Austin Cindric win upsets Ryan Blaney, NASCAR playoff picture

MADISON, Illinois — Austin Cindric won the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway after a last-lap pass Sunday on teammate Ryan Blaney.

Blaney’s car ran out of gas and slowed while leading on the final lap. That handed the win to Cindric, who went to victory lane for the first time since the 2022 Daytona 500. Blaney finished 24th.

“I’m heartbroken for those guys, but this is huge for me,” Cindric said. “This is huge for this team.”

The win all but guarantees Cindric and the No. 2 team a berth in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Blaney, the defending champion, is still searching for his first win of the year. He just needed one more lap to not face that problem.

“I don’t know what I’ve got to do to get some luck on our side,” Blaney said. “I’ve wrecked the last two points races and thought we had a great shot to win today and I ended up bad, so I just appreciate the effort. 

“We just have to keep sticking with it.”

Blaney is 14th on the playoff grid, +47 points to the cutline.

Through the Enjoy Illinois 300 Field

Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano rounded out the Top-5 finishers.

Austin Dillon earned his best finish of the season in sixth.

Christopher Bell, leading a race-high 80 laps, finished seventh after late-race engine issues.

Carson Hocevar and Justin Haley finished eighth and ninth respectively for their second Top-10 finishes of 2024.

Kyle Larson rounded out the Top-10, recovering from a Stage 2 spin and crash with Kyle Busch.

Enjoy Illinois 300 Recap

Polesitter Michael McDowell led the opening 41 laps, ultimately getting passed for the stage victory by Christopher Bell.

Along the way, the first stage saw two cautions; a two-car incident with John Hunter Nemechek and Cody Ware on lap four, and a two-car incident between Derek Kraus and Cody Ware on lap 18.

STAGE ONE Top 10 (LAP 45): Bell, McDowell, Blaney, Cindric, Hamlin, Byron, Gibbs, Reddick, Logano, Elliott

STAGE TWO (LAP 46-140)

36 cars started the stage on the lead lap. With drivers electing to stay out under caution, Todd Gilliland inherited the lead and started alongside Kyle Busch.

Busch led 15 laps before getting passed by Christopher Bell, who went on to win the stage.

There were two cautions in the stage. Josh Berry smacked the outside wall on lap 113. Then, on the final lap of stage two, Busch was collected in a Turn 1 spin on the final lap of the stage with Kyle Larson.

STAGE TWO Top 10: Bell, Cindric, Blaney, Elliott, Keselowski, Logano, Briscoe, Hocevar, Dillon, Hamlin

Outlook

The next race for the NASCAR Cup Series is Sunday, June 9 at Sonoma Raceway.

Denny Hamlin extends his points lead (534) to a 21-point cushion over Kyle Larson (513), Chase Elliott (507), Martin Truex Jr. (490), and William Byron (488).