Published on September 15, 2026 7:00 am
Last Updated on September 15, 2026 7:00 am
MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 13, 2026) – Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson snapped a 51-race winless streak by surviving two overtime restarts to win Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 Chase race at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Larson outdueled three-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano of Team Penske over the final two overtime restarts before a fifth consecutive sellout crowd at WWT Raceway. The victory was Larson’s first since May of last season at Kansas Speedway and the 33rd of his Cup Series career. The Hendrick Motorsports driver became the fifth different winner since the Cup Series debuted at the venue in 2022.
“I haven’t doubted myself; I haven’t doubted our team (maybe myself at times, but never my team),” Larson said. “Thank you to everybody on the (No.) 5 team … the pit crews for busting their butts too, (crew chief) Cliff Daniels for leading our team to great finishes. No better time to have a great day than today. So proud of it and feel like we got our swagger back a little bit.”
Larson also avoided the attrition that affected most of the 16 Chase drivers amid a track-record and series-high 17 cautions (and two red flags) in the 240-lap, 300-mile race on the demanding 1.25-mile oval. Only six Chase drivers finished among the top 13 while six others finished 25th or worse.
A week after an alternate race strategy by Daniels did not pay off at Darlington, the team nailed it Sunday. With 35 laps remaining, RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski led five drivers who stayed out before the restart. The rest of the field pitted, and Larson was one of only four drivers to take four tires instead of two. The decision would cost him track position, but the four-tire call paid off down the stretch, particularly against Logano, who took only two right-side tires.
Larson also benefited from teammate Alex Bowman, who did not qualify for the Chase but became a factor with a strong run. Bowman lined up behind Larson for the restart following the red flag with seven laps remaining and again for the first overtime, providing the pushes Larson needed to take the lead. For the second overtime, Bowman joined Larson on the front row and battled Logano, preventing him from mounting a challenge for the win.
Larson, who led three times for 80 laps, finished 0.333 seconds ahead of Bowman, who posted a season-best finish.
“How about Hendrick Motorsports! How about Alex Bowman?” Larson said. “You can’t ask for a better teammate than him, giving me the pushes I needed to get clear, so I really want to dedicate this win to him and his dog Finn, who just passed away a couple days ago.”
Logano, the polesitter who led four times for a race-high 96 laps, finished third for his fifth top-five finish in as many races at WWT Raceway. Hendrick Motorsports placed three drivers in the top five, including Chase contender William Byron in fourth. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who did not qualify for the Chase, rounded out the top five.
Larson also gained five positions in the series championship standings to move into second, just nine points behind leader Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin, the regular-season champion, retained the championship lead for a second consecutive Chase race with a ninth-place finish.
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