MADISON, Ill. — In a cauldron of chaos, with Chase drivers wrecking and brake rotors exploding through the bodies of NASCAR Cup Series cars, Kyle Larson’s 51-race winless streak ended Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Holding off pole winner Joey Logano and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman on a succession of late restarts, Larson won the Enjoy Illinois 300 in two overtimes to affirm his status as a contender for a third series championship.
With top seed Denny Hamlin running ninth after a problematic pit stop on Lap 199 of 247, Larson, the defending series champion, gained five positions to second in the Chase standings, nine points behind Hamlin.
The victory was the first for the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet since May 11, 2025 at Kansas Speedway. Larson, who led 80 laps and won the second stage, prevailed for the first time at WWT Raceway and for the 33rd time in his career.
In a race that featured a track-record 18 cautions for 87 laps, Larson passed Logano to the inside moments 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 attempts at overtime later, Larson took the checkered flag 0.333 seconds ahead of Bowman, who grabbed the second position from Logano on a Lap 242 restart.
Larson had superior speed at the end of the race, thanks to a four-tire call by Larson himself on the team’s final stop on Lap 203. Logano’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, opted for right-side tires on the No. 22 Ford’s las trip to pit road, and Larson’s tire advantage—along with strong pushes from Bowman on consecutive restarts—proved decisive.
“Just proud of my team for working so hard, being so patient through all the tough times, the winless streak, all that,” said Larson, who ended a nine-race drought for Chevrolet. “Thanks to the fans, my fans, for also being patient with us, letting us get it figured out,
“How about Hendrick Motorsports? Alex Bowman, can’t ask for a better teammate than him. Gave me the pushes I needed to get clear. Want to dedicate this win to him—and his dog just passed away a couple days ago.”
Bowman, who will retire from full-time Cup racing after next season, executed a solid race, avoiding the pitfalls that caused consternation among other competitors.
“Yeah, super happy for Kyle. Was a really hard weekend just to get on the plane and be here,” Bowman said. “So, yeah, ready to go home. But proud of everybody on this Ally 48 team for helping me through the weekend. Yeah, life is hard sometimes.
“Yeah, I lost my best friend, so just ready to go home.”
Logano, who led a race-high 96 laps and finished third, had mixed feelings about the outcome for the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
“The restart where Larson took the lead—that’s where I lost it obviously,” Logano said. “He just rolled the bottom really good and cleared me, which is really surprising.
“His first, like, three laps of every run was pretty spectacular. You had a bunch of three-lap runs there at the end. Once he got there, then the 48 (Bowman) got there, the 24 (William Byron) got there. Had no homies with me. No more friends. On my own…
“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 the 25 points would feel like right about now, it does stink some.”
Logano, who won the first stage and finished second in Stage 2, leaves Greater St. Louis seventh in the Chase standings, having trimmed his deficit to Hamlin from 72 points to 51.
William Byron recovered from a Lap 141 accident to finish fourth, with Ross Chastain in fifth posing his second top five of the season. Austin Dillon was sixth, followed by Connor Zilisch, Carson Hocevar, Hamlin and Austin Cindric.
If Logano was somewhat disappointed with his third-place result, his dissatisfaction paled in comparison with the calamities that befell a succession of Chase drivers. Ryan Blaney blew a brake rotor and fell out in 35th place, falling 33 points behind Hamlin.
Five Chase drivers—Blaney, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe—had gone to the garage before the race ended. Buescher and Elliott both suffered from exploding rotors, with Elliott collecting Briscoe after his No. 9 Chevrolet spiraled out of control.
Bell, last Sunday’s winner at Darlington Raceway, finished 19th and fell one spot to third in the standings, 18 points behind Hamlin.
The bottom five drivers in the Chase standings—Byron, Cindric, Buescher, Ryan Preece and Suarez—all are more than 100 points out of first place and losing touch with the top contenders, although there are eight races left before the title is decided.
NASCAR Cup Series Race – Enjoy Illinois 300
World Wide Technology Raceway
Madison, Illinois
Sunday, September 13, 2026
- (2) Kyle Larson (C), Chevrolet, 247.
2. (11) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 247.
3. (1) Joey Logano (C), Ford, 247.
4. (24) William Byron (C), Chevrolet, 247.
5. (20) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 247.
6. (22) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 247.
7. (19) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 247.
8. (6) Carson Hocevar (C), Chevrolet, 247.
9. (10) Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 247.
10. (13) Austin Cindric (C), Ford, 247.
11. (26) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 247.
12. (23) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 247.
13. (25) Erik Jones, Toyota, 247.
14. (7) Bubba Wallace (C), Toyota, 247.
15. (28) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 247.
16. (17) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 247.
17. (14) Ryan Preece (C), Ford, 247.
18. (9) Ty Gibbs (C), Toyota, 247.
19. (4) Christopher Bell (C), Toyota, 247.
20. (29) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 247.
21. (27) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 247.
22. (30) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 247.
23. (35) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 247.
24. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 247.
25. (18) Tyler Reddick (C), Toyota, 247.
26. (36) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 247.
27. (21) Chris Buescher (C), Ford, Accident, 237.
28. (16) Josh Berry, Ford, 231.
29. (15) Daniel Suarez (C), Chevrolet, Accident, 229.
30. (32) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 227.
31. (8) Chase Elliott (C), Chevrolet, Accident, 214.
32. (5) Chase Briscoe (C), Toyota, Accident, 213.
33. (31) Noah Gragson, Ford, Accident, 198.
34. (33) Riley Herbst, Toyota, Accident, 176.
35. (3) Ryan Blaney (C), Ford, Accident, 154.
36. (12) Zane Smith, Ford, Accident, 129.
