By Reid Spencer – NASCAR Wire Service
Kyle Larson breaks the drought. takes a big win in the Wild NASCAR Cup Series Chase at the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday.
MADISON, Ill. — In a cauldron of chaos as Chase drivers wrecked and brake rotors exploded among NASCAR Cup Series cars, Kyle Larson’s 51-race winless streak ended Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway.
Kyle Larson breaks the drought
Holding off pole winner Joey Logano and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman after late restarts, Larson won the Enjoy Illinois 300 in two overtimes, cementing his status as a third series championship contender.
Series-best Denny Hamlin finished ninth after a problematic pit stop on lap 247 of 199. Larson, the defending series champion, moved up five spots in the Chase standings to finish second, nine points behind Hamlin.
The win was the first for the No. 5 Chevrolet driver since then May 11, 2025 at Kansas Speedway. Larson, who led 80 laps and won the second round, won for the first time at WWT Raceway and the 33rd time of his career.
In a race that featured a record 18 cautions for 87 laps, Larson passed Logano on the inside minutes after a lap 228 restart that followed a four-car wreck involving Chase drivers Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick.
Three more cautions and two overtime attempts later, Larson took the checkered flag 0.333 seconds ahead of Bowman, who took second from Logano on the 242-lap restart.
Larson had excellent speed late in the race thanks to his four tires in the team’s final stop on lap 203. Logano crew chief Paul Wolff opted for right-hand tires on the No. 22 Ford’s final trip to pit road, and Larson’s due to a strong rest. decisive.
“Just proud of my team for working so hard, being so patient through all the tough times, no win streak, all of that,” said Larson, who ended Chevrolet’s nine-race drought. “Thanks to the fans, my fans, who have also been patient with us, letting us understand,
“How about Hendrick Motorsports? Alex Bowman couldn’t ask for a better teammate. It gave me the push I needed to understand. I want to dedicate this win to him, and his dog just died a few days ago.”
Bowman, who will retire from full-time Cup racing after next season, ran a solid race, avoiding the pitfalls that have puzzled other competitors.
“Yes, very happy for Kyle. It was a really tough week just to get on the plane and be here,” Bowman said. “So, yeah, ready to go home. But proud of everyone in this Ally 48 team who helped me over the weekend. Yes, life is hard sometimes.
“Yeah, I lost my best friend, so I’m ready to go home.”
Logano, who led a race-high 96 laps to finish third, had mixed feelings about the result for the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
“The restart where Larson took the lead, I obviously lost it,” Logano said. “He just rolled the bottom really well and cleaned me up, which is really amazing.
“His first, like, three laps per run was pretty impressive. At the end you had a bunch of three lap runs. As soon as he got there, then 48 (Bowman) got there, 24 (William Byron) got there. He had no company with me. No more friends. Myself…
“I mean, it’s a good run, right? Got a lot of stage points, finished in the top five again, which is obviously what we need to do. Thinking about what 25 points would be like right now, it stinks.”
Logano, who won the first round and finished second in Round 2, is seventh in the Greater St. Louis Chase standings, closing his lead over Hamlin from 72 points to 51.
William Byron recovered from a lap 141 crash to finish fourth, while Ross Chastain was fifth for his second top-five finish of the season. Austin Dillon was sixth, followed by Connor Zielisch, Carson Hotsavar, Hamlin and Austin Cindric.
The Cauldron of Chase Chaos
If Logano was somewhat disappointed with his third-place finish, his displeasure paled in comparison to the disasters that befell a number of Chase drivers. Ryan Blaney blew a brake rotor and retired 35th, 33 points behind Hamlin.
Five Chase drivers – Blaney, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe – went to the garage before the race ended. Buescher and Elliott both suffered blown rotors, and Elliott collected Briscoe after his No. 9 Chevrolet spun out of control.
Bell, the winner at Darlington Raceway last Sunday, finished 19th and dropped one place to third in the standings, 18 points behind Hamlin.
The bottom five drivers in the Chase standings – Byron, Cindric, Buescher, Ryan Preece and Suarez – are all more than 100 points off the lead and out of touch with the top contenders, with eight races to go before the title is decided.
Points to note:
The 18 cautions are the most since the same number occurred in the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway … Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is 26th in his 500th NASCAR Cup Series start.
Next
The Cup Series will compete in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway next week. The race begins at 7:30 PM on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The defending winner at Bristol is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell.
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