Joey Logano crushes Kyle Larson for massive Gateway pole

Team Penske driver Joey Logano secured pole position for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway with a dominant 32.817-second lap. The three-time champion outpaced 2025 title winner Kyle Larson by 0.276 seconds around World Wide Technology Raceway. This represents the largest Cup Series qualifying gap since the 2017 race at Chicagoland.

Chase For Maximum Points

Sitting ninth on the Chase grid, Logano highlighted this layout as a critical opportunity for his championship defence. “We need to score max points here,” Logano told Racing America On SI. “And starting up front will help that for sure. Just gotta manage the strategy.” While surprise results dominated European grids this weekend, including an unexpected Sachsenring pole position and a high-stakes Madrid F2 pole, Penske executed a calculated setup baseline. Logano easily cleared the Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing fleets despite tricky track conditions. Ryan Blaney qualified third to give Penske two cars at the sharp end, finishing ahead of Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe. Chase contenders completely locked out the top ten starting spots. This track position places enormous pressure on playoff rivals starting deeper in the field, with William Byron lining up 24th. The 36-car field takes the green flag for the 300-mile race on Sunday afternoon.