup victory. Penske has the best flat-track program in the game, and the No. 2 team cracked the top five recently at Richmond. Cindric’s 11.0 average finish at Gateway is his best among active Cup tracks.

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Driver: Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports, No. 71 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: McDowell’s statistics at Gateway aren’t exactly eye-popping, but his 74 laps led are his most at any non-drafting track. He finished ninth here in 2023 and captured the pole in 2024. More importantly, his 16.5 average finish is his best among all ovals on the schedule.

FEATURED MATCHUPS

Christopher Bell vs. Denny Hamlin
Pick: Hamlin
Comment: If each race played out differently, Bell could have won the last two races at Gateway. He experienced engine gremlins in 2024 and couldn’t reach the front last year with one of the best cars. Hamlin has shown the ability to capitalize at Gateway and needs a bounce-back weekend from Darlington.

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Ryan Blaney vs. Kyle Larson
Pick: Blaney
Comment: Larson is a formidable opponent for Blaney this weekend, never finishing worse than 12th in four Gateway starts. However, he also only has a single finish better than 10th. That’s not going to be enough to outduel Blaney, who is among the race favorites entering the weekend.

Joey Logano vs. Austin Cindric
Pick: Logano
Comment: Don’t overlook Cindric this weekend, but this is a grueling matchup for the No. 2 team. Logano is the bar at Gateway, never finishing worse than fifth. With the recent excellence of the No. 22 bunch, it’s tough seeing that change this weekend.

Carson Hocevar vs. Brad Keselowski
Pick: Keselowski
Comment: Keselowski is probably on the short list of drivers that Hocevar shouldn’t have upset during his postseason run. The 2012 Cup champion has nothing to lose, coming up short of making The Chase. Neither driver has particularly excelled at the Midwest track, but Keselowski showed upside by finishing third in 2024.

MY LINEUP

Starting five: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric.
Garage: Josh Berry.

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36 FOR 36

Pick: Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
Comment: With only a quarter of the 2026 campaign remaining, options are beginning to run thin. But if you have a Penske car in the bank, this would be an ideal time to use it. Cindric is a former winner here, though he followed that up with a lousy 19th-place effort last year. I’ll take my chances.