The 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 2, 2024, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Contested over 240 laps on the 1.25-mile (2.01 km) paved oval motor racing track, it was the 15th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Austin Cindric won the race. Denny Hamlin finished 2nd, and Brad Keselowski finished 3rd. Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano rounded out the top five, and Austin Dillon, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, Justin Haley, and Kyle Larson rounded out the top ten.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 15 of 36 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | June 2, 2024 | ||
| Location | World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.25 mi (2.01 km) | ||
| Distance | 240 laps, 300 mi (480 km) | ||
| Average speed | 133.889 miles per hour (215.473 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Front Row Motorsports | ||
| Time | 32.468 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 80 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 2.46 million | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4) | ||
Report
editBackground
edit
World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a 1.25-mile (2 kilometer) oval that hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the NTT IndyCar Series, a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) infield road course used by the SCCA, Porsche Club of America, and various car clubs, and a quarter-mile drag strip that hosts the annual NHRA Midwest Nationals event.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editJoey Logano was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 32.603 seconds and a speed of 138.024 mph (222.128 km/h).[9]
Practice results
edit| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 32.603 | 138.024 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 32.604 | 138.020 |
| 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 32.627 | 137.923 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editMichael McDowell scored the pole for the race with a time 32.468 of and a speed of 138.598 mph (223.052 km/h).[10]
Qualifying results
editRace
editThe Final Lap
editRyan Blaney was leading the final lap of the race with his teammate Austin Cindric in 2nd, about to make it a Team Penske 1-2 finish, but sadly, Blaney ran out of gas, making Cindric lead the final lap and win the first points race for Team Penske, and Blaney falling back to finish in 24th. Cindric's win would mark his first win (and second in his career) since the 2022 Daytona 500.
Race results
editStage results
editStage One Laps: 45
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 95
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 7 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage results
editStage Three Laps: 100
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 240 | 56 |
| 2 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 240 | 42 |
| 3 | 7 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 240 | 40 |
| 4 | 5 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 240 | 36 |
| 5 | 12 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 240 | 39 |
| 6 | 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 240 | 33 |
| 7 | 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 240 | 50 |
| 8 | 20 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 240 | 32 |
| 9 | 21 | 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 240 | 28 |
| 10 | 13 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 240 | 27 |
| 11 | 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 240 | 30 |
| 12 | 16 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 240 | 25 |
| 13 | 17 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 240 | 32 |
| 14 | 26 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 240 | 23 |
| 15 | 11 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 240 | 27 |
| 16 | 35 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 240 | 21 |
| 17 | 23 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 240 | 24 |
| 18 | 28 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 240 | 19 |
| 19 | 36 | 71 | Zane Smith (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 240 | 18 |
| 20 | 24 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 240 | 17 |
| 21 | 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 240 | 16 |
| 22 | 27 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 240 | 15 |
| 23 | 31 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 240 | 14 |
| 24 | 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 240 | 29 |
| 25 | 1 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 239 | 21 |
| 26 | 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 239 | 11 |
| 27 | 33 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 239 | 10 |
| 28 | 14 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 239 | 9 |
| 29 | 32 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 239 | 8 |
| 30 | 25 | 16 | Derek Kraus | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 239 | 7 |
| 31 | 30 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 239 | 6 |
| 32 | 15 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 239 | 5 |
| 33 | 34 | 15 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 238 | 4 |
| 34 | 19 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 237 | 3 |
| 35 | 10 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 139 | 2 |
| 36 | 29 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 109 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 16 among 10 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 5 for 32 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 48 minutes, and 3 seconds
- Average speed: 133.889 miles per hour (215.473 km/h)
Media
editTelevision
editFox Sports covered the race on the television side. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled the pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
| FS1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Kevin Harvick |
Jamie Little Regan Smith |
Larry McReynolds |
Radio
editMRN has the radio call for the race and was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace called the race for MRN from the booth when the field races down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the race from turns 1 & 2 while Kurt Becker called the race from turns 3 & 4. Pit Road for MRN was manned by lead pit reporter Steve Post, Brienne Pedigo and Kim Coon.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace |
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker |
Steve Post Brienne Pedigo Kim Coon |
Standings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^ "2024 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ Taranto, Steven (October 4, 2023). "NASCAR Cup Series 2024 schedule announcement: New additions, race dates, plus the complete calendar". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "NASCAR unveils 2024 Cup schedule as Atlanta, Watkins Glen move to playoffs". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. October 4, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ "Enjoy Illinois 300 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^ Utter, Jim (June 1, 2024). "Gateway NASCAR Cup: Penske drivers top Saturday practice". Motorsport.com. Madison, Illinois: Motorsport Network. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ Utter, Jim (June 1, 2024). "Gateway NASCAR Cup: McDowell beats Cindric to pole position". Motorsport.com. Madison, Illinois: Motorsport Network. Retrieved June 1, 2024.