In the closing laps at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, the Enjoy Illinois 300 was shaping up to be a duel to the finish between Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney before Bell fell back due to engine issues.
With Bell out of the picture, it looked as though Blaney would set sail to victory lane. However, coming to the white flag, Blaney slowed and ran out of fuel, opening the door for his Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric to take the lead and then the checkered for his second career NASCAR Cup Series win, snapping an 85-race winless streak going back to the 2022 Daytona 500.
Several different strategies played out throughout the 240-lap race at WWTR, with teams either taking two tires or staying out to advance their track position. Here are the major pit road plotlines from the eastern banks of the Mississippi River.
Pit Strategy Goes Mostly Team Penske’s Way
“Team Penske had a handle on the strategy,” Larry McReynolds said on the FOX Sports postrace show.
Indeed, out of wide array of strategies, it is clear that the three Penske teams, led by crew chiefs Brian Wilson (No. 2), Jonathan Hassler (No. 12) and Paul Wolfe (No. 22), got it the most right. The Penske trio stood out by making only three trips down pit road while most of the other drivers came down pit road four times.
On their second stop under caution on lap 115, Blaney, Cindric, and Joey Logano all took four tires, with Cindric leaving pit road second behind Kyle Busch, who took two right-side tires.
This call benefited the Penske guys in two ways. One, they used their fresh rubber to move up through the field, placing second, third and sixth in stage two. Then, under the subsequent yellow-flag pit stops, all three Penske cars stayed on the racetrack to maximize their track position.
Then came the final round of stops. Blaney was the first Penske driver down pit road with 64 laps remaining, followed by Cindric one lap later and Logano the lap after that.
As the final green flag pit stops continued, it became clear that Blaney would cycle to a battle for the race lead, while Cindric and Logano would be in position for top-five finishes. With a fuel window of 70-75 laps, all…
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