Welcome to Racing America On SI’s live NASCAR race updates post for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. This post will be updated throughout the day on Sunday with key updates leading into and through the second race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Related: Previewing the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway
Video highlights of crashes or incidents will be populated along with lead changes, stage and race results, and more. Continue checking back for additional updates on the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway throughout the day.
Lap 37: Caution!
Josh Berry has found trouble early in the race for the second week in a row. Berry went spinning after contact with Chase Elliott in Turn 2, and he collided with the outside wall. Berry has massive damage to his No. 21 car, and it looks like the Playoff contender is done for the day.
Lap 34: Larson on the Move
Kyle Larson was able to work his way from 11th to fourth in one lap with his fresh tires. He is flying right now.
Lap 33: Lead Change!
Chase Briscoe got around his teammate Denny Hamlin for the race lead on Lap 33.
Lap 32: Hamlin brings Field to Green
Denny Hamlin inherited the lead by remaining on track under that caution, while Kyle Larson pitted, and fell to 11th as a result. We’re back to green! And it is chaotic back in the scrum as drivers try to knife to the front on new tires.
Lap 29: Reddick Has Loose Wheel
During a pit stop under this caution, Tyler Reddick had a loose wheel as he was exiting his pit stall. He stopped in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing pit box and was able to get the wheel tightened up. That will be costly as he’ll go to the rear of the field, but losing the wheel on the track would have been worse.
The No. 45 avoids big trouble!
A loose wheel gets tightened on pit road by the No. 11 crew before @TylerReddick leaves pit road. pic.twitter.com/dlX4V1bLkw
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025Lap 26: Caution!
Kyle Busch, who scored his last win at Gateway two years ago, just went spinning. We’re under the first caution of the race. He lost control battling Ty Gibbs for 17th.
Our first caution of the day comes out due to this @KyleBusch spin off of Turn 2. pic.twitter.com/TmZ7PJJFC6
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025Lap 12: Briscoe Pressuring Hamlin
Denny Hamlin, who lost the lead a few laps ago, is now under fire from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe for the second position. Briscoe won last weekend, and is already into the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, but he wants more Playoff Points.
Lap 7: Lead Change!
Dirty air finally didn’t prevail. Hopefully that remains true all race, but Kyle Larson took the lead from Denny Hamlin in Turn 4 on Lap 7 of Sunday’s race. We have our first lead change.
We’ve been waiting for the No. 5 to come alive!
Today might be the day, as @KyleLarsonRacin takes the lead away from @dennyhamlin in Stage 1! pic.twitter.com/KxVzRf1tam
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025Lap 3: Wallace, Berry Make Contact
Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry made slight contact in the middle of Turns 3 and 4. Both continue on with no incident. They run 12th and 13th, and Wallace gets by Berry on Lap 5.
Lap 1: Hamlin Leads
Denny Hamlin got a great initial start and easily led lap 1 over Kyle Larson. Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe are side-by-side for third, and it looks like Briscoe will prevail.
3:11 PM ET: Green Flag!
Denny Hamlin leads the field to the green flag from the high lane, and he has Kyle Larson beside him. The field heads into Turn 1 to begin the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway.
REPOST if you’re watching the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at WWT Raceway!
📺 USA Network pic.twitter.com/1UqY3rIizF
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 7, 20253:04 PM ET: Bill Murray Delivers Command!
Engines are fired after legendary actor Bill Murray delivered an incredible command to start engines. Pace laps are now underway for today’s Enjoy Illinois 300.
Bill Murray gives the command at a NASCAR race!
Let’s goooooo! 👏 pic.twitter.com/gcCj8uSPVE
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025Justin Haley to the Rear Pre-Race
Justin Haley will have to take his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet to the rear of the field prior to the green flag of Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 due to unapproved adjustments.
Enjoy Illinois 300 Pre-Race Info
The Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway will be televised on USA Network and can be streamed on the HBO Max streaming platform, as well as the NBC Sports App. The race broadcast will begin at 3:00 PM ET.
The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of Sunday’s race. For subscribers of the HBO Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today’s race.
The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday’s race, is a total of $9,797,935.
The race distance is 240 laps around the 1.25-mile oval, which equates to a 300-mile race distance.
The Enjoy Illinois 300 will be broken up into three Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 45. Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 140. And the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 240, barring an Overtime finish.
The winner of Stages 1 and 2 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the overall race winner will be awarded five Playoff Points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and will be carried through each round of the Playoffs.
This race is the second race of the three-race Round of 16 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. If one of the 16 drivers in the Playoffs wins this event, they will automatically advance to the Round of 12 of the Playoffs. Chase Briscoe locked his spot into the Round of 12 with a win last weekend at Darlington Raceway. Briscoe will start third on Sunday at Gateway.
Austin Cindric, who drives the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is the defending winner of this race. Cindric is a Playoff driver, so a repeat win for him in this race would move him onto the next round of the Playoffs.
Denny Hamlin Rockets to Second Straight Pole to Start 2025 Playoffs
Two races into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, we still have just one driver, who has collected pole positions as Denny Hamlin collected his second consecutive pole position Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Hamlin claimed the pole with a 32.330-second (139.190 mph) lap time, which was enough to top Kyle Larson for the top spot by 0.021 seconds. The pole is the third of the season for Hamlin and it’s the 46th of his NASCAR Cup Series career. Incredibly, Hamlin feels he could have been better during his lap.
“I thought I could have done a little bit better job for the team. But I’m proud of this whole Progressive Toyota team. Chris and the whole guys, making really great adjustments,”said Denny Hamlin. “That’s what they did so well last week, was make those good adjustments before qualifying. Now, we’ve got great track position. Just have to maintain it, and we’ll be in good shape.”
Enjoy Illinois 300 Starting Lineup
Pos
Car
Driver
Lap time
Speed
1
11
Denny Hamlin (P)
32.330
139.190
2
5
Kyle Larson (P)
32.351
139.099
3
19
Chase Briscoe (P)
32.397
138.902
4
1
Ross Chastain (P)
32.408
138.855
5
12
Ryan Blaney (P)
32.432
138.752
6
24
William Byron (P)
32.467
138.602
7
45
Tyler Reddick (P)
32.501
138.457
8
20
Christopher Bell (P)
32.512
138.410
9
2
Austin Cindric (P)
32.571
138.160
10
38
Zane Smith
32.674
137.724
(P) indicates Playoff Drivers
Click here for the complete official starting lineup for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway.
No. 41 Haas Factory Team Penalized After Multiple Pre-Race Inspection Failures
NASCAR has ejected Marc Hendrickson, an engineer for the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Cup Series, after the car failed pre-race inspection twice prior to practice and qualifying on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Additionally, the No. 41 team lost their chance to select a pit stall, in which the selection order is determined by qualifying position.
The car passed inspection on its third attempt through the inspection bay, which means there were no further penalties assessed to Cole Custer and the No. 41 Haas Factory Team entry.
The Haas Factory Team has had a big week as it announced on Friday that it will swap manufacturers in 2026 from Ford to Chevrolet, and the team will form a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports with the manufacturer change.
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