Coming off a controversial Memorial Day weekend, the Cup Series travels to St. Louis for the third trip to Worldwide Technology Raceway. After a weather-plagued Saturday at the track, Mother Nature played nice with NASCAR as they tackled the 1.25-mile speedway. Michael McDowell won the pole for the first time on a non-superspeedway, while Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney completed a top-three lockout for Ford. Still in search of his first win of the season, Kyle Busch and the 8-team brought the same setup that claimed the checkered flag at Gateway just a year ago. Did the Blue Ovals dominate, or did someone new come to play spoiler?
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Cody Ware’s return to the Cup Series was anything but smooth. The first two cautions of the race involved the 15 Rick Ware Mustang. The first incident came on lap three, when Ware and John Hunter Nemecheck spun coming off of turn two.
The second caution came out on lap 17, when Ware and Derek Kraus got together, once again, coming off two. Already on shaky ground with the NASCAR fandom, Ware’s antics in Stage 1 did not help his case in his return to the sport.
Coca-Cola 600 winner Christopher Bell had the fastest car in the opening stage and he made use of it. Rolling off fourth, he worked his way through the Ford’s and took the fight to McDowell and Blaney with 15 laps to go in Stage 1. Bell got passed the 34 on lap 40 to pick up right where he left off last week with another playoff point as he won Stage 1.
Multiple cars stayed out and took two tires following the end of Stage 1. This put the 20 team in the middle of the pack, and with track position at a premium, Bell had his work cut out for him. He was up to the task as he quickly worked his way through the field, using his fresh tires to take the lead from Kyle Busch on lap 70.
During green flag pit stops, many Fords elected to stay out on the track hoping to catch a caution. Cindric, Blaney, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano kept clicking off laps, as they waited and waited for that lucky yellow, which they got when Josh Berry blew a tire to bring out the caution.
With the caution, the top six came onto pit road, along with the other drivers, on the alternative strategy. Cindric, the leader of the strategy, only lost four spots, coming in under yellow. This put the drivers in great position with 21 laps to go when the green flag flew. What was their biggest challenge ahead of them? The 20-car was back in the lead.
When the Ford’s came onto pit road, that gave the 20 car the lead once again. Now with fresher tires, there was a chance the Blue Ovals could take it to Bell for the Stage 2 win. But Bell got a good launch on the restart and quickly pulled away from the field. By the time Stage 2 ended, Bell was ahead by over three seconds.
With two laps to go, Kyle Larson got loose while racing Busch, sending both cars into the wall and Larson into a near 360. Busch pinched Larson deep on the inside, which sent the 5 up the track and into the 8. Larson was not happy with Busch following the incident. Bell would take the win under caution for his sixth stage win of 2024.
It was clear by the third stage that the 12 and the 20 would be the cars to beat. Both used different strategies to get ahead of the other, but with the 20 being the fastest car all day, it was important for the 12 car to nail their strategy.
Bell had his final stop of the day on lap 193 while running in the lead. Blaney would follow suit on lap 206, with Bell seven seconds behind. As Bell inched closer and closer to the 12 cars, the battle for the win was on. Both drivers traded the lead for multiple laps, but on lap 221, trouble would strike for the 20. Bell radioed that his engine was blowing, which took him out of contention for the win as Blaney set sail in the lead. The dominant car all day limped to the finish, going from dominating the race to finishing a distant seventh.
With no one in sight, it looked like the defending Cup champion would finally break through for his first win of the season. However, the broadcast noted that Cindric began to close the gap between himself and his teammate as the laps winded down. From over four seconds back to less than two, did the 2 find something or was the 12 running into issues?
It turned out to be the latter as Blaney ran out of gas while on the front stretch, allowing Cindric to get around his teammate and take the white flag. In one of the most shocking moments of the season, Austin Cindric spoiled the show to win at Gateway and snap his 85-race winless streak! It’s the second win of Cindric’s career and his first since the 2022 Daytona 500. He now locks himself into the playoffs for the second time in his career.
Fans had a lot to say about the Enjoy Illinois 300. We mentioned the Cody Ware incidents earlier, got top 10 in trending on X!
Joe Medlin had some strong words for the driver of the 15 today:
Shevy Price kept it simple:
@nascar_opinion reacts to Austin Cindric locking himself into the playoffs:
@Olivia_whissell gives her reaction to Cindric’s win:
@JOTT_Podcast said it best:
What did you think of the race DailyDownforce readers? While the racing wasn’t filled with barn burner action, the different strategies and multiple incidents did provide a unique flavor to the race that we normally don’t see in Cup. Also, how much does the finish sway your thoughts on the race as a whole?
That’s it for NASCAR at Worldwide Technology Raceway! Be sure to stay up to date with DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news, fan discussions and more going on in the world of NASCAR!
NASCAR certainly has an outspoken fanbase. But after the 2026 Daytona 500, one fan seemed to cross a line and set off a social media firestorm. During post-race interviews, an unidentified individual walked up to Daniel Suárez, interrupted his interview with Fox Deportes on pit road, and patted the Mexican-American driver’s shoulder while he was live on air.
Described as a “guest” on pit lane, the person slapped Suárez on the shoulder and yelled, “47, 47 baby.” The clip spread quickly, and backlash followed. Media figures, including Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, called for a lifetime ban, saying the sport cannot let it slide.
On the “Hauler Talk” podcast, NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde addressed the matter, noting that Tom Bryant from NASCAR security was on it. “He (Tom Bryant, NASCAR security) is aware and is working with the security team. If we do find out who this person is, it’s certainly not going to end well for this particular person.” He added, “We’re looking into it. TBD if we’re able to find out if the person is. But certainly an unfortunate incident that we’re taking seriously and looking into.”
Suárez, who had finished P13 in the race, kept his cool and did not react, but the moment lit up a debate about pit road access and how far a fan can go in a space meant for drivers and crews. Following the same, NASCAR opened an investigation into the guest who disrupted the interview.
Many fans read the “47” chant as a political reference to President Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, while others saw it as a shout-out to Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 47 car, who finished P2 in the race.
NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis confirmed that operations and security are working to identify the individual. Officials have made it clear that once a name is connected, consequences will follow, with many insiders, including Jeff Gluck, asking for a ban from all events to be on the table. That’s because the incident has put a spotlight on security gaps and fan conduct at races.
The controversy has widened into a debate over how pit road credentials are handed out, with reporters such as Gluck and Joseph Srigley warning that behavior like this could tighten the ropes for everyone.
What do you think about the incident? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
NBA legend Michael Jordan matched Tyler Reddick step for step after the latter’s first win in the Daytona 500. In Victory Lane, MJ lifted the Harley J. Earl Trophy with his No. 45 23XI Racing driver, soaking in the moment like he once did after title runs on the hardwood, and shared the celebration with Reddick’s family. But chatter took a turn when a clip showed MJ pinching Reddick’s son, Beau, and brushing his fingers across the back of the child’s legs, sparking debate online despite no sign of wrongdoing. The Hall of Famer soon found himself in the crosshairs over the interaction.
Reddick later stepped in to bat for his boss, saying MJ has long been close to his family and that he saw nothing out of bounds in the moment. Speaking with Stephen A. Smith on his podcast, the #45 driver said, “I mean, from my perspective, I’ve gotten to know Michael and his family very well over the years I’ve been here with 23XI, and I don’t see what other people see when it comes to this.”
The No. 45 Toyota driver stressed the setting, pointing to the weight of the win for everyone tied to the team, including members of MJ’s circle who were present for the milestone. He framed it as a once-in-a-lifetime moment shared by two families standing shoulder to shoulder. “For me, it’s a huge moment. This is the biggest moment of my career. It’s a huge moment for my family and for his family. And I put that off to the side and just think about how I think about the look on Avet’s face. And the whole family and his whole group when they got to victory lane, too. And just how happy and everybody was celebrating together. So, that’s where I’m at with it.”
Many simply brushed it off as a storm in a teacup, arguing the clip was merely being taken out of context. In fact, one theory floated that some ice had slipped under the child’s shorts during the celebration, and MJ was just trying to shake it loose. Podcaster Bubba The Love Sponge Clem echoed that sentiment, saying critics were likely making a mountain out of a molehill.
Others, however, tied the moment to wider chatter in the public sphere and labeled the gesture out of line, fueling online debate and prompting inquiries to MJ’s camp, NASCAR, and the team.
Reddick noted that MJ’s bond with Beau runs deep. The families go back years, with Reddick’s father-in-law, MLB pitcher Jose DeLeon, having crossed paths with MJ decades ago. With that shared history, the moment likely came from familiarity within an extended racing circle. Reddick told The Athletic that there may even be a photo of MJ holding his wife, Alexa, as a baby.
On his show, Smith also sided with Reddick’s comments, stating that the child is someone MJ knows well and cares about deeply, framing the whole scene as a personal exchange amid a career-defining win rather than something meant to raise eyebrows.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
The Daytona 500 and Speedweeks may be over, but that doesn’t mean the chaos will cool off for the stars of NASCAR’s three National Series, as they roll into Hampton, Georgia, to the high banks of EchoPark Speedway for one of the schedule’s most unique race weekends.
Note: This article will be updated as more information about the weekend comes out.
