NASCAR Live Race Updates: Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway at Gateway
Welcome to Racing America On SI's live NASCAR race updates post for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. This post will be updated throughout the day on Sunday with key updates leading into and through the second race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Related: Previewing the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway
Video highlights of crashes or incidents will be populated along with lead changes, stage and race results, and more. Continue checking back for additional updates on the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway throughout the day.
Final Stage Updates:
Lap 240: Denny Hamlin Wins at Gateway
Joe Gibbs Racing is 2-for-2 to start the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as Denny Hamlin took the win in Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway a week after Chase Briscoe won at Darlington. Briscoe finished second in the race.
Enjoy Illinois 300 Results
Fin | Car | Driver | Laps | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 240 | -- |
2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (P) | 240 | 1.620 |
3 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | 240 | 2.236 |
4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 240 | 2.748 |
5 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | 240 | 5.540 |
6 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | 240 | 5.966 |
7 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | 240 | 6.401 |
8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (P) | 240 | 8.469 |
9 | 17 | Chris Buescher | 240 | 9.004 |
10 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | 240 | 10.492 |
Click here for the complete Enjoy Illinois 300 race results.
Lap 232: Hamlin In Charge
Barring a late-race caution, it looks like Denny Hamlin has this race sewn up. He is up by almost 2 seconds with under 10 laps to go.
Lap 219: Chase Elliott to Third
Chase Elliott has moved into the third position with a pass on Brad Keselowski, who continues to try to hang on with his old tires.
Lap 216: Back to Green!
We are back to green and with just 25 laps remaining, Brad Keselowski leads the field back to the green flag. However, Denny Hamlin with much fresher tires goes to the inside. Keselowski slides high and nearly collides with Chase Briscoe. Hamlin is the race leader now.
Lap 211: Brad Keselowski Stays on Track With Old Tires
Despite the cars on fresh tires being caught up with the caution, Brad Keselowski will stick to his plan of trying to make it to the finish on his fuel and tires, and he'll lead this race as a result. 11 drivers stayed on track, but none with as old tires as Keselowski.
Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney all stayed on track as well.
Shane van Gisbergen won the race off pit road with a two-tire call, but was busted for speeding. Austin Dillon will be the highest car in the running order who pitted. Dillon also took two tires. Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, William Byron, and Austin Cindric all took four tires and will line up behind Dillon.
Lap 209: Caution!
Ty Dillon has had a broken brake or something, and skidded into the outside wall and he couldn't get off the wall. We're under caution, and the caution comes out mid-green flag pit sequence, which will really make this a confusing and interesting situation.
Lap 203: Hamlin Pressing Briscoe for Position
Denny Hamlin is trying everything he can to get around Chase Briscoe for what should be the race lead when it all cycles out. But Briscoe is not letting him go by any means.
Lap 199: Hamlin Beats Logano
It was close, but Hamlin was able to work his way out ahead of Logano in the green flag pit cycle. Chase Briscoe only took two tires, and as a result, he leapfrogged both drivers and could be the leader when this all cycles out.
Lap 196: Logano Pits
Logano has come to pit road now, and Chase Elliott goes to the lead.
Lap 195: Hamlin Pits From Lead
Joey Logano will assume the lead of this race as Denny Hamlin has come to pit road.
Lap 193: Green Flag Pit Sequence Begins
Chris Buescher and Chase Briscoe head to pit road and kick off a round of green flag stops.
Lap 192: Running Order
With less than 50 laps to go, here are the top-10 runners in this race:
1. Denny Hamlin (P), 2. Joey Logano (P), 3. Chase Elliott (P), 4. Christopher Bell (P), 5. Ty Gibbs, 6. John Hunter Nemechek, 7. Ryan Blaney (P), 8. Chase Briscoe (P), 9. Kyle Busch, 10. Alex Bowman (P)
Lap 184: Logano hanging with Hamlin up Front
Joey Logano hasn't lost connection with race leader Denny Hamlin. Logano sits just 0.417 seconds behind Larson on Lap 184. Penske has always had a knack for this track. Keep an eye on him.
Lap 173: Kyle Larson Moving Forward
Kyle Larson, who restarted 29th, has worked his way up to 21st. Still a long way to go, but he's making his way forward. Tyler Reddick, currently 33rd, has reported issues with his brakes. Says he has dialed a lot of rear brake into it as the right front brake keeps locking up on him.
Lap 165: Kyle Busch In Top-10
After spinning to bring out the first caution of the race, Kyle Busch has rallied and now finds himself inside the top-10 in the ninth position.
Lap 162: Back to Green!
We are back to green, and Denny Hamlin got an incredible restart as he takes the lead easily from Joey Logano.
Lap 159: Larson Makes Unscheduled Pit Stop
Kyle Larson had to pit from the top-five for the diffuser flap on his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet falling down. It looks like the team had a hard time getting the flap to stay back in position, but they seemingly finally got it all figured out.
Larson is now being scored in 29th.
Lap 156: Caution!
Shane van Gisbergen, a Playoff contender, lost control of his No. 88 car, and nearly collided with Tyler Reddick. SVG spins out, and we're back under caution.
Lap 155: Back to Green!
After several laps of work on the brake markers in the corner, we are back to green. Bubba Wallace leads the field to green, but it looks like he spun his wheels. Joey Logano goes to the lead.
Wallace reports that his car did not shift gears is why he lost the race lead on that restart.
Lap 150: Caution!
A piece of debris in the track surface has caused the caution to come back out. The debris was one of the countdown brake markers leading into Turn 3.
Lap 147: Back to Green!
Bubba Wallace, the Stage 2 winner, leads the field back to green here. Wallace, a Playoff contender, could secure his place into the Round of 12 with a win today.
Stage 2 Updates:
Lap 140: Bubba Wallace Wins Stage 2!
Bubba Wallace utilized his fresh tires to work around Brad Keselowski for the Stage 2 win. Incredibly, Keselowski was able to hold on to finish second in the Stage.
Stage 2 Results
Fin | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (P) | 10 | 1 |
2 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 9 | -- |
3 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | 8 | -- |
4 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | 7 | -- |
5 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | 6 | -- |
6 | 3 | Austin Dillon (P) | 5 | -- |
7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 4 | -- |
8 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | 3 | -- |
9 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | 2 | -- |
10 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | 1 | -- |
Lap 137: Bubba Wallace Wins Race Off Pit Road
Three drivers stayed on track in an effort to steal the Stage 2 win, led by Brad Keselowski. Austin Dillon and Justin Haley also stayed out. Bubba Wallace won the race off pit road ahead of Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Christopher Bell.
Playoff contender Alex Bowman, who had found a way through strategy to work his way up the running order, had a disastrous pit stop, where his car fell off the jack. He's now 27th.
Lap 135: Caution!
Kyle Larson, in another attempt to get by Ryan Blaney, overcooked the corner in Turn 4, skidded up the track, got into the left rear corner of Blaney's car, and sent him spinning out from the fifth position. That's not going to go over well with Blaney.
Larson makes contact with Blaney in the middle of the corner! 😱 pic.twitter.com/b2XsQpMC8Z
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025
Lap 132: Logano, Bell Catching Wallace; Larson Blaney in Close Battle
As Christopher Bell continues to try to pass Joey Logano, they duo is starting to reel Bubba Wallace, the race leader, in. They are under 2 seconds behind on Lap 133.
Ryan Blaney is trying to hold off Kyle Larson for the fifth position, but Blaney has been fighting hard for the spot.
Lap 121: Logano Continues to Expertly Defend
Christopher Bell, like Denny Hamlin, has been unable to get around Joey Logano for the second spot. Logano is a master at using the dirty air trailing from behind his car, to ruin the run of a driver behind him, and he's showing it.
As Logano continues to hold up Bell, Bubba Wallace has pulled out to a near-four-second lead with under 20 laps left in the Stage.
Lap 114: Bell Passes Hamlin
Denny Hamlin tried, but failed, to get around Joey Logano for the runner-up spot, and as he was attempting that, it allowed Christopher Bell to carve his way around Hamlin for the third position. Bell is now looking to set up Logano for a pass.
Lap 106: Bubba Wallace Continues to Lead
Bubba Wallace continues to lead, and is up to a 2.5 second lead over Joey Logano on Lap 106. The drivers, who pitted under the last caution have worked their way through the field. Christopher Bell in fourth is the highest of those drivers. Kyle Larson has also moved up to seventh. They restarted 18th and 19th.
Lap 83: Back to Green!
Bubba Wallace leads the field back to green on Lap 83, and he pulls out to the lead by himself. There is a cluster of cars mid-pack, and it looks very chaotic.
Lap 78: Reddick Team Avoids Penalty
17 drivers stayed on track, led by Bubba Wallace, under this caution. Christopher Bell won the race off pit road and will restart 18th. Tyler Reddick had near disaster on his pit stop, as he drove off with the fuel can plugged into his car. Fortunately for him, the can disconnected and landed inside his pit box, which allowed the No. 45 team to avoid a penalty.
Lap 76: Caution!
Ty Dillon has gone for a spin after contact from his brother Austin Dillon in Turn 2, and has damage to the rear end of his No. 10 DraftKings Chevrolet. We're back under caution.
Lap 72: SVG Thinks He Has Issue
Shane van Gisbergen, currently running 26th, feels he may have a tire going down. He has dropped like a rock since the restart.
Lap 66: Back to Green!
Kyle Larson brings the field back to the green flag, and Chase Elliott works his way into the runner-up position. Good start to the race for Hendrick Motorsports, which has three of the top-five cars on Lap 67.
Lap 63: Bubba Wallace Pits From Second
Bubba Wallace hit pit road from the second position under the caution for the Suarez/Briscoe incident. He has a chance to possibly make it to the end of the Stage on fuel. So, possibly a strategy call for the 23 team. Chase Briscoe pitted, and his team had a really difficult time changing the left rear tire on his car.
Lap 61: Caution!
As Chase Briscoe was working his way back up through the field after pitting in the stage break between Stages 1 and 2, he locked up his brakes going into Turn 1 in a three-wide battle with Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez. Briscoe collided with Suarez, which sent Suarez into the outside wall. We're under caution.
A bit of a situation here between @chasebriscoe and @Daniel_SuarezG! 😬 pic.twitter.com/75ozUdOmMC
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025
Lap 53: Back to Green!
Kyle Larson is the new leader of the race, and he brings us back to the green flag to kick off Stage 2. As Larson leads, a lot of jockeying for position is going on behind him. Tyler Reddick has worked his way up to sixth, and he is making up a lot of time in the opening laps of Stage 2.
Stage 1 Updates:
Lap 45: Briscoe Wins Stage 1!
Chase Briscoe pulled out all of the stops to defeat Kyle Larson for the Stage 1 win in Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway. Briscoe blocked the driver of the No. 5 car on the final lap of the Stage, and was able to take the Stage win.
Stage 1 Results
Fin | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (P) | 10 | 1 |
2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | 9 | -- |
3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 8 | -- |
4 | 24 | William Byron (P) | 7 | -- |
5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 6 | -- |
6 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (P) | 5 | -- |
7 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | 4 | -- |
8 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | 3 | -- |
9 | 38 | Zane Smith | 2 | -- |
10 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | 1 | -- |
(P) indicates Playoff Drivers
Lap 42: Back to Green!
Chase Briscoe brings the field back to green, and while he has the lead, Kyle Larson looks very fast. Meanwhile, Shane van Gisbergen is in an argument with Austin Cindric deep in the field.
Lap 37: Caution!
Josh Berry has found trouble early in the race for the second week in a row. Berry went spinning after contact with Chase Elliott in Turn 2, and he collided with the outside wall. Berry and Elliott were in a three-wide situation with Joey Logano at the time of the incident. Berry has massive damage to his No. 21 car, and it looks like the Playoff contender is done for the day.
Contact with Chase Elliott sends Josh Berry into the wall and brings the second caution of the day. 🟨
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 7, 2025
📺 USA Network pic.twitter.com/3QhRXBcZPQ
Lap 34: Larson on the Move
Kyle Larson was able to work his way from 11th to fourth in one lap with his fresh tires. He is flying right now.
Lap 33: Lead Change!
Chase Briscoe got around his teammate Denny Hamlin for the race lead on Lap 33.
Lap 32: Hamlin brings Field to Green
Denny Hamlin inherited the lead by remaining on track under that caution, while Kyle Larson pitted, and fell to 11th as a result. We're back to green! And it is chaotic back in the scrum as drivers try to knife to the front on new tires.
Lap 29: Reddick Has Loose Wheel
During a pit stop under this caution, Tyler Reddick had a loose wheel as he was exiting his pit stall. He stopped in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing pit box and was able to get the wheel tightened up. That will be costly as he'll go to the rear of the field, but losing the wheel on the track would have been worse.
The No. 45 avoids big trouble!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025
A loose wheel gets tightened on pit road by the No. 11 crew before @TylerReddick leaves pit road. pic.twitter.com/dlX4V1bLkw
Lap 26: Caution!
Kyle Busch, who scored his last win at Gateway two years ago, just went spinning. We're under the first caution of the race. He lost control battling Ty Gibbs for 17th.
Our first caution of the day comes out due to this @KyleBusch spin off of Turn 2. pic.twitter.com/TmZ7PJJFC6
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025
Lap 12: Briscoe Pressuring Hamlin
Denny Hamlin, who lost the lead a few laps ago, is now under fire from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe for the second position. Briscoe won last weekend, and is already into the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, but he wants more Playoff Points.
Lap 7: Lead Change!
Dirty air finally didn't prevail. Hopefully that remains true all race, but Kyle Larson took the lead from Denny Hamlin in Turn 4 on Lap 7 of Sunday's race. We have our first lead change.
We've been waiting for the No. 5 to come alive!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025
Today might be the day, as @KyleLarsonRacin takes the lead away from @dennyhamlin in Stage 1! pic.twitter.com/KxVzRf1tam
Lap 3: Wallace, Berry Make Contact
Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry made slight contact in the middle of Turns 3 and 4. Both continue on with no incident. They run 12th and 13th, and Wallace gets by Berry on Lap 5.
Lap 1: Hamlin Leads
Denny Hamlin got a great initial start and easily led lap 1 over Kyle Larson. Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe are side-by-side for third, and it looks like Briscoe will prevail.
3:11 PM ET: Green Flag!
Denny Hamlin leads the field to the green flag from the high lane, and he has Kyle Larson beside him. The field heads into Turn 1 to begin the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway.
REPOST if you’re watching the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at WWT Raceway!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 7, 2025
📺 USA Network pic.twitter.com/1UqY3rIizF
Pre-Race Updates
3:04 PM ET: Bill Murray Delivers Command!
Engines are fired after legendary actor Bill Murray delivered an incredible command to start engines. Pace laps are now underway for today's Enjoy Illinois 300.
Bill Murray gives the command at a NASCAR race!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025
Let's goooooo! 👏 pic.twitter.com/gcCj8uSPVE
Justin Haley to the Rear Pre-Race
Justin Haley will have to take his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to the rear of the field prior to the green flag of Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300 due to unapproved adjustments.
Enjoy Illinois 300 Pre-Race Info
The Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway will be televised on USA Network and can be streamed on the HBO Max streaming platform, as well as the NBC Sports App. The race broadcast will begin at 3:00 PM ET.
The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of Sunday's race. For subscribers of the HBO Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today's race.
The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday's race, is a total of $9,797,935.
The race distance is 240 laps around the 1.25-mile oval, which equates to a 300-mile race distance.
The Enjoy Illinois 300 will be broken up into three Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 45. Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 140. And the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 240, barring an Overtime finish.
The winner of Stages 1 and 2 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the overall race winner will be awarded five Playoff Points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and will be carried through each round of the Playoffs.
This race is the second race of the three-race Round of 16 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. If one of the 16 drivers in the Playoffs wins this event, they will automatically advance to the Round of 12 of the Playoffs. Chase Briscoe locked his spot into the Round of 12 with a win last weekend at Darlington Raceway. Briscoe will start third on Sunday at Gateway.
Austin Cindric, who drives the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is the defending winner of this race. Cindric is a Playoff driver, so a repeat win for him in this race would move him onto the next round of the Playoffs.
Denny Hamlin Rockets to Second Straight Pole to Start 2025 Playoffs
Two races into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, we still have just one driver, who has collected pole positions as Denny Hamlin collected his second consecutive pole position Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Hamlin claimed the pole with a 32.330-second (139.190 mph) lap time, which was enough to top Kyle Larson for the top spot by 0.021 seconds. The pole is the third of the season for Hamlin and it's the 46th of his NASCAR Cup Series career. Incredibly, Hamlin feels he could have been better during his lap.
"I thought I could have done a little bit better job for the team. But I'm proud of this whole Progressive Toyota team. Chris and the whole guys, making really great adjustments,"said Denny Hamlin. "That's what they did so well last week, was make those good adjustments before qualifying. Now, we've got great track position. Just have to maintain it, and we'll be in good shape."
Enjoy Illinois 300 Starting Lineup
Pos | Car | Driver | Lap time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 32.330 | 139.190 |
2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | 32.351 | 139.099 |
3 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (P) | 32.397 | 138.902 |
4 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | 32.408 | 138.855 |
5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 32.432 | 138.752 |
6 | 24 | William Byron (P) | 32.467 | 138.602 |
7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 32.501 | 138.457 |
8 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | 32.512 | 138.410 |
9 | 2 | Austin Cindric (P) | 32.571 | 138.160 |
10 | 38 | Zane Smith | 32.674 | 137.724 |
(P) indicates Playoff Drivers
Click here for the complete official starting lineup for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway.
No. 41 Haas Factory Team Penalized After Multiple Pre-Race Inspection Failures
NASCAR has ejected Marc Hendrickson, an engineer for the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series, after the car failed pre-race inspection twice prior to practice and qualifying on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Additionally, the No. 41 team lost their chance to select a pit stall, in which the selection order is determined by qualifying position.
The car passed inspection on its third attempt through the inspection bay, which means there were no further penalties assessed to Cole Custer and the No. 41 Haas Factory Team entry.
The Haas Factory Team has had a big week as it announced on Friday that it will swap manufacturers in 2026 from Ford to Chevrolet, and the team will form a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports with the manufacturer change.
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
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