| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 28 of 36 in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | September 13, 2026 (2026-09-13) | ||
| Location | Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.25 miles (2.01 km) | ||
| Distance | 247 laps, 308.75 mi (496.47 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 240 laps, 300 mi (480 km) | ||
| Average speed | 81.47 miles per hour (131.11 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 32.817 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Joey Logano | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 96 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Joey Logano | Team Penske | |
| Time | 33.286 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Kyle Rickey and Brad Gillie | ||
| Turn announcers | Tim Catafalmo (1 & 2) and Nathan Prouty (3 & 4) | ||
The 2026 Enjoy Illinois 300 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 13, 2026, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Contested over 247 laps on the 1.25-mile (2.01 km) egg-shaped asphalt oval, extended from the original 240 laps due to a double-overtime finish, it was the 28th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the second race of the NASCAR Chase.
Kyle Larson won the race. Alex Bowman finished 2nd, and Joey Logano finished 3rd. William Byron and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five, and Austin Dillon, Connor Zilisch, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top ten.
Report
Background
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World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a 1.25-mile (2 kilometer) oval that hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the NTT IndyCar Series, a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) infield road course used by the SCCA, Porsche Club of America, and various car clubs, and a quarter-mile drag strip that hosts the annual NHRA Midwest Nationals event.
During the offseason, NASCAR announced that Gateway would now get the short track package, as opposed to running the intermediate package from previous years.[7]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
- (CC) denotes chase contender.
Practice
Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the practice session, with a time of 33.170 seconds and a speed of 135.665 mph (218.332 km/h).
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 33.170 | 135.665 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 33.207 | 135.514 |
| 3 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 33.210 | 135.501 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Joey Logano scored the pole for the race with a time of 32.817 and a speed of 137.124 mph (220.680 km/h).[8]
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 45
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (CC) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 86
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 60 | Ryan Preece (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 109
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | 73 |
| 2 | 11 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | 38 |
| 3 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 247 | 54 |
| 4 | 24 | 24 | William Byron (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | 33 |
| 5 | 20 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 32 |
| 6 | 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 31 |
| 7 | 19 | 88 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 30 |
| 8 | 6 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (CC) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | 34 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 247 | 33 |
| 10 | 13 | 2 | Austin Cindric (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 247 | 27 |
| 11 | 26 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 247 | 26 |
| 12 | 23 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 247 | 34 |
| 13 | 25 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 247 | 24 |
| 14 | 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 247 | 24 |
| 15 | 28 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 247 | 22 |
| 16 | 17 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 21 |
| 17 | 14 | 60 | Ryan Preece (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 247 | 24 |
| 18 | 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 247 | 21 |
| 19 | 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 247 | 27 |
| 20 | 29 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | 17 |
| 21 | 27 | 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 0 |
| 22 | 30 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 15 |
| 23 | 35 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 14 |
| 24 | 34 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 247 | 13 |
| 25 | 18 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (CC) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 247 | 15 |
| 26 | 36 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | 11 |
| 27 | 21 | 17 | Chris Buescher (CC) | RFK Racing | Ford | 238 | 10 |
| 28 | 16 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 231 | 15 |
| 29 | 15 | 7 | Daniel Suárez (CC) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 229 | 8 |
| 30 | 32 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 227 | 7 |
| 31 | 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott (CC) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 215 | 12 |
| 32 | 5 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (CC) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 213 | 11 |
| 33 | 31 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 198 | 4 |
| 34 | 33 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 176 | 3 |
| 35 | 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (CC) | Team Penske | Ford | 155 | 16 |
| 36 | 12 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 130 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 11 among 5 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 18 for 87
- Red flags: 2 for 8 minutes and 4 seconds
- Time of race: 3 hours, 47 minutes, and 23 seconds
- Average speed: 81.47 miles per hour (131.11 km/h)
Media
Television
USA Sports covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider handled pit road, while Trevor Bayne provided analysis from the pace car for the television side.
| USA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | Pace car |
| Lap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Dave Burns Kim Coon Marty Snider | Trevor Bayne |
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Kyle Rickey & PRN Radio's Brad Gillie called the action for MRN when the field races thru the front straightaway. Tim Catafalmo called the action for MRN from atop the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 2 when the field races thru turns 1 & 2. Nathan Prouty worked the action for MRN when the field races thru turns 3 & 4. Pit road was operated by lead pit reporter Steve Post, Brienne Pedigo, and Jason Toy.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Brad Gillie Announcer: Kyle Rickey | Turns 1 & 2: Tim Catafalmo Turns 3 & 4: Nathan Prouty | Steve Post Brienne Pedigo Jason Toy |
Standings after the race
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References
- "2026 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- "Gateway Motorsports Park". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
- "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 8, 2026. Retrieved September 8, 2026.
- "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 13, 2026. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
- "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 13, 2026. Retrieved September 13, 2026.
- "NASCAR issues technical updates, specifying rules for 750-horsepower tracks, A-post flaps". NASCAR. November 14, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
- DeGroot, Nick (September 12, 2026). "NASCAR Cup Gateway starting lineup: Joey Logano stuns with huge pole lap". Motorsport.com. Madison, Illinois: Motorsport Network. Retrieved September 12, 2026.