# 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300

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.

## Report
### Background

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

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 16 | Derek Kraus | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 71 | Zane Smith (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## Practice

Joey 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).

### Practice results

| 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

Michael McDowell scored the pole for the race with a time 32.468 of and a speed of 138.598 mph (223.052 km/h).

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 32.318 | 32.468 |
| 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 32.620 | 32.577 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 32.663 | 32.613 |
| 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 32.681 | 32.687 |
| 5 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 32.657 | 32.707 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 32.582 | 32.726 |
| 7 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 32.673 | 32.753 |
| 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 32.669 | 32.775 |
| 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 32.698 | 32.814 |
| 10 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 32.704 | 32.842 |
| 11 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.705 | — |
| 12 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 32.774 | — |
| 13 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.734 | — |
| 14 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.822 | — |
| 15 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.735 | — |
| 16 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 32.897 | — |
| 17 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.742 | — |
| 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 32.899 | — |
| 19 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 32.815 | — |
| 20 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 32.915 | — |
| 21 | 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 32.817 | — |
| 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 32.971 | — |
| 23 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 32.837 | — |
| 24 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 32.999 | — |
| 25 | 16 | Derek Kraus | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 32.916 | — |
| 26 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 33.051 | — |
| 27 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 32.932 | — |
| 28 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 33.077 | — |
| 29 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 32.971 | — |
| 30 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 33.165 | — |
| 31 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 32.985 | — |
| 32 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 33.225 | — |
| 33 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 33.013 | — |
| 34 | 15 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 33.335 | — |
| 35 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 33.021 | — |
| 36 | 71 | Zane Smith (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 33.420 | — |
| Official qualifying results |||||||

## Race
### The Final Lap

Ryan 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
#### Stage results

Stage 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

Stage 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

* 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
### Television

Fox 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

MRN 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

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Denny Hamlin | 534 |
| 1 | 2 | Kyle Larson | 513 (–21) |
| 1 | 3 | Chase Elliott | 507 (–27) |
| 2 | 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 490 (–44) |
| | 5 | William Byron | 488 (–46) |
| | 6 | Tyler Reddick | 473 (–61) |
| | 7 | Ty Gibbs | 465 (–69) |
| 3 | 8 | Christopher Bell | 437 (–97) |
| | 9 | Brad Keselowski | 437 (–97) |
| 2 | 10 | Alex Bowman | 417 (–117) |
| 1 | 11 | Ross Chastain | 417 (–117) |
| | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 405 (–129) |
| | 13 | Bubba Wallace | 371 (–163) |
| 1 | 14 | Chris Buescher | 368 (–166) |
| 1 | 15 | Chase Briscoe | 358 (–176) |
| 1 | 16 | Joey Logano | 354 (–180) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Toyota | 545 |
| 1 | 2 | Chevrolet | 542 (–3) |
| | 3 | Ford | 513 (–32) |