Kyle Busch only had to wait four points-paying races to drive his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet back to victory lane.
On Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway, Busch backed up his April 23 win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with a triumph at Gateway. The Enjoy Illinois 300 marked the No. 8’s third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and his 63rd career win.
“Man, to sit on the pole, lead a lot of laps and have my guys do such a great job today was pretty phenomenal for us. Great for RCR. Just win, baby!” said Busch, after he led 121 laps around the 1.25-mile track. “This one is pretty cool.”
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin came across the line 0.517 seconds behind Busch during the overtime finish.
“I thought we were super dialed if it was 95 degrees like it was supposed to be with those delays — it kind of took away from the advantage I thought that we had,” Hamlin said. “I’m proud of this whole Sport Clips Toyota team. Pit crew did a phenomenal job keeping us in it and doing really good on the money stop with about 60 to go. We are going to have to wait another to get that 50th (win).”
Team Penske’s Joey Logano surged into third on the last restart.
“I’m proud of the fight. We were mediocre — just outside the top-five all day long,” Logano said. “We tried some new things from last year, and we learned some lessons. But overall: Good. We needed a solid run. We’ve been going through hell here lately.”
Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. completed the top five.
How It Happened
Busch, who started from pole position, led the 36-car field to the green flag.
Not six laps into the race, the red flag was brought out due to lightning in the area.
The race was resumed after a 1 hour, 45-minute delay.
Busch led on the restart on lap nine, with last week’s winner Ryan Blaney claiming the inside of the front row with his No. 12 Team Penske entry. The battle for the lead raged on between the two, as Blaney continued to close on the No. 8.
However, Busch remained in control and took the stage one win on lap 45.
The two were back on the front row for the restart on lap 54, with Blaney finally pushing past Busch on lap 61.
Carson Hocevar, who was running 16th in his Cup Series debut with Spire Motorsports, blew his right front brake on the front stretch and slammed into the outside wall in his No. 7 Chevrolet on lap 91. He was unable to continue.
The incident also affected Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, who sustained damage from debris left by the No. 7 car and was forced to pit.
The No. 14 was then pushed to the garage for further repairs on his radiator.
By lap 108, Blaney had a 1.5-second lead over Logano, but Busch was on the move in third. He hunted down the No. 22 Ford and made the pass stick, placing him second to the No. 12 and moving Logano back to third.
There was also movement in the midpack, as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton and stand-in Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie went three-wide for 22nd. LaJoie shot the middle and took 23rd from Bell.
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On lap 140, Blaney cruised to the stage two win, with Busch, Hamlin, Hendrick Motorsport’s William Byron and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez completing the top five.
Briscoe returned to the race during the restart. With a round of pit stops, the lead positions were shuffled, handing 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick the reins of the race on lap 149. However, Byron moved by the No. 45 coming off of turn two and secured the lead.
On lap 173, Reddick violently blew his right front brake rotor and hit the wall in turn one. The No. 45 Toyota had to be pushed to the garage, ending Reddick’s day at the Illinois facility.
Larson found his way to the lead on lap 178, with Hamlin quickly filing into second. However, Busch emerged yet again on a lap-184 restart and swept past both drivers coming off turn four.
Notably, during the round of pit stops on lap 183, one of Erik Jones’ pit crew members, Thomas Hatcher, was injured and immediately transported to a nearby medical facility. FOX reported via Twitter that Hatcher was awake and alert.
The second red flag of the race popped up on lap 199, after Legacy Motor Club’s Noah Gragson blew a brake rotor and took a massive hit to the left side of his No. 42 Chevrolet on the outside wall.
The ensuing debris caused the red flag.
On lap 218, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon spun after a tap from Team Penske’s Austin Cindric as the two battled for 12th. The No. 3 RCR Chevrolet landed in the path of JTG Daughtery’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., pinching the No. 47 Chevrolet against the outside wall.
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Dillon and Stenhouse Jr. both called it a day, while the red flag was again brought out to repair the wall from the wreck.
It only took 10 laps into the restart for another right front brake rotor to be lost, but this time, it belonged to the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace. The 23XI Racing driver was running 11th at the time, but the incident would end his chance to extend his top-five streak.
With Enjoy Illinois 300 pushed into overtime, Busch and Larson took the front row on the restart.
Hamlin was lurking in third. With the white flag on lap 242, Hamlin slid past Larson to take second while Busch continued to charge out front. At the line, Busch led Hamlin by .517 seconds.
LaJoie finished 21st in the No. 9 Chevrolet during his fill-in ride for Chase Elliott.