The NASCAR Cup Series comes to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for the first time.

After a full 50 minute practice session on Friday, the drivers take to the track to qualify for the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Saturday.  Brad Keselowski is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run and posts a time of 33.575 seconds.

During practice Parker Kligerman’s car caught fire.  With AJ Allmendinger in Portland, Ben Rhodes practiced the car and was set to qualify the car.  Neither of those cars will make a qualifying run.

Zane Smith is driving the number 17 RFK Racing car this week with Chris Buescher out of the car.  Buescher’s absence is not due to his crash last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway that put him on the roof, but due to Covid protocols.  Buescher tested positive for the virus and is out of the race.

After two rounds of qualifying, 32.54 seconds, Chase Briscoe puts his Stewart-Haas Racing number 14 on the pole and will bring the field to green for his first career pole.  Rookie driver Austin Cindric will start alongside on the front row.

Briscoe is the tenth different driver this season to win a pole in the Cup Series.

When the green flag waves at WWTR, Martin Truex Jr will join the 600 club, having made his 600th race start.

The starting lineup for the Enjoy Illinois 300:
Chase Briscoe
Austin Cindric
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Denny Hamlin
Joey Logano
Aric Almirola
Harrison Burton
Ross Chastain
Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch
Martin Truex Jr
Cole Custer
Kyle Larson
Chase Elliott
Michael McDowell
Bubba Wallace
Corey LaJoie
Kevin Harvick
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
William Byron
Alex Bowman
Ty Dillon
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Justin Haley
Austin Dillon
Brad Keselowski
Cody Ware
Zane Smith
Josh Bilicki
BJ McLeod
AJ Allmendinger
Parker Kligerman

Stage one of the race is just 45 laps with stage two lasting 95 laps and stage three 100 laps in length for a total of 240 laps around the 1.25 mile track.

Michael Waltrip joins Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the broadcast booth for today’s race and in stage two St. Louis native and former NASCAR racer Kenny Wallace will join the crew in the booth.

The home of Anheiser-Busch, the iconic Clydesdales make a visit to WWTR.

Daniel Suarez will have to start the race from the back of the field after the crew made some unapproved adjustments to the car.  Already at the back of the field after not being able to make a qualifying run, AJ Allmendinger’s crew also made some unapproved adjustments to the car.

Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag start of the race before a sell out crowd from the inside lane.  Briscoe edges out for the lead with Austin Cindric in second.  Driver gets three wide across the track.

Lapa two, Chris Buescher leads the race with Austin Cindric in second; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap four, Joey Logano makes it a four wide battle.

Lap five, Chase Briscoe Briscoe has a near half second lead on Austin Cindric; Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap seven, the field remains tight with Chase Briscoe leading the way by just a quarter of a second over Austin Cindric.  Just over five seconds separates the top 10 drivers.

Lap nine, Chase Briscoe continues to lead the race with Austin Cindric in second; Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 17, Chase Briscoe leads the race with Austin Cindric in second; Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Christopher Bell has dropped 10 spots since the race start; while the Busch brothers have barely moved from the tenth and eleventh place starting spots.

Lap 19, Chase Briscoe has a near half second lead on Austin Cindric; it is over two seconds back to third place driver Ryan Blaney with Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin rounding out the top five.

Lap 22, eighth place driver Ross Chastain is running some of the fastest laps on the track.

Lap 25, Chase Briscoe has a half second lead on Austin Cindric; Ryan Blaney in third place has closed the gap on the leader to under two seconds; Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin round out the top five with sixth place driver ross Chastain closing in.

Starting from the back of the field, AJ Allmendinger has moved up to 22nd place.

Lap 28, Chase Briscoe has a flat tire and ahs to make an unscheduled pit stop.  He is now a lap down and Austin Cindric leads the race.

Lap 33, the top five are Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Ross Chastain.

Lap 36, Austin Cindric has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Ryan Blaney.  Tyler Reddick is reporting a vibration with eight laps remaining in stage one.

There ae 32 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 40, Ryan Blaney has closed the gap on lead Austin Cindric to under a second and a half; Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Chase Briscoe is in last place and is not eligible for the “lucky dog” at the end of stage one.

Lap 42, Austin Cindric has a lead of just over a second on Ryan Blaney; Tyler Reddick is in third over two seconds back with Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain rounding out the top five.

Lap 45, Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin battle for fourth.

Austin Cindric wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Austin Cindric
Ryan Blaney
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Ross Chastain
Aric Almirola
Joey Logano
Kyle Busch
Chase Elliott
Christopher Bell

The narrowest pit road in the NASCAR circuit at 16 feet – minus pit boxes – the drivers come down pit road for service with Austin Cindric leading the race off of pit road.  Kyle Busch consistently has some of the fastest pit stops in NASCAR and advances four spots on pit road.

Chase Briscoe did not make a pit stop and will take the wave around to get back on the lead lap.

And with the beginning of stage two, Kenny Wallace comes to the broadcast booth.

Chase Elliott made a second trip down pit road to check his left rear tire.

Austin Cindric brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two from the outside lane on lap 54.  Cindric and team mate Ryan Blaney go side by side before Ryan Blaney takes the lead on lap 56.

Tyler Reddick made it to the end of the stage with a tire issue.

Lap 57, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, and Denny Hamlin.

Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric battle for second.

Lap 58, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over a second while Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric battled for second.

Lap 61, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over a second on Kyle Busch; Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Kyle Busch in second place is running some of the fastest laps on the track.

The caution flag comes out on lap 65 when Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain make contact seinding Hamlin up the track and into the wall.  Hamlin is on pit road with a broken towline.

Drivers come down pit road for service.  Zane Smith gets turned around on pit road after contact form Michael McDowell.

Coming out of his pit box, Kurt Busch barely misses a tire changer on Chase Briscoe’s car with Kyle Larson on Busch’s outside.

Leader Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 70 from the outside lane nd jumps out in front for the lead.

Lap 71, Kyle Busch leads the race with Joey Logano in second; Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Lap 76, Kyle Busch has a lead of nearly half a second on oey Logano; Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.

Corey LaJoie has taken his number seven car to the garage.

Lap 79, Kyle Busch has a lead of less than half a second on Joey Logano; Ryan Blaney is nearly two seconds back in third place with Austin Cindric, and Ross Chastain rounding out the top five.

Lap 81, Ross Chastain comes down on the apron to pass Denny Hamlin who is four laps down.  Denny Hamlin is slowed on the track.

Lap 88, Kyle Busch now has a lead of nearly a second and a half on Joey Logano; Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.

Lap 90, after starting the race from the back of the field, Daniel Suarez is in the top 20.

Lap 94, Ross Chastain is once again behind Denny Hamlin but this time Hamlin did not send Chastain down the track but let Chastain pass after holding him up.  NASCAR has sent a message to Hamlin, telling him to “knock it off”.

Lap 95, Kyle Busch has a second and a half lead on Joey Logano.

The caution flag comes out for a flat tire on Ryan Blaney’s car that sends him backing into the wall.  On his last pit stop, Blaney took only two tires.

The top five are Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, and Chase Elliott.

Drivers come down pit road for service.  Ten drivers stayed out on the track.

Michael McDowell and Tyler Reddick bring the field down for the green flag restart on lap 101 with McDowell taking the lead.

Chase Elliott brings out the caution flag on lap 102 when his gets loose after contact with Ross Chastain in a three wide battle.  Bubba Wallace, Harrison Burton, and Austin Dillon were also involved.

Michael McDowell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Aric Almirola alongside on lap 107.  McDowell edges out for the lead.  Chase Elliott bumps Ross Chastain as he passes and Denny Hamlin runs Chastain up the track.

Lap 108, Michael McDowell leads the race with Arick Almirola in second; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Erik Jones round out the top five.

Ross Chastain finally gets around Denny Hamlin who had been trying to hold Chastain up and keep him from meeting minimum speed.

Lap 112, Michael McDowell has a narrow lead on Arick Almirola; Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Kurt Busch round out the top five.

Lap 115, after getting a lap down from a flat tire, Chase Briscoe has worked his way back to 15th place.  Ryan Blaney, who also had a tire issue, is right behind Briscoe in 16th.

Lap 117, Michael McDowell has a half second lead on Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Kurt Busch round out the top five with brother Kyle in sixth.

Daniel Suarez is in the top 10.

Lap 119, Kurt Busch passes Christopher Bell fo  fourth.

Lap 128, Kurt Busch battles with Tyler Reddick for third place with Kyle Busch right behind them.

Bubba Wallace brings out the caution flag after getting hit from behind by Ricky Stenhouse Jr and sending Wallace into the wall.

Drivers come down pit road for service.  Tyler Reddick pulls out of his pit stall while the gas can was still attached.

The top nine drivers stayed out on the track.

After staying out on the track, Kurt Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart with just six laps remaining in stage two.  Kurt Busch edges out Kyle Larson for the lead.

Drivers are getting three wide back in the field.

Lap 136, Kurt Busch has a half second lead on Martin Truex Jr; Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, andCole Custer round out the top five.

Lap 138, Kyle and Kyle battle for third place with Kyle Busch taking the spot.

Lap 139, Kurt Busch’s lead has been cut to under half a second on Martin Truex Jr; Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Aric Almirola round out the top five.

Kurt Busch wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kurt Busch
Martin Truex Jr
Kyle Busch
Kyle Larson
Aric Almirola
Christopher Bell
Daniel Suarez
Cole Custer
Erik Jones
Ryan Blaney


Drivers come down pit road for service with Kurt Busch winning the race off pit road but most of the field stayed out on the track.

Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch bring the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 147.  Truex gets out in front for the lead after staying out on the track.

Lap 148, Martin Truex Jr leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Denny Hamlin is the only driver on the track not on the lead lap and he is 10 laps down.  Corey LaJoie is out of the race with engine issues.

Eighty-eight laps remain in the race, Martin Truex Jr has a half second lead on team mate Kyle Busch; Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.  AJ Allmendinger is in 17th place after not running a single lap in the car.  AJ ran the Xfinity Series race on Saturday in Portland and had no time in his Cup Series car.

With 83 laps to go, Chase Briscoe has worked his way back to the top 10.

There are 82 laps remaining in the race with Martin Truex Jr in the lead; Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 168, Martin Truex Jr has increased his lead to over half a second on Kyle Busch.

Leader Martin Truex Jr is running career race number 600.  If he can win the race he will join “The King” Richard Petty as the only driver to win the race on his 600th start.

After getting a penalty for leaving pit road with the gas can, Tyler Reddick has worked his way back to 14th place.

One of the drivers to make a pit stop at the end of stage two, Kurt Busch restarted the race back in 23rd but has worked his way up to 16th.

With 65 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are in their pit window to make it to the end of the race.

Kyle Busch is very slowly closing the gap on leader Martin Truex Jr.

Crews on pit road are preparing for the drivers to come down for what they hope is a final pit stop.

Sixty to go, Martin Truex Jr continues to lead the race with Kyle Busch in second; Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

The caution flag comes out with 59 laps remaining in the race when Tyler Reddick spins out.  He was in 16th place.

Cody Ware is off the track with 30 cars on the lead lap.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Erik Jones winning the race off of pit road after taking only two tires. Kyle Busch came out second by only a few inches, also taking only two tires.  Aric Almirola and Martin Truex Jr barely avoid a disaster coming off of pit road.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr made a second stop on pit road.

The jack broke on Daniel Suarez’ crew and put him way back in the field.

Erik Jones brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane with 51 laps remaining in the race.  Erik Jones gets out in front but Kyle Busch comes up on the inside to battle for the lead.  Joey Logano comes up to make it a three wide battle but Kyle Busch gets out in front for the lead.

Fifty to go, Kyle Busch leads the race with Joey Logano in second; Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.  The drivers get four and five wide back in the field battling for position.

With 47 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are getting very aggressive in a battle for position.

Lap 196, Kyle Busch has a half second lead on Joey Logano; Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.  Just outside the top 10, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson are in a fierce battle for position.

AJ Allmendinger has entered the top 15.

Cody Ware is out of the race.

Lap 197, Kurt Busch has advance 16 spots since the restart and is now in the top 10.

Lap 200, Ricky Stenhouse brings out the eighth caution flag when he spins out and gets into the wall.

Some of the drivers back in the field come down pit road for fresh tires.

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane with Joey Logano on the outside with just 35 laps remaining in the race.  Getting a push from Erik Jones, Kyle Busch gets out in front for the lead with Joey Logano in second.

Joey Logano comes up to battle with Kyle Busch for the lead and takes the spot. 

With 33 laps to go, Joey Logano leads the race with Kyle Busch in second; Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Drivers are three wide in a battle for position.

Thirty to go, Joey Logano has pulled out to a half second lead on Kyle Busch; Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, and Erik Jones round out the top five.

Kurt Busch comes up on the outside to battle with Martin Truex Jr for sixth place.

Lap 212, Joey Logano has increased his lead to over half a second on Kyle Busch; Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, and Erik Jones round out the top five.  Kurt Busch has passed Martin Truex Jr for sixth.

Lap 215, Joey Logano now has a one second lead on Kyle Busch.

Lap 217, Joey Logano has a one second lead on Kyle Busch.  Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, and Ryan Blaney are nose to tail in a top five battle.  Erik Jones rounds out the top five.

Twenty to go, Joey Logano’s lead is now just under a second on Kyle Busch; Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, and Erik Jones round out the top five.

Cole Custer brings out the ninth caution flag of the day when he spins out after some on track contact with 18 laps remaining in the race.

A few drivers from the back of the field come down pit road for fresh tires.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart from the inside lane with Kyle Busch on the outside.  There are just 13 laps remaining in the race.  Kyle Busch edges out for the lead with Joey Logano in second.

Joey Logano comes up on the inside but Kyle Busch holds him off.  Busch is make some wide sweeping turns in the corners giving Logano a chance to come up on the inside for a pass.

Ten to go, the top five are Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, and Aric Almirola.

With nine laps remaining in the race, AJ Allmendinger has entered the top 10.

Seven to go, Kyle Busch holds on to the lead but Joey Logano continues to challenge for the lead.

Five to go, Kyle Busch gets loose but saves the car and Joey Logano continues to battle for the lead.

Kevin Harvick gets into the wall hard and brings out the caution flag with just four laps to go.  Harvick said that he thought a brake rotor broke.  After taking a few moments to catch his breath, Harvick gets out of the car and walks to the ambulance. 

The race goes into overtime!

Kyle Busch brings the field down for the two lap overtime shootout from the outside lane with big brother right behind him.  Joey Logano is on the inside lane with team mate Ryan Blaney right behind him.  Joey Logano gets out in front for the lead but Kyle Busch comes back to take the lead.  Joey Logano retakes the lead…and the white flag.

Joey Logano wins the race after three slide jobs between Logano and Kyle Busch.  This is Logano’s second win of the season; his first win was at Darlington.

The unofficial results of the Enjoy Illinois 300:
Joey Logano
Kyle Busch
Kurt Busch
Ryan Blaney
Aric Almirola
Martin Truex Jr
Erik Jones
Ross Chastain
Christopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Cindric
Kyle Larson
Alex Bowman
Justin Haley
Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick
Zane Smith
Michael McDowell
William Byron
Brad Keselowski
Chase Elliott
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
Chase Briscoe
Harrison Burton
Bubba Wallace
Ty Dillon
Josh Bilicki
Cole Custer
BJ McLeod
Parker Kligerman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kevin Harvick
Denny Hamlin
Cody Ware
Corey LaJoie