Race Lineup

Enjoy Illinois 300

Sunday, June 4th, 2023

World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, IL

  • 16 Chevrolet
  • 14 Ford
  • 6 Toyota

  • World Wide Technology Raceway
  • Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter
  • Busch Pole Award Pole Winner: Kyle Busch
  • Age: 38
  • Team : No. 8 - 3CHI Chevrolet
  • Owner: Richard Childress
  • Crew Chief: Randall Burnett
  • Kyle Busch won the Pole Award for the Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter with a lap of 32.802 seconds, 137.187 mph.
  • This is his 33rd pole in 657 NASCAR Cup Series races.
  • This is his first pole and eighth top-10 start in 2023.
  • This is his first pole in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
  • Ryan Blaney (second) posted his 11th top-10 start of 2023 and his second in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
  • Denny Hamlin (third) posted his second top-10 start at World Wide Technology Raceway. It is his sixth in 15 races this season.
  • Ty Gibbs (15th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

  • Sunday, June 4th, 2023
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Kyle Busch converts pole position into NASCAR Cup win at WWT Raceway

Kyle Busch collected his 63rd NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, but the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had to work hard for the first-place money.

Busch, the pole winner, survived five restarts in the last 40 laps of the Enjoy Illinois 300 and beat Denny Hamlin to the finish line by .517 seconds after Bubba Wallace’s broken brake rotor caused the 11th caution on Lap 236 and sent the race to overtime.

The victory was Busch’s first at the 1.25-mile track and the third in his debut season with RCR. It was a home game for his crew chief, Randall Burnett, who grew up in Fenton, Mo., and had family in attendance on Sunday.

“That was pretty awesome,” Busch exulted after he climbed from his car. “Man, to sit on the pole, lead a lot of laps and have my guys do such a great job today was pretty phenomenal for us. Great for RCR. Just win, baby! Thanks to Team Chevy, appreciate (sponsor) 3Chi…

“We're going to have a great time with this one. This one is pretty cool.”

Busch led five times for 121 laps, including the last 60. Neither Hamlin nor third-place finisher Joey Logano—winner of the inaugural Gateway race last year—led a single circuit.

Kyle Larson parlayed a two-tire call on Lap 178 into improved track position and a fourth-place finish. Martin Truex was fifth, followed by Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Michael McDowell and Kevin Harvick.

Blaney led 83 laps and Byron 30. Byron pitted from the lead on Lap 178 but fell to fourth with an uncharacteristically slow stop and faded in traffic after the subsequent Lap 184 restart.

Corey LaJoie finished 21st in a substitute role for Chase Elliott, who was serving a one-race suspension for wrecking Hamlin in Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Subbing for LaJoie in his usual ride—the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet—Carson Hocevar started 26th and gained 10 spots with an impressive drive through the field before a brake rotor failure on Lap 90 knocked him out of the race.

Hocevar was running 16th and chasing Austin Dillon for position when the right front rotor broke into pieces. The No. 7 Camaro made jarring contact with the Turn 1 wall to cause the fourth caution of the race, which was delayed for two hours with just seven laps complete because of lightning in the area.

“I thought it was great,” said Hocevar, who was racing a Cup car for the first time. “I had a blast. Just so thankful for the opportunity. I don’t have a job for next year. I know Al Niece and Cody Efaw want me to run for them (in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series), and I will forever run a race or however many.

“But man, I’m just so thankful that (Spire) gave me the opportunity—the opportunity to drive an Xfinity car (on Monday at Charlotte) and now driving a Cup car. I was running 16th… just so surreal for the first time ever. I thought we were going to have a good day and be in a good spot for the No. 7 Chevy team. Hopefully, that call for a Cup ride isn’t the only one I get in my life.”

Brake rotors weren’t an issue confined to Hocevar’s car. Tyler Reddick slammed the outside wall after his right front rotor exploded on Lap 175. On Lap 198, the same fate befell Noah Gragson, who took the hardest hit of all when his No. 42 Chevy slid up the track into the fence in Turn 1.

Bubba Wallace had the same issue with five laps left in regulation, and his contact with the Turn 1 wall set up the final two-lap run to the finish in overtime.

Hamlin felt the lightning delay played against him and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

“Yeah, I thought we were super dialed in if it was 95 degrees like it was supposed to be, (but) with those delays, it kind of took away from the advantage I thought that we had,” Hamlin said.

“I’m proud of this whole Sport Clips Toyota team—pit crew did a phenomenal job keeping us in it and doing really good on the money stop with about 60 to go. We are going to have to wait (for) another (race) to get that 50th (win).”

  • Drivers Entered: 36
  • Laps Scheduled: 240
  • Laps Actual: 243 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
  • Margin of Victory: 0.517 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 3 Hours 28 Minutes 16 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 87.508
  • Cautions: 11 for 67 laps
  • Lead Changes: 10
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,778 (10.1 passes per green flag lap)

  • World Wide Technology Raceway
  • Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter
  • Race Winner: Kyle Busch
  • Age: 38
  • Team : No. 8 - 3CHI Chevrolet
  • Owner: Richard Childress
  • Crew Chief: Randall Burnett
  • Kyle Busch won the Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter, his 63rd victory in 657 Cup Series races.
  • This is his third victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2023.
  • This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
  • Denny Hamlin (second) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway. It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2023.
  • Joey Logano (third) posted his second top-10 finish in two races at World Wide Technology Raceway.
  • Ty Gibbs (20th) was the highest finishing rookie.
  • Ryan Blaney leads the point standings by 13 points over William Byron.
Grand Marshal and Olympian, Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Madison, Illinois - June 4, 2023 : Grand Marshal and Olympian, Jackie Joyner-Kersee gives the command to start engine prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway.
Jeff CurryGetty Images
Race lineup for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway
START VEH # DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR TEAM CREW CHIEF
1 8 Kyle Busch Chevrolet 3CHI Richard Childress Racing Randall Burnett
2 12 Ryan Blaney Ford Menards\Richmond Water Heaters Team Penske Jonathan Hassler
3 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota Sport Clips Haircuts Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gabehart
4 4 Kevin Harvick Ford Busch Light Stewart-haas Racing Rodney Childers
5 19 Martin Truex Jr Toyota Auto-Owners Insurance Joe Gibbs Racing James Small
6 22 Joey Logano Ford Autotrader Team Penske Paul Wolfe
7 24 William Byron Chevrolet Axalta Hendrick Motorsports Rudy Fugle
8 1 Ross Chastain Chevrolet Moose Fraternity Trackhouse Racing Phil Surgen
9 45 Tyler Reddick Toyota McDonald's 23xi Racing Billy Scott
10 2 Austin Cindric Ford Freightliner Team Penske Jeremy Bullins
11 16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet Farmsmart Kaulig Racing Matt Swiderski
12 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Chevrolet NOS Energy Drink Jtg Daugherty Racing Mike Kelley
13 99 Daniel Suarez Chevrolet Freeway Insurance Trackhouse Racing Travis Mack
14 21 Harrison Burton Ford Motorcraft / Quick Lane Wood Brothers Racing Brian Wilson
15 54 Ty Gibbs Toyota Monster Energy Joe Gibbs Racing Chris Gayle
16 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet Get Bioethanol Richard Childress Racing Keith Rodden
17 20 Christopher Bell Toyota DeWalt Construction Technology Joe Gibbs Racing Adam Stevens
18 48 Alex Bowman Chevrolet Ally Hendrick Motorsports Blake Harris
19 6 Brad Keselowski Ford King's Hawaiian Rfk Racing Matt McCall
20 23 Bubba Wallace Toyota Leidos 23xi Racing Bootie Barker
21 34 Michael McDowell Ford FR8Auctions.com Front Row Motorsports Travis Peterson
22 5 Kyle Larson Chevrolet HendrickCars.com Hendrick Motorsports Cliff Daniels
23 31 Justin Haley Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection Kaulig Racing Trent Owens
24 10 Aric Almirola Ford Smithfield Stewart-haas Racing Drew Blickensderfer
25 14 Chase Briscoe Ford Ford Performance Racing School Stewart-haas Racing Johnny Klausmeier
26 7 Carson Hocevar Chevrolet Schluter Systems Spire Motorsports Ryan Sparks
27 17 Chris Buescher Ford Fastenal Rfk Racing Scott Graves
28 38 Todd Gilliland Ford Serial 1 E-Bikes Front Row Motorsports Ryan Bergenty
29 41 Ryan Preece Ford HaasTooling.com Stewart-haas Racing Chad Johnston
30 9 Corey Lajoie Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts Hendrick Motorsports Alan Gustafson
31 43 Erik Jones Chevrolet Bommarito.com Legacy Motor Club Dave Elenz
32 42 Noah Gragson Chevrolet Sunseeker Resort Legacy Motor Club Luke Lambert
33 77 Ty Dillon Chevrolet NationsGuard Spire Motorsports Kevin Bellicourt
34 78 BJ McLeod Chevrolet Circle B Diecast Live Fast Motorsports David Ingram
35 15 Gray Gaulding Ford Panini America Rick Ware Racing Jerry Kelley
36 51 JJ Yeley Ford Biohaven/Jacob Co. Rick Ware Racing Billy Plourde