The Trackhouse Racing driver came to Gateway as the last driver above the cutoff line at +3 in 12th. With one race to go in the Round of 12 at Bristol, van Gisbergen has dropped below the cutoff line.

Van Gisbergen was dealt two big blows in the race – the first a spin on Lap 156 and the second a penalty for speeding on pit lane during the final round of pit stops.

The latter dumped van Gisbergen to the back of the lead lap for the last restart of the race, putting him 29th before recovering to 25th.

It was a tough day on the whole for Trackhouse Racing. Daniel Suarez in the #99 failed to finish after being tipped into a spin by Chase Briscoe, while the #1 of Ross Chastain was only 24th.

The 240-lap race was won by Toyota’s Denny Hamlin who led Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Briscoe.

A wild sequence of events ends with a @shanevg97 spin! #EnjoyIllinois300 pic.twitter.com/ocF9O0i5ro

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 7, 2025

Hamlin led the field to green with Kyle Larson in the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro on his inside and by Lap 8 the 2021 champion took the lead.

A spinning Kyle Busch brought the caution out on Lap 27, which kicked off the first round of pit stops.

During that exchange, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick was forced to stop his #45 Camry in Hamlin’s pit bay to tighten a loose wheel nut.

Hamlin elected not to pit and assumed the race lead for the Lap 33 restart. However, that was short-lived as Briscoe took over top spot on Lap 34. Larson, who pitted, shot from 11th to fourth in no time.

On Lap 36, the second caution flew for Josh Berry whose #21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang got tipped into a spin by Chase Elliott in the #9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro.

On the Lap 42 restart, van Gisbergen was running 11th. He jockeyed over position, bumping Team Penske’s Austin Cindric out of the way, which dumped the #2 Mustang to 15th.

Contact with Chase Elliott sends Josh Berry into the wall and brings the second caution of the day. 🟨

📺 USA Network pic.twitter.com/3QhRXBcZPQ

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 7, 2025

Briscoe took Stage 1 honours ahead of Larson and Hamlin while van Gisbergen wound up 12th.

Another round of pitstops followed, which dropped van Gisbergen to 31st for the Lap 53 restart.

Larson led the field to green with teammate William Byron in the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro alongside.

Van Gisbergen’s teammate Daniel Suarez spun off the nose of Briscoe on Lap 61. The #99 Trackhouse Racing Camaro was retired and the caution came out.

Racing resumed on Lap 66, but it was a short-lived green-flag run after the Dillon brothers, Austin and Ty, collided.

Ty Dillon in the #10 Kaulig Racing Camaro spun and backed his car into the outside wall.

That prompted another flurry of pit stops, including race leader Larson. That handed the lead to Bubba Wallace in the #23 23XI Racing Camry.

Wallace led on the Lap 83 restart and enjoyed more than 50 laps of green flag running until Lap 134 when Larson tipped fifth-placed Ryan Blaney in the #12 Team Penske Mustang into a spin.

That set up a one-lap dash to the end of Stage 2, which was won by Wallace ahead of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.

Ryan Blaney spins late in stage two after contact with Kyle Larson!

📺 USA Network pic.twitter.com/E9Ro0Lax5l

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 7, 2025

Stage 3 began on Lap 148 with Wallace at the point. Debris brought the yellow out on Lap 150.

On the Lap 156 restart, van Gisbergen spun on his own from 18th and nudged the outside wall.

Thankfully, there was no serious damage to the #88 Trackhouse Racing Camaro and the Kiwi continued, albeit at the back of the field.

The next restart was on Lap 162 and after pit stops it was Hamlin who retook the race lead with Logano on his inside.

Another lengthy green flag run continued until Lap 208 when Ty Dillon suffered a right front brake failure into Turn 1.

In the midst of the pit stop sequence, there was plenty of churn.

Trackhouse Racing made the decisive call to gamble and take two tyres and exit pit road in the lead. However, their efforts were dashed for speeding on pit lane.

Van Gisbergen was dumped to the back of the lead lap and elected to take the additional two tyres under yellow.

From 29th, he raced forward to 25th while Hamlin usurped an off-strategy Brad Keselowski on the Lap 216 restart.

Hamlin cruised to victory, heading Briscoe by 1.6s after 240 laps.

After Hamlin and Briscoe came Elliott, Blaney, and Logano. The top 10 was rounded out by John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, and Ty Gibbs.

Results: NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300, World Wide Technology Raceway

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