The Gateway to the West turned out to be the gateway to the Round of 12 for Denny Hamlin.
On an eventful day filled with 10 cautions and several twists and turns in strategy, it was the polesitter Hamlin who pulled away late for his fifth victory of the season and the 59th of his Cup Series Career in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 7).
Unlike Darlington Raceway, where it was all four tires all the time, WWTR opened the door for teams and crew chiefs to call for two-tire changes, fuel only, or staying out on the racetrack. That led to a tangled web of pit strategy, so let’s see how it all shook out near the Mississippi River.
The Winning Strategy
Two early cautions for incident opened the door for most of the field to come down to the service of their pit crews for tires fuel. Hamlin was one of the few drivers who did not pit. The call by No. 11 crew chief Chris Gayle to stay out largely paid off with Hamlin finishing stage one in third behind Kyle Larson, who roared to second on fresh tires, and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who won the stage staying out alongside Hamlin.
In the short term, Hamlin had to sacrifice some track position, but he bounced back to place seventh in stage two. Fast forwarding to stage three, Hamlin came down pit road on lap 196 for his final stop of the day. The No. 11 team then caught a good break when the final caution of the race came out on lap 208 for Ty Dillon having a brake issue.
While most teams had to either pit for fuel or tires or take the wave around to get back on the lead lap, Hamlin stayed out to restart second. Hamlin then made short work of leader Brad Keselowski, who was on worn tires, and sailed away to win by 1.62 seconds over Briscoe.
Alex Bowman and the Terrible, Awful, No Good, Very Bad Day
Alex Bowman’s playoff run got off to a rough start with a 31st-place showing in the Southern 500 at Darlington, thanks in part to a 40-second pit stop. At WWTR, Bowman and the No. 48 crew’s execution on pit road did not get any better.
During a mid-race pit stop, the No. 48 jackman Allen Holman dropped the jack on the left side before they finished tightening the left rear tire, leading to a significant drop in track position.
Then, on lap 211, just when it looked as though Bowman would rally late for a decent finish, he got busted for speeding exiting pit road, sending him to the rear of the field for the restart. After finishing 26th, Bowman was clearly frustrated with his situation.
“Well, I didn’t go over on my lights, so super frustrated with that,” Bowman told Frontstretch post-race. “Just got to keep working. We can’t have those kind of mistakes this time of the year.”
Other Playoff Drivers With Pit Road Issues
In addition to Bowman, two other playoff teams had significant issues on pit road.
On lap 29, during their first pit stop of the day, the No. 45 team of Tyler Reddick left a wheel loose on his Toyota. To avoid the tire falling off on track, Reddick stopped the No. 11 stall of Hamlin to have the wheel tightened up.
Consequently, Reddick got penalized for pitting outside of his pit stall, going to the tail of the field. Not a serious contender all day, Reddick wound up 16th on the day, and he will enter Bristol with a decent 37-point gap on the cut line.
On the same lap as Bowman, Shane van Gisbergen also sped on his way off pit road. This nullified a two-tire pit call that originally SVG exiting pit road first; instead, he finished 25th and will have his work cut out for him at Bristol, sitting 15 points below the cut line.
Look Ahead to Next Week
The Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 concludes on Saturday, Sept. 13 with the running of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. on USA Network.
The combination of the close quarters racing at Bristol and the pressure of an elimination race will likely lead to several cautions and opportunities to shake up pit strategy. A driver’s spot on the playoff grid will influence the team’s strategy throughout the night.
With nothing to lose, Briscoe and Hamlin can cut it loose for the win, but drivers near the cut line like Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric will probably be more focused on racking up stage points. Expect the No. 48 and No. 21 teams of Bowman and Josh Berry to throw Hail Mary strategies out there in must-win situations.
Andrew Stoddard joined Frontstretch in May of 2022 as an iRacing contributor. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond, and VCU. He works as an athletic communications specialist at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va.