Joey Logano achieved the Busch Light Pole Award for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway) in Madison, Illinois, on Saturday, September 12.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-car, single-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the 36 competitors vying for 36 starting spots cycled around Gateway a single time to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the fastest lap earned pole position.
During the session, Logano, who was the second-fastest competitor in practice on Saturday prior to qualifying, utilized his single-lap session to post a lap at 137.124 mph in 32.817 seconds. The lap was enough for the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, to achieve the top-starting spot for the second Chase event of the 2026 Cup Series season.
With the pole, Logano notched his 35th Cup Series career pole for his 643rd series start, his first at Gateway and his second of the 2026 season, with his previous pole occurring at Phoenix Raceway in March. Logano, who is currently ranked in ninth place in the 2026 Chase standings, emphasized Gateway being a golden opportunity for him and his No. 22 Team Penske Ford team to draw themselves back within striking distance of competing for a championship, with Logano also attempting to become the first repeat Cup winner at Gateway for Sunday’s main event.
“The [No. 22] guys are doing a good job,” Logano said. “This is the racetrack that we had circled that we need to capitalize on. We know our points situation. We need to score max points here. Starting upfront will help that, for sure. I just got to manage the strategy. It’s definitely got a fast car. The Shell/Pennzoil Mustang, in race trim, was really good. Short run, long run. Obviously, qualifying was spectacular. Overall, proud of the team and proud of the effort and the chance that we got.”
Logano will share the front row with Kyle Larson, the reigning two-time Cup Series champion who is ranked in seventh place in the Chase standings. Larson posted the second-fastest lap during Saturday’s qualifying session at 135.980 mph in 33.093 seconds.
Chasers Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Carson Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin qualified in the top 10, respectively. Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion, was the fastest competitor in practice, and Bell is coming off his first victory of the 2026 season at Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500 and to commence the 2026 Chase.
With 10 of 16 Chasers occupying the top-10 starting spots, the remaining Chasers, including Austin Cindric, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher and William Byron, will start 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 21st and 24th, respectively. Notably, Alex Bowman and Zane Smith are the two-highest non-Chase qualifiers for Sunday’s main event as they will line up in 11th and 12th, respectively.
With 36 competitors vying for 36 starting spots, all made the main event.
Gateway – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:
- Joey Logano, 137.124 mph, 32.817 seconds
- Kyle Larson, 135.980 mph, 33.093 seconds
- Ryan Blaney, 135.898 mph, 33.113 seconds
- Christopher Bell, 135.767 mph, 33.145 seconds
- Chase Briscoe, 135.546 mph, 33.199 seconds
- Carson Hocevar, 135.395 mph, 33.236 seconds
- Bubba Wallace, 135.355 mph, 33.246 seconds
- Chase Elliott, 135.302 mph, 33.259 seconds
- Ty Gibbs, 135.294 mph, 33.261 seconds
- Denny Hamlin, 134.086 mph, 33.312 seconds
- Alex Bowman, 134.702 mph, 33.407 seconds
- Zane Smith, 134.650 mph, 33.420 seconds
- Austin Cindric, 134.565 mph, 33.441 seconds
- Ryan Preece, 134.381 mph, 33..487 seconds
- Daniel Suarez, 134.360 mph, 33.492 seconds
- Josh Berry, 134.316 mph, 33.503 seconds
- AJ Allmendinger, 134.140 mph, 33.547 seconds
- Tyler Reddick, 134.100 mph, 33.557 seconds
- Connor Zilisch, 134.040 mph, 33.572 seconds
- Ross Chastain, 133.996 mph, 33.583 seconds
- Chris Buescher, 133.901 mph, 33.607 seconds
- Austin Dillon, 133.833 mph, 33.624 seconds
- Brad Keselowski, 133.575 mph, 33.689 seconds
- William Byron, 133.531 mph, 33.700 seconds
- Erik Jones, 133.480 mph, 33.713 seconds
- Cole Custer, 133.432 mph, 33.725 seconds
- Austin Hill, 133.262 mph, 33.768 seconds
- John Hunter Nemechek, 133.097 mph, 33.810 seconds
- Michael McDowell, 132.830 mph, 33.878 seconds
- Cody Ware, 132.642 mph, 33.926 seconds
- Noah Gragson, 132.610 mph, 33.934 seconds
- Ty Dillon, 132.575 mph, 33.943 seconds
- Riley Herbst, 132.112 mph, 34.062 seconds
- Todd Gilliland, 132.100 mph, 34.065 seconds
- Shane van Gisbergen, 131.633 mph, 34.186 seconds
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 131.521 mph, 34.215 seconds
*Bold indicates Chase Drivers
The 2026 Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 13, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.
