2023 NASCAR Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway – Full Race Results
2023 Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway - Race Results | |||
Pos | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
1 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
2 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
3 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
4 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
5 | Martin Truex Jr | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
6 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
7 | Daniel Suarez | TrackHouse Racing | Chevrolet |
8 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
9 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
10 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart Haas Racing | Ford |
11 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
12 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
13 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
14 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
15 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
16 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
17 | Ryan Preece | Stewart Haas Racing | Ford |
18 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
19 | Aric Almirola | Stewart Haas Racing | Ford |
20 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
21 | Corey LaJoie | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
22 | Ross Chastain | TrackHouse Racing | Chevrolet |
23 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
24 | JJ Yeley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
25 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
26 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
27 | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet |
28 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
29 | Gray Gaulding | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
30 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
31 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
32 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
33 | Noah Gragson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet |
34 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart Haas Racing | Ford |
35 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
36 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
It took quite a while to get there, but Kyle Busch eventually swept the weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway, winning the race from pole position. It is the third win of the season for the Richard Childress Racing driver, and one that he wanted badly. Busch led 66 laps in the inaugural race at Gateway last year, but finished runner-up to Joey Logano. Today it was Busch that earned the victory, while Logano settled for a 3rd place finish for Team Penske.
Denny Hamlin rebounded from a brutal Coca-Cola 600 last weekend, when he was taken out deliberately by Chase Elliott, sending him head-first into the wall in the dogleg at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His runner-up finish today was a great morale boost for the team, as they keep searching for their next win. Kyle Larson was battling at the front in the final few restarts, but ended up finishing 4th while Martin Truex Jr had another solid run and rounded out the top-five.
Ryan Blaney followed up his win last weekend with a 6th place run today while Daniel Suarez got a much-needed 7th place result for Trackhouse Racing. William Byron continued his strong season with another top-ten finish. It is the sixth consecutive top-ten for Byron, who hadn't finished worse than 7th since the April 16 race at Martinsville. Michael McDowell had a great run for Front Row Motorsports to finish 9th, as Kevin Harvick completed the top-ten on Sunday.
This race was all about red flags and broken brake rotors. The race began with a crash on Lap 3 followed by a nearly two-hour hold for lightning in the St Louis area. Once the race got going again, several drivers suffered issues with brake rotors that sent them hard into the outside wall. It was a rough afternoon for 23XI Racing as Tyler Reddick spun in the opening laps of the race, and again towards the end to finish 35th. Teammate Bubba Wallace was five laps away from scoring another top-ten before a brake rotor failed on his No. 23 Toyota, putting a damper on his day.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr was another driver that was having a solid race before fate intervened. He was collected in an incident late in the race, sending him to a 32nd place finish despite running inside the top-ten for most of the day. Corey LaJoie did an admirable job filling in for the suspended Chase Elliott, finishing 21st for the Hendrick Motorsports organization.
Previous Gateway winners
2022: Joey Logano