The Enjoy Illinois 300 (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter) is a NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway Motorsports Park) in Madison, Illinois in the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area, first held in 2022. This race replaced the Pocono Organics CBD 325, one of the two Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway.
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| NASCAR Cup Series | |
|---|---|
| Venue | World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway |
| Location | Madison, Illinois |
| Corporate sponsor | Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity / Illinois Office of Tourism |
| First race | 2022 |
| Distance | 300 miles (480 km) |
| Laps | 240 Stage 1: 45 Stage 2: 95 Final Stage: 100 |
| Most wins (driver) | Joey Logano Kyle Busch Austin Cindric |
| Most wins (team) | Team Penske (2) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Ford (2) |
| Circuit information | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.25 mi (2.01 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
A NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, the Toyota 200 presented by CK Power, which was previously a standalone race on the series' schedule before the track received a Cup Series date, is held on the same weekend as this race.
History
editOn August 21, 2021, Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal reported that NASCAR was in talks to have the track host a Cup Series race in 2022.[1] On September 8, he reported that Gateway would be on the 2022 Cup Series schedule and would replace one of the two races at Pocono Raceway.[2] The schedule was released on September 15 with Gateway on Sunday, June 5.[3]
The race length is 300 miles (240 laps).[4] The stage lengths for the race were confirmed to be 45-95-100 laps for the Cup Series. The 2022 event was the first Cup race at the track, and also the first for the new Next Gen car at the track.[5]
Past winners
edit| Year | Date | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Race distance | Race time | Average speed (mph) |
Report | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laps | Miles (km) | ||||||||||
| 2022 | June 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 245* | 306.25 (490) | 3:07:34 | 97.965 | Report | [6] |
| 2023 | June 4 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 243* | 303.75 (486) | 3:28:16 | 87.508 | Report | [7] |
| 2024 | June 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 240 | 300 (480) | 2:48:03 | 107.11 | Report | [8] |
Notes
edit- 2022 & 2023: Races extended due to NASCAR overtime.
Multiple winners (teams)
edit| # Wins | Team | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Team Penske | 2022, 2024 |
Manufacturer wins
edit| # Wins | Manufacturer | Years Won |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Ford | 2022, 2024 |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 2023 |
References
edit- ^ "Cup to race Gateway in 2022?". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 21, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Cup Schedule Released Next Week? Adding Gateway? Pocono losing a race?". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 8, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ "2022 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 15, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ "2022 NASCAR Cup Series Schedule". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ "(Twitter post)". Twitter. Bob Pockrass. January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
Tentative stage lengths for national series. Cup stage lengths for races later in the year TBD as NASCAR sees what fuel mileage is with new car (try not to have a fuel mileage race to end of stage).
- ^ "2022 Enjoy Illinois 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- ^ "2023 Enjoy Illinois 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
- ^ "2024 Enjoy Illinois 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
External links
edit- World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway race results at Racing-Reference