Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson will officially see his winless streak halt at 51 races, after holding off Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman to win the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday at WWT Raceway.
Larson paced the field for 80 of what ended up being a 247-lap event, seven laps longer than originally scheduled, after the event progressed into double overtime – a fitting conclusion to an afternoon that produced a track-record 18 cautions, plus two red flags in the final stage.
The race-winning move, in the middle of what was four hours of caution flags and carnage (especially in the race’s final stage), came as Larson and Cliff Daniels elected to put four fresh Goodyear tires on at their last pit stop, while most of the leaders elected to take only two.
So, when it came down to a mano-e-mano fight between Larson and Logano with less than 15 laps to go, the driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet blasted to the inside of the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and completed the pass. Although he had to hold his breath throughout several more restarts, he never really looked back.
“I had a good feeling. I mean, you never know. I felt like this place is so weird. Obviously with the brake rotor failure, strategy, all that,” Larson said. Just proud of my team for working so hard, being so patient through all the tough times, the winless streak, all that. Thanks to the fans, my fans, for also being patient with us, letting us get it figured out.”
Larson, who led a 1-2 finish for Hendrick Motorsports, praised his teammate Alex Bowman, who helped push him to the victory, and had one of his best performances of the season despite racing with a heavy heart.
“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 of days ago. William Byron, top five, too. Ross Chastain fifth. A lot of Chevys up there. Good day for Chevrolet.”
Bowman came home one spot short of the victory, collecting his first top-five in the NASCAR Cup Series since Fourth of July Weekend at Chicagoland, and his best result since scoring a runner-up result last Summer at Richmond.
Polesitter Joey Logano led a race-high 96 laps and finished in third. William Byron rebounded from being involved in multiple incidents to finish in fourth, with non-Chase driver Ross Chastain completing the top-five.
Chevrolet had a stellar afternoon with Austin Dillon, Connor Zilisch, and Carson Hocevar taking up sixth through eighth. Denny Hamlin was ninth and Austin Cindric rounded out the top-10.
Just about every driver in The Chase found some kind of trouble throughout the afternoon.
Bubba Wallace (P14) managed to recover from not one, but two incidents on the afternoon, finishing inside the top-15. Ty Gibbs (P18) wrecked late with AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon. Christopher Bell (P19) also got caught up in an incident with Wallace, Josh Berry, and fellow Chase driver Tyler Reddick (P25).
Chris Buescher (P27) brought out the penultimate caution of the event, which sent the race into NASCAR Overtime, when he blew a brake rotor heading into Turn 1. Ryan Blaney (P35) had a similar problem earlier in the race, while running near the top-five.
Daniel Suarez (P29), like Bubba Wallace, had a plethora of issues, including an early-race wreck. Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe (P31 and P32) were both involved in the same incident at Lap 13, when Elliott’s brake rotor exploded, causing the Hendrick Motorsports driver to crash into the No. 19, ending both of their afternoons.
Leaving WWT Raceway and heading to Bristol Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin holds a nine-point lead over Kyle Larson, with Christopher Bell in third (-18), Ryan Blaney fourth (-33), and Tyler Reddick rounding out the top-five.
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol will take place on Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 PM ET on USA Sports.
PHOTO: Chris Graythen, Getty Images
