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Jesse Love won the Nu Way 225 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday night, passing Carson Kvapil with 16 laps remaining and holding off Sheldon Creed by 0.896 seconds. The victory ended Love’s 25-race winless streak, gave him his first win of the 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season and the fourth win of his career. Love won Stage 2, led 70 laps and moved to fourth in the championship standings, 16 points behind Creed. Sam Mayer finished third, Taylor Gray fourth and Kvapil fifth, and playoff drivers swept the top eight spots. Love also honored Kyle Busch with a flag and Busch’s hat after Richard Childress Racing paid tribute to Busch, and he brought the trophy to Richard Childress’ media center after the race. He is set to move to Wood Brothers Racing in the Cup Series next year.

The race turned chaotic early, with a pit-road pileup at the end of Stage 1 that involved 10 cars and 11 drivers after a checkup triggered a chain reaction as the field entered pit lane. Rajah Caruth, Nick Sanchez and Harrison Burton were among the drivers caught up in the wreck, and Brent Crews’ car was struck while his crew was servicing it. No one in the pit lane was injured, and the crew members later said they were okay. Caruth recovered to finish 11th and keep his playoff hopes alive, while Sanchez and Burton finished 34th and 35th after being unable to continue. A later crash between Corey Day and William Sawalich on Lap 134 ended Day’s race, dropped him to eighth in the standings and left him 69 points behind Creed.

Post-race inspection confirmed Love as the winner, and no cars were sent to NASCAR’s R&D Center. Austin Hill and the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing team were penalized in post-race inspection, which will cost Hill pit-stall selection at Bristol Motor Speedway but will not change his Gateway finish or playoff points. Creed left Gateway as the new points leader, three points ahead of Justin Allgaier, while Love remained fourth in the standings, 16 points back.

Joey Logano captured the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, giving Team Penske the top starting spot for the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Logano turned a lap of 32.817 seconds at 137.124 mph and beat Kyle Larson by 0.276 seconds, while Penske teammate Ryan Blaney qualified third. It was Logano’s first pole at Gateway, his second of the season and the 35th pole of his Cup Series career.

The qualifying session sent playoff drivers to the front of the 36-car field, with Christopher Bell fourth and Chase Briscoe fifth. Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin also were among the drivers in the top 10. Logano said he had struggled in Turn 1 in earlier Gateway qualifying sessions but finally put together a clean lap, and he said his recent run of two wins in his last seven races had moved him back into championship contention. Blaney said Gateway and Bristol were crucial races for Penske to keep pace in the title fight and close the gap to Toyota’s speed.

The race was scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, with all 16 championship contenders starting inside the top 24, including William Byron in 24th and Tyler Reddick in 18th. Chris Buescher qualified 21st after his No. 17 Ford failed inspection twice, a penalty that cost the team its pit selection and led to car chief Joshua Sisco being ejected for the weekend.

Ryan Blaney set the pace in final practice for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, turning a fastest lap of 33.170 seconds at 135.665 mph in the No. 12 Ford. Joey Logano was second, Josh Berry third, Connor Zilisch fourth and Tyler Reddick fifth, with the top five separated by less than a tenth of a second. Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, Todd Gilliland and William Byron also cracked the top 10, while Berry led the best 10-lap average at 133.704 mph and Shane van Gisbergen was second at 133.268 mph.

Denny Hamlin, the defending winner of the race and the points leader by 12 over Christopher Bell, downplayed his record at Gateway and said his success there came from execution, restarts and fortunate breaks rather than always having the best car. After 50 minutes of practice, Hamlin was 30th fastest at 133.670 mph. The Enjoy Illinois 300 was set for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET and was scheduled to air on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Elsewhere around the garage, Hendrick Motorsports said it was committed long term to Corey Day after giving him a new contract. Day was set to run a handful of NASCAR Cup Series races next season for Spire Motorsports while continuing his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship bid. Brad Keselowski also said old-school peer pressure would not change Carson Hocevar’s aggressive driving style, pointing to Hocevar’s Darlington run-in.

Two NASCAR Cup Series teams took pre-race technical penalties Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway after their cars failed inspection twice. Chris Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford and Cody Ware’s No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet both lost pit-stall selection for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300, and RFK Racing car chief Joshua Sisco and Rick Ware Racing car chief Dave Jones were ejected for the rest of the weekend.

Both cars passed inspection on the third try and remained eligible to race. The third-attempt passes spared both teams harsher penalties, including starting at the rear and serving a pass-through penalty after the green flag. The race was scheduled for 240 laps Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Buescher entered Gateway 11th in the standings, 88 points behind leader Denny Hamlin, with eight races left in the 10-race Chase. He also arrived after a 20th-place finish at Darlington last week. Gateway has been one of Buescher’s better tracks, with finishes of 12th, 14th and ninth in his three previous starts there, including his first top-10 at the track last year.

Gary Myers, a longtime driver and Bowman Gray racing legend, died Thursday at age 76 after a period of declining health. His son Burt confirmed the death in a social media tribute, saying his father “fought so hard” and taught him everything he knew.

Myers was born March 4, 1950, in Walnut Cove, North Carolina, and became part of one of NASCAR’s four-generation racing families. He followed his father, Billy, and uncle, Bobby, into racing and made 46 NASCAR Cup Series starts from 1974 to 1978.

Myers found his greatest success in Modified racing, winning 38 times at Bowman Gray Stadium and capturing the 1996 SMART Modified Tour championship. He remained closely tied to Bowman Gray for more than six decades, and the family tradition continued through his sons Burt and Jason, and then his grandson Slate, who won his first Modified race at Bowman Gray in May 2026 and dedicated a victory there to his grandfather.