Zane Smith slammed driver’s side into the Turn 1 wall on lap 131 of the Enjoy Illinois 300, and NASCAR kept the field rolling under caution without him.
Front Row Motorsports had not addressed its driver’s condition as of 5:08 p.m. ET, leaving fans of the No. 38 Ford staring at a scary, unresolved moment at World Wide Technology Raceway.
The restart after Smith’s crash was chaotic. After the Smith wreck ended Stage 2 under yellow, the field restarted the final stage around lap 141. Joey Logano took the lead from Kyle Larson on that restart. Almost immediately, Bubba Wallace got loose and spun on the bottom in Turn 2 and made contact with cars driven by Chase Briscoe and William Byron. Byron appeared to take the most damage.
The initial Smith wreck happened fast and looked brutal from every camera angle at the track known as Gateway. Smith’s Ford speared the outside wall almost head-on entering the corner, in a moment described as one of the harder hits of the Chase so far, according to NASCAR insider Dustin Long on X.
Members of the AMR safety crew pulled Smith from the mangled Ford, and he appeared shaken as he was helped away from the car, according to NASCAR fan account Chris Hansen on X. A separate account following the broadcast floated an apparent brake or suspension failure as Smith turned into the corner, according to fan account High Speed Higgy on X, though NASCAR has not confirmed a cause publicly.
Is the Enjoy Illinois 300 Under a Red Flag
No red flag has come down at World Wide Technology Raceway. NASCAR called a standard caution rather than stopping the race outright, a distinction that matters for strategy and fuel windows across the field, according to fan account Always Race Day on X. As of roughly 5:08 p.m. ET, the field had covered 134 of the race’s 240 scheduled laps.
Cleanup crews are clearing debris from Turn 1 while the field cycles through pit road under yellow. NASCAR is expected to restart the race once the corner is clear and inspected, sending cars back to green-flag racing rather than holding them for a prolonged red-flag delay.
Kyle Larson Leads After Stage 2 Ends Early
The caution flag froze Stage 2 nine laps ahead of its scheduled lap-140 conclusion, handing the stage win to Kyle Larson driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, according to broadcast handle NASCARonUSA on X.
Joey Logano crossed second, trailed by Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry to round out the top five once the running order locked under yellow, according to scoring update from Turn Four on X. Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace rounded out the unofficial top 10 for the stage.
Moments before the caution flew, Larson held roughly a 2.4-second edge over Logano, with Keselowski running third, based on the Fox Sports live leaderboard tracker.
Smith’s day at Gateway is finished. Once NASCAR scores the stage and clears the frontstretch of debris, the field will restart for a 100-lap sprint to the checkered flag, picking up right where Stage 2 left off before the caution flew. The race had gone green at approximately 3:15 p.m. ET on USA Network, according to the event page maintained by Jayski, and a finish is still expected well before nightfall in the St. Louis area.
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