Updated Sept. 13, 2026, 9:15 p.m. ET
It took a day full of chaos for Kyle Larson to see the checkered flag again. The Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 13 featured 18 caution flags – the most ever for a NASCAR race at the track just northeast of St. Louis and a season-high in the Cup Series this season. And it also saw Larson’s No.
5 Chevrolet end a 51-race winless streak. In a double-overtime finish, Larson was able to jump out in front of Joey Logano and two of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates and cruise to victory lane, notching his first win since May 11, 2025 at Kansas Speedway. As he crossed the finish line to take the checkered flag, Larson yelled on his radio, “Hell yeah! Good job!”
It was a big points day for Larson in the second race of NASCAR’s postseason Chase, and several other Chase contenders didn’t finish the race due to wrecks or brake rotor failures.
Larson entered the day seventh in the standings, 49 points back of leader Denny Hamlin. When the dust settled, Larson — who also won Stage 2 — jumped up to second and now trails Hamlin by just nine points. Now, the reigning Cup Series champion has a real shot with eight races remaining to capture a second consecutive crown and third overall title. “No better time to have a great day than today,” Larson told USA Network after the win. “So, proud of it, and feel like we got our swagger back a little bit.”
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Larson and Team Penske’s Logano were up front for most of the race. The No. 5 Chevrolet led 80 laps, while Logano’s No.
22 Ford led 96. Brad Keselowski, who is out of the Chase, led 55 laps and finished 12th.
During a brief period of green flag racing with under 20 laps to go, Larson cleared Logano for the lead just before another caution came out due to an incident on the backstretch that collected Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Ty Dillon and Daniel Suarez. With 11 laps to go and Larson in the lead, NASCAR dropped the red flag to clean debris off the track. Larson and Logano were side-by-side on the front row when the race restarted, but Larson cleared him with ease after getting a big shove from teammate Alex Bowman.
Larson built as much as a six-car-length lead on Logano before another caution came out after Chris Buescher collided with the wall with two laps to go. “I knew if I could stay side-by-side with Joey, I would at least have a shot,” Larson told MRN. “Without Alex, I would not be in victory lane right now.”
That set up an overtime finish. On the first attempt, yet another yellow flag came out when Shane van Gisbergen spun in turn 1 after getting some contact from Carson Hocevar.
During that short-lived bit of green flag racing though, Bowman passed Logano for second, putting Hendrick teammates side-by-side for the second overtime. Larson got out in front of Bowman and cruised to a long-awaited victory, finishing a third-of-a-second in front of his teammate.
Bowman placed second for his best finish of the season, while Logano settled for third, extending his streak of top-five finishes at Gateway to five races. William Byron was fourth to give Hendrick three of the top four finishers. Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, Connor Zilisch, Hocevar, Hamlin and Austin Cindric rounded out the top 10. For Zilisch, a rookie driver for Trackhouse Racing who will move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2028 to replace a retiring Bowman, the seventh-place finish was his best on an oval this season. Emotional after the race, Bowman detailed how it was hard for him to be at the track this weekend after the death of his dog Finn. “Super happy for Kyle, it’s just a really hard weekend, just to get on the plane and be here. Proud of everyone on this Ally 48 team, helping me through the weekend.
Life is hard sometimes, but I lost my best friend, so I’m just ready to go home,” Bowman told USA Network. “I suck here, so clearly I had some help. That was really difficult.
… Really proud of Kyle for winning. I know it’s been a while.”
Five drivers in the Chase did not finish the race, either experiencing blown rotors or heavy damage to their machines. Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Suarez and Buescher all failed to complete the race.
Tyler Reddick finished near the back of the pack in 25th after being involved in a multi-car collision that also included 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace and fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell. Wallace salvaged a 14th place finish, Bell was 19th, and his teammate Gibbs was 18th.
Larson’s No. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports was the first Chevrolet to win a NASCAR Cup Series race since Shane van Gisbergen won at Sonoma on June 28. Next weekend, NASCAR heads to Bristol for the annual iconic night race, where Larson has won twice. USA TODAY Sport provided live updates from the race at Gateway. Scroll below for highlights, results and play-by-play from the race:
NASCAR Enjoy Illinois 300 race highlights NASCAR Enjoy Illinois 300 top-10 finishers With starting position in parentheses, driver, team, car number and manufacturer
(2) Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, No.
5 Chevrolet (11) Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 Chevrolet (1) Joey Logano, Team Penske, No.
22 Ford (24) William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet (20) Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, No. 1 Chevrolet (22) Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing, No.
3 Chevrolet (10) Connor Zilsch, Trackhouse Racing, No. 88 Chevrolet (6) Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports, No. 77 Chevrolet (10) Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota (13) Austin Cindric, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford ■ FULL RESULTS: Final leaderboard from World Wide Technology Raceway
Second red flag out, overtime finish coming up Kyle Larson built a six-car length lead over Joey Logano, but the caution flag came out for the 17th time with two laps to go when Chris Buescher blew a brake rotor and hit the wall. NASCAR officials then brought out the red flag for the second time to clean debris from the track.
An overtime shootout is coming up. Red flag out for clean up 11 laps remain at Gateway as the red flag has come out to clean up debris on the backstretch following a crash that collected Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon.
Kyle Larson leads Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain and William Byron. Track record for cautions as multiple Chase drivers crash Christopher Bell got turned sideways in turn 1 by Josh Berry after his No. 21 Ford got contact from Bubba Wallace. Amidst the pileup and chaos, Tyler Reddick had nowhere to go and his car climbed up on Berry’s, getting his No. 45 Toyota slightly airborne. Joey Logano led off the restart with 12 laps to go, battling with Kyle Larson, before a 16th caution flag came out due to an incident with Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger and Daniel Suarez.
Season-high for cautions as Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe crash into wall Chase Elliott seemingly blew a brake rotor heading into turn 1, sending his No. 9 Chevrolet sideways and into Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota as both drivers crashed into the turn 2 wall, bringing out the 14th caution of the race. Brad Keselowski leads Joey Logano with 25 laps to go.
Caution with 41 laps to go as Noah Gragson tags the wall Noah Gragson’s No. 4 Ford will head to the garage after he blew a rotor and hit the wall, bringing the 13th caution out with 41 laps to go. Joey Logano leads Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs. Joey Logano leads Brad Keselowski, Carson Hocevar with 50 to go Joey Logano leads at Gateway with 50 laps to go, eyeing what would be his third victory of the season and a big points day.
Trailing Logano at the moment are Brad Keselowski and Carson Hocevar, who mixed it up last weekend at Darlington. Riley Herbst spins into the wall, caution out again Riley Herbst got loose, spun and backed his No.
35 Toyota into the outside wall to bring the 12th caution flag out. 62 laps remain. Chastain’s wreck brings out record 11th caution Ross Chastain went for a spin in his No. 1 Chevrolet, bringing out the caution flag once more with 70 laps to go. It’s the 11th caution of the day, tying a record for the most in a Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway. Cole Custer tried to pass Chastain while exiting turn 4, but got loose and lost momentum. Chastain then came across the nose of Chase Briscoe’s No.
19 Toyota and spun out. Brad Keselowski holding off Joey Logano, Josh Berry Brad Keselowski was the first car off pit road after the caution came out due to Ryan Blaney hitting the wall after blowing a brake rotor. He’s maintained the lead in his No.
6 Ford, but is holding off two other Fords, Joey Logano and Josh Berry with 70 laps to go. Lap 156: Ryan Blaney brake failure Blaney suffered a “catastrophic” brake failure on his right front tire that sent him careening into the wall and a caliper on the road. Lap 141: restart incident Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace made contact off turn two while battling for sixth place and spin out.
William Byron also spun while Ryan Preece Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman got dinged in the crash. The caution flag came out again, and Joey Logano began the restart with the lead with Kyle Larson trailing on the inside. Zane Smith spins out on lap 131, Kyle Larson wins stage 2 Stage 2 came to an early end after Smith lost control from the 31st position and hit the wall between turns 1 and 2. The caution flag was waved as training staff attended to Smith, who looked to be in pain as he got out of his car. Three-wide collision on lap 66, AJ Allmendinger stalls out Riley Herbst got into his second accident of the day, spinning out on a flat right front tire and making contact with Allmendinger’s No. 16 car. Allmendinger was unable to start his car back up as yet another caution flag — the seventh of the day — gets waved.
End of stage 1: Joey Logano holding off Christopher Bell for lead Bell overtook Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson earlier and is now hot on Logano’s tail. The pole-sitter has been able to stay in front of the No. 20 car over the final 10 laps of the first stage to come away with 10 points. Four-wide collision on lap 20 Daniel Suarez was hit from behind in a major collision on a four-wide sandwich.
Michael McDowell took the brunt of the damage with five collisions against the wall on the right side. Shane van Gisbergen, who collided with McDowell, also made contact with Noah Gragson, causing the No. 4 car to spin out in the middle of the track.
23XI takes damage early, triggering caution flag Two cars on Michael Jordan’s team have run into some trouble within the first five laps. Tyler Reddick hit the wall on his right side in the third lap while trying to avoid Daniel Suarez in the third lap. One lap later, Riley Herbst spun out and had to make an emergency pit stop.
What time does the NASCAR Cup race at Gateway start? The Enjoy Illinois 300 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept.
13, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race at Gateway on? The Enjoy Illinois 300 will be broadcast on USA Network. Pre-race coverage will start at 2:30 p.m. ET. Leigh Diffey will have the call alongside analysts Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte, while Dale Jarrett will offer additional analysis from the pit box. Burton and Letarte will join host Marty Snider on pre- and post-race shows.
Former Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will be the pace-car analyst. Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race at Gateway? Subscribers to YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV can watch through those services as well. HBO Max will continue to provide live streams of in-car cameras, while MRN will carry the live radio broadcast. How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race at Gateway? The Enjoy Illinois 300 is 240 laps around the 1.25-mile asphalt track for a total of 300 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 45 laps; Stage 2: 95 laps; Stage 3: 100 laps.
Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Gateway last year? Denny Hamlin is the reigning champion, finishing ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe last season. The NASCAR Cup Series has raced at World Wide Technology Raceway — located about six miles northeast of downtown St.
Louis — since 2022. The flat oval has seen a mix of manufacturers win, with Joey Logano and Austin Cindric taking checkered flags in Fords, Hamlin winning last year in a Toyota, and Kyle Busch winning in the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in 2023.
That victory was the last of Busch’s Cup Series career before his untimely death this spring. Gateway has renamed its trophy in honor of Busch — the all-time laps leader at the track — calling it, “The Rowdy Trophy.”
What is the lineup for the Enjoy Illinois 300? (Car number in parentheses, Chase drivers designated with asterisk)
*Joey Logano (22) — Ford, Team Penske *Kyle Larson (5) — Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports *Ryan Blaney (12) — Ford, Team Penske *Christopher Bell (20) — Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing *Chase Briscoe (19) — Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing *Carson Hocevar (77) — Chevrolet, Spire Motorsports *Bubba Wallace (23) — Toyota, 23XI Racing *Chase Elliott (9) — Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports *Ty Gibbs (54) — Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing *Denny Hamlin (11) — Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing Alex Bowman (48) — Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports Zane Smith (38) — Ford, Front Row Motorsports *Austin Cindric (2) — Ford, Team Penske *Ryan Preece (60) — Ford, RFK Racing *Daniel Suarez (7) — Chevrolet, Spire Motorsports Josh Berry (21) — Ford, Wood Brothers AJ Allmendinger (16) — Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing *Tyler Reddick (45) — Toyota, 23XI Racing Connor Zilisch (88) — Chevrolet, Trackhouse Racing Ross Chastain (1) — Chevrolet, Trackhouse Racing *Chris Buescher (17) — Ford, RFK Racing Austin Dillon (3) — Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing Brad Keseloski (6) — Ford, RFK Racing *William Byron (24) — Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports Erik Jones (43) — Toyota, Legacy Motor Club Cole Custer (41) — Chevrolet, Haas Factory Team Austin Hill (33) — Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing John Hunter Nemechek (42) — Toyota, Legacy Motor Club Michael McDowell (71) — Chevrolet, Spire Motorsports Cody Ware (51) — Chevrolet, Rick Ware Racing Noah Gragson (4) — Ford, Front Row Motorsports Ty Dillon (10) — Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing Riley Herbst (35) — Toyota, 23XI Racing Todd Gilliland (34) — Ford, Front Row Motorsports Shane van Gisbergen (97) — Chevrolet, Trackhouse Racing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) — Chevrolet, HYAK Motorsports
