{"id":10369,"date":"2022-06-05T21:50:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T01:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=10369"},"modified":"2022-07-22T12:08:25","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T16:08:25","slug":"three-big-stories-gateway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/06\/05\/three-big-stories-gateway\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Big Stories: Gateway"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>MADISON, Ill. &#8212;<\/strong> Well the first foray of the NASCAR Cup Series to Gateway left us with much to discuss.<\/p>\n<p>After 245 laps, I&#8217;m perplexed as to why\u00a0<strong>Joey Logano<\/strong> is so polarizing to fans. <strong>Ross Chastain<\/strong> and <strong>Denny Hamlin<\/strong> put on some fun dumb on-track bickering. Furthermore, World Wide Technology Raceway demonstrated it&#8217;s an excellent venue for the Cup Series.<\/p>\n<p>Without further adieu, let&#8217;s dive into the Three Big Stories of Gateway.<\/p>\n<h2>Three Big Stories: Gateway<\/h2>\n<h3>What do fans not like about Joey Logano<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10368\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10368\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10368 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1401236120-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MADISON, Ill. &#8211; JUNE 5: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway on June 5, 2022, in Madison, Illinois. Photo: Sean Gardner\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Following the Enjoy Illinois 300, long after the cameras shut off, Logano hung around on pit road to sign autographs and pose for pictures with race fans.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just to give you an idea of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joeylogano?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@joeylogano<\/a> off camera, until about two minutes ago, he was signing autographs for fans who stuck around for the after-party at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWTRaceway?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WWTRaceway<\/a>.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NASCAR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NASCAR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EnjoyIllinois300?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#EnjoyIllinois300<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GBoNirOClS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/GBoNirOClS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tucker White (@TuckerWhite94) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TuckerWhite94\/status\/1533606292102828033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 6, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>After the kid in the\u00a0<strong>Kyle Busch<\/strong> shirt took a picture with him, I chimed in and said, &#8220;See, he&#8217;s not so scary.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Everyone cracked up.<\/p>\n<p>To this day, I&#8217;ll never understand why Logano&#8217;s so polarizing.<\/p>\n<p>For as much as fans worship at the alter of the late Dale Earnhardt, they don&#8217;t hesitate to boo the driver who&#8217;s most like him, on-track.<\/p>\n<p>Case in point.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joeylogano?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@joeylogano<\/a> is there! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PYDJhq0xl0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/PYDJhq0xl0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NASCAR (@NASCAR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NASCAR\/status\/1533575709888741381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Logano pushed Busch up the track in Turn 1 to break his momentum. It&#8217;s a textbook example of the aggressive driving fans claim to want.<\/p>\n<p>Yet he&#8217;s booed week in and week out.<\/p>\n<p>What more do you want, people?<\/p>\n<h2>Three Big Stories: Gateway<\/h2>\n<h3>The fun kind of dumb<\/h3>\n<p><a id=\"UcHKjT1nS4ZgYqDghmjVUQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1401230037\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/a%20id=&#039;UcHKjT1nS4ZgYqDghmjVUQ&#039;%20class=&#039;gie-single&#039;%20href=&#039;http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1401230037&#039;%20target=&#039;_blank&#039;%20style=&#039;color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal%20!important;border:none;display:inline-block;&#039;Embed%20from%20Getty%20Images\/ascriptwindow.gie=window.gie||function(c)(gie.q=gie.q||%5B%5D).push(c);gie(function()gie.widgets.load(id:&#039;UcHKjT1nS4ZgYqDghmjVUQ&#039;,sig:&#039;7GqezW56BZj_AUcbAvJJL5mfMn2ki-rSLFERV7Hv29A=&#039;,w:&#039;594px&#039;,h:&#039;396px&#039;,items:&#039;1401230037&#039;,caption:%20true%20,tld:&#039;com&#039;,is360:%20false%20));\/scriptscript%20src=&#039;\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js&#039;%20charset=&#039;utf-8&#039;%20async\/script\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'UcHKjT1nS4ZgYqDghmjVUQ',sig:'7GqezW56BZj_AUcbAvJJL5mfMn2ki-rSLFERV7Hv29A=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1401230037',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I asked The Athletic&#8217;s Jeff Gluck during the race what he&#8217;d rate the several lap cat and mouse routine between Chastain and\u00a0<strong>Denny Hamlin<\/strong>, on a scale of 1-10 on the Dumb NASCAR Scale.<\/p>\n<p>Ten being it&#8217;s the fun kind of dumb and one being &#8220;What are we doing, guys?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He rated it a 7-8.<\/p>\n<p>Chastain bumped Hamlin and put him in the Turn 2 wall on Lap 65. On Lap 80, Hamlin made him use all of the real estate possible on the backstretch to overtake him.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;Here we go!&quot;<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RTld4Mjau6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/RTld4Mjau6<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xq8omT1gYm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/xq8omT1gYm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NASCAR (@NASCAR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NASCAR\/status\/1533550818787565568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>But one driver wasn&#8217;t enough.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The No. 9 spins coming off of Turn 4. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UREj4vSLlk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/UREj4vSLlk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NASCAR (@NASCAR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NASCAR\/status\/1533554877946806274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In Chastain&#8217;s defense, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/06\/05\/joey-logano-steals-gateway-overtime\/\" target=\"_self\">it was just a case of three drivers going for the same spot<\/a>. Naturally, Elliott wasn&#8217;t pleased.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"qme\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\ude31 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4QXV3PbYXM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/4QXV3PbYXM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NASCAR (@NASCAR) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NASCAR\/status\/1533556677789863937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 5, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>What put this altercation over the top was not only Elliott, but Hamlin got another swipe at Chastain, too!<\/p>\n<p>What followed was some of the dumbest back-and-forth by drivers I&#8217;ve ever seen in NASCAR.<\/p>\n<p>And I loved every second of it!<\/p>\n<p>It only came to an end when the Tower told both of them they were a lap away from being parked for not maintaining minimum speed.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the kind of fun dumb NASCAR that makes this league so much fun to cover.<\/p>\n<h2>Three Big Stories: Gateway<\/h2>\n<h3>Gateway proved its worth<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10356\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10356\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10356 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1400878592-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10356\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MADISON, Ill. &#8211; JUNE 3: The full field of the NASCAR Cup Series drivers pose for a group photo prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway on June 3, 2022, in Madison, Illinois. Photo: Sean Gardner\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I strolled down pit lane, over towards the after-party in Turn 1.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Have a taste of the after-party at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWTRaceway?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WWTRaceway<\/a>.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NASCAR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NASCAR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/EnjoyIllinois300?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#EnjoyIllinois300<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/a2JBT6U9eF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/a2JBT6U9eF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tucker White (@TuckerWhite94) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TuckerWhite94\/status\/1533625295525265411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 6, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A good chunk of fans came onto the track to drink beer, smoke and party. One fan, whose name I forgot to get, said it was his first Cup Series race. I asked him if he&#8217;d consider coming back.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Oh, absolutely,&#8221; he exclaimed.<\/p>\n<p>Safe to say, Gateway passed with flying colors.<\/p>\n<p>Ingress and egress were a non-issue and the track did great work taking care of the race fans on the property.<\/p>\n<p>More importantly, the racing was good.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, it could&#8217;ve used more tire falloff and the field got strung out at times, but there plenty of storylines and action to keep everyone engaged.<\/p>\n<p>For a major metropolitan area like St. Louis, Sunday and the weekend as a whole was a rousing success.<\/p>\n<p>You better believe I&#8217;ll drive seven 1\/2 hours from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Madison, Illinois, again!<\/p>\n<p><strong>TOP IMAGE: Jeff Curry\/Getty Images<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MADISON, Ill. &#8212; Well the first foray of the NASCAR Cup Series to Gateway left us with much to discuss. After 245 laps, I&#8217;m perplexed as to why\u00a0Joey Logano is so polarizing to fans. Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin put on some fun dumb on-track bickering. Furthermore, World Wide Technology Raceway demonstrated it&#8217;s an excellent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3353,"featured_media":10371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,1664],"tags":[148,1649,1033,242,14,1550,371,1143,1457,1650],"class_list":["post-10369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-nascar","category-nascar-cup-series","tag-denny-hamlin","tag-enjoy-illinois-300","tag-gateway-motorsports-park","tag-joey-logano","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-2022","tag-nascar-cup-series","tag-ross-chastain","tag-three-big-stories","tag-world-wide-technology-raceway"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}