It was a good day for Joey Logano and the No. 22 at Gateway on Sunday, but just not good enough.
Logano ran up front all day, leading 96 laps at the Enjoy Illinois 300, more than any other driver on the track.
But in a race that featured a season-high 18 cautions, sometimes, the timing isn't going to break your way, and that's the fate that the No. 22 suffered. While Logano was in position to win the race late, there were just a few too many restarts that allowed Kyle Larson to jump him and run clear for the checkered flag.
Logano ultimately settled for a third-place finish, and scored extremely well on the day, winning Stage 1 and finishing second in Stage 2 to help improve his standing in the Chase. Still, it was tough for Logano not to regret what could have been.
"We had it won if the cautions didn't keep coming out," Logano told Motorsport.com's Matt Weaver after the race. "We were able to take the lead from the No. 6, and it's like, all right, we're in a good spot here. Two tires and clean air is going to beat four and dirty all day. But then once he lined up on the front row with me... I got a push from Brad but he got a huge push from the No. 48, and the timing was just right.
"It just was, gosh, six inches from clearing him into one on that restart, and he just was able to pull me back and just barrel down into one. He wrapped the corner so well he just passed me."
Joey Logano simply got beat by tires and ill-timed cautions pic.twitter.com/19w78uCSFn
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) September 14, 2026
Logano did his best to celebrate the good of the day rather than what could have been, but given how much ground the No. 22 needs to make up in the Chase standings, those 20 extra points for a win would have been a huge boon.
"It's a bittersweet day. We scored a lot of points. We did a lot of those things right, but gosh when you think about the 25 points that were sitting there, 20 points, whatever it is, that hurts some."
Logano will have his next chance at a win next week at Bristol.
