Denny Hamlin Takes Toyota's 200th Cup Series Win at World Wide Technology Raceway

Denny Hamlin pulled away in the closing laps of the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, scoring his 59th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Hamlin took the lead from Brad Keselowski on a lap 215 restart in the 240-lap race at the 1.25-mile facility in Madison, Illinois and held on to the top spot for his fifth victory of the 2025 season.

A caution on lap 210 reshaped the Enjoy Illinois 300, as an issue for Ty Dillon put the Kaulig Racing driver into the wall down the frontstretch heading towards turn one. This caution fell in the middle of a cycle of green-flag pit stops.

Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway

Hamlin had already made his pit stop and worked his way back onto the lead lap, and restarted second alongside leader Brad Keselowski. Hamlin took the lead on the restart and maintained his track position to score the win ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe.

Along with Hamlin's 59th victory in the Cup Series, it also marked the 200th NASCAR Cup Series win for Toyota, which joined the premier series in 2007.

“Yeah, it’s so big for everyone at Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing," said Hamlin. "The Toyota was just great there at the end. And so happy to get this victory and my dad’s not feeling well at home. So just shoutout to him, the whole family’s here, so fantastic day and it couldn’t be better."

This is the fifth time Hamlin has won at least five races in a season, and the first since his seven-win season in 2020. With his next win, Hamlin will tie Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list.

Despite approaching his 45th birthday, Hamlin remains one of the top drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series.

"I mean, all I can do is just keep being a student of the game, keep trying to get better, and every week is a chance to get a little better. I just told [Grand Marshal Bill Murray] to talk to the guys behind me and make sure they stay behind me the rest of the race. So we made that happen."

While fans cheered and jeered Hamlin during his victory celebration, Hamlin reveled in the outpouring of emotion, both positive and negative.

"Man, it’s just a great victory. Love that Denny Time flag, the poster is pretty good. You all can boo me, but you can either get on the bandwagon, or you can get run over by it.”

Coming off a win in the Cook Out Southern 500, Chase Briscoe finished second in Sunday's race at World Wide Technology Raceway. It was an up-and-down day for the driver of the No. 19 for Joe Gibbs Racing.

While he finished second and was in the mix for the win after taking two tires during his final green-flag pit stop, he was also involved in an incident with Daniel Suarez on lap 62 and fell outside of the top 30 at one point after an issue on pit road.

"I would say our strength was our speed," said Briscoe. "We had a really good Bass Pro Shops Toyota. Our weakness was just the sloppiness, right? Whether it was me behind the wheel or pit road. I don’t know what the left rear issue was.

"Great recovery. James [Small] did an amazing job of doing something different to get us up there, would have loved to battle up there and potentially try to be everybody’s favorite driver for Toyota’s 200th win. I was at a tire deficit. I thought our car, for having the tire deficit and everything else, showed how good it was."

Chase Elliott finished third, followed by Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano.

With their wins, Briscoe and Hamlin are secured for the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The Round of 16 concludes on Saturday, September 13 with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Coverage of the event will be on USA Network, the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-Photo credit: Gavin Baker, Lumen Digital Agency for Toyota Gazoo Racing