Hamlin Earns Toyota 200th Cup Series Win at Gateway!

Riley Ogle (Motorsports Today, 2025)

MADISON, I.L. –  The NASCAR Cup Series continued its path to Phoenix, Sunday, September 7, as the series took on its second race in the Round of 16 at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300! For the second straight weekend, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin secured the top spot to start the race. In addition, this marked the 46th time in Hamlin’s career that he started a race on the pole. This feat tied him with Junior Johnson for 11th all-time. At the end of 240 laps Hamlin secured the win.

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Heading into the race, no driver was at risk of finding themselves in a must-win situation. Despite a lap one crash the weekend previous at Darlington for Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry, both he and Hendrick Motorsports Driver Alex Bowman trailed the cutline by 19 points. For Berry, the weekend got off to a solid start as he qualified in the 12th position, giving himself a great shot at early opportunities to gain track position to earn stage points.

As for Bowman, the opposite could be said. Last week, a miscommunication and devastation on pit road led to an over-40-second pit stop, resulting in the driver losing multiple laps and ultimately finishing in 31st place. Though the practice averages looked promising for Bowman, Qualifying again did not go well, as he qualified the worst of all sixteen playoff drivers with a 25th-place starting position.

Bowman was not alone, however, in the Hendrick camp, as Chase Elliott, for the second straight weekend, also struggled in qualifying compared to his usual standard. At Darlington, Elliott qualified 21st and scored Hendrick’s best finish of the four cars in 17th. Elliott came into the weekend only nine points above the cut and found himself in a similar situation to start the race, as he only improved by two positions, starting the race in 19th.

Coming into the race, three drivers found themselves in a great points situation needing a great day to clinch on points heading into the final race of the round at Bristol. Those drivers were pole sitter Denny Hamlin, who was +43, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson, who was +38, and 23XI driver Tyler Reddick, who was +35 to the cutline. The only driver who knew their future was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe, who won the Southern 500 the weekend previous.

Stage One:

At the drop of the green flag, Hamlin elected the outside and quickly got clear of Larson as the field spread out two and three wide behind. That did not last long, though, as it only took two and a half laps for things to string out mostly single-file behind. Though things began to get strung out, Hamlin’s lead only lasted six laps as Larson showed strong long-run pace early, passing Hamlin on lap seven.

Six laps later, on lap 14, Larson’s lead grew to a mighty 1.650 seconds over Hamlin. With the first stage being only 45 laps,  Larson was able to push the pace harder than usual, as compared to most stages. On lap 20, Larson more than doubled his lead to Hamlin, as he led Denny by 3.813 seconds.  

It only took until lap 26 for the first caution to come out.. Coming out of turn two, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch got loose, spinning down the backstretch, bringing out the caution. Busch did not hit anything and was able to continue. He, however, lost a lap, but was not the only RCR car that struggled. Despite struggles in practice, Austin Dillon started the race 15th. Halfway through the stage, he faded eleven positions to 26th, showing a significant lack of pace again. The pit stop presented an opportunity for the team to make big changes.

In the pits, a new leader won the race out of the pits, as strategy by Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Chris Buescher and Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith secured the front two spots with a tire strategy. Larson came out third, but the first stop of the day would not be clear of a mistake.

During his stop, Tyler Reddick had a loose wheel on his left rear, requiring him to slow down into Denny Hamlin's stall to get it tightened. As a result, Reddick was handed a pitting outside the box penalty, sending him to the rear of the field in 35th.

On the restart, Denny Hamlin took the lead but gave it up to Chase Briscoe after a few laps. But trouble was not over as on lap 37, the caution came out again, this time having extreme playoff stipulations. In turn 1, Chase Elliott was bottom of three wide, and made contact with Josh Berry, sending him around and left front first into the outside wall, ending his day. For the second week in a row, Berry was behind the wall in the garage before the end of the first stage. He now enters Bristol in a must-win situation.

As for the end of the stage, Chase Briscoe held off Kyle Larson for the stage win in the short dash. With the stage victory, Briscoe earned his 5th stage win in 2025.

On lap 51, the race went back green. Kyle Larson controlled the race and led teammate William Byron and Bubba Wallace of 23XI with ease. Larson had a nice lead, but the cautions due to the incident continued. This time, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez was the innocent victim, as Briscoe, who pitted at the end of the stage, locked up his left front tire going into turn one, middle of three wide, sending Suarez into the outside wall. Similar to Berry, Suarez was unable to continue.

On lap 64, the green flag came back out, with Hendrick securing the top three positions. Larson again easily fired off to the lead; meanwhile, Chase Elliott now entered the second position. But again, the caution came out, this time eleven laps later on lap 75 for Ty Dillon of Kaulig Racing spinning. This caution was bad news for Larson, as he was one of a few who opted not to pit during the previous caution. Larson came out of the pits third behind Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell and Elliott, placing him 20th.

On lap 82, the green came out again. This time, with Bubba Wallace leading the way over Penske Racing’s Joey Logano, another driver who needed a great points day, and Alex Bowman, who was up 22 positions from the drop of the green flag.

Behind, the fresh tires began charging through the field. Christopher Bell restarted 18th, and ten laps later, on lap 92 found himself running 6th. Kyle Larson also climbed with Bell, as he climbed to 10th, but Bell, who was on two compared to Larson’s four, was showing tremendous pace.

On lap 95, three laps later, Bell climbed to 5th, passing Alex Bowman, who had slightly faded back after the restart. This set up a 44-lap charge for Bell to pursue a stage win, as he sat 4.8 seconds off the lead.  

Twenty laps later, on lap 115, Bell hadn't made up significant ground as he sat 3.9 seconds off the lead, but he climbed to third and began to battle Logano for the 2nd position.

The two battled for a while, but Logano stayed ahead. It seemed like the remainder of the stage was going to be caution-free, but things changed on lap 136. Coming out of turn four while battling for position, Kyle Larson made contact with Ryan Blaney, sending him into a tailspin out of turn four, bringing out the caution.

Every car came down to pit road except for Brad Keselowski, making things a one-lap dash for the stage victory. Keselowski’s old tires were no match, though, as Bubba Wallace secured the stage win.

The Final Stage:

On lap 148, the green flag came back out for the final stage. Bubba Wallace led the way, but that run only lasted three laps as the caution came out for debris. In a weird circumstance, this was not vehicle debris, as the brake marker on the outside fence fell onto the racetrack. So this opened up more strategy.

In the back of the field, both Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman, who had another dreadful stop at the end of stage two, with the left rear tire not being fully put on the car, opted to come down and top off on gas to attempt a strategy play.

The race went green on lap 155, with Wallace getting a bad start, as his car got stuck in gear, causing him to lose momentum. This put Logano in the lead, but he was challenged by Hamlin to his inside.

Behind, Shane Van Gisbergen went for a spin three again, bringing out the caution. Hamlin ultimately was ahead of Logano at the time of the caution, putting him back in the lead.

During the caution period, more cars opted to come take fuel, including Wallace, who luckily had no damage from the stackup, as well as Larson. But some bad luck for Larson occurred as he needed to come back down to the pit as the flap of the diffuser opened up, requiring the team to put it back in place.

The race went back green with 79 laps to go on lap 161. On this restart, the battle for the lead came easily as Hamlin cleared Logano with ease, owning firm control of the lead.

Things stayed tame with multiple cars trying to save or stretch the tank on gas, as the field began to pit for the final time on lap 195, starting with Hamlin.

Brad Keselowski assumed the lead as Ryan Blaney pitted on lap 206. But, to no one's surprise, a caution came out four laps later, as Ty Dillon had more troubles, losing his brakes, resulting in a crash. In the mix, Alex Bowman had opted to make a stop and seemingly was in a lucky situation to get track position. However, Bowman was caught speeding in the last sector, putting the nail in the coffin of his day. Bowman eventually finished 26th.

This opened up the pits for everyone, as many drivers mixed up their strategy. Brad Keselowski stayed out, keeping the lead, while Denny Hamlin restarted to his inside, also staying out after pitting back on lap 195.

On lap 215, the green flag was displayed, with Hamlin immediately firing to the lead. Behind him was teammate Chase Briscoe as the two were trying to pursue a huge accomplishment for their manufacturer of Toyota. The drivers were battling for Toyota’s 200th NASCAR Cup Series Win.  

And while the race was built to expect drama, it turns out that was not the case. Hamlin cruised away for the next 25 laps without contest. Hamlin crossed the line, achieving the mark for Toyota, while also delivering Joe Gibbs Racing’s 10th win of the season. The hot streak for Gibbs has been a dominant one, as the intrigue of which version of Bristol awaits.

UP NEXT:

The NASCAR Cup Series goes prime time under the lights, Saturday, September 13, at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. This race marks the final race in the Round of 16.  Last year, Kyle Larson was dominant in the race and also won the race at the track previously in the fall, as Larson is looking for his third straight victory at the short track. Coverage for the race can be found on the USA Network at 7:30 pm ET.