In a dramatic race with a track record and season-high 18 cautions, a handful of drivers found themselves in position to score their best finish of the year, or at least their strongest result in quite some time.
It was also a race that saw five Chase drivers fail to reach the checkered flag, and many more driving wounded due to crash damage.
Take a closer look at some drivers who earned their best result in quite a while in Sunday's unpredictable NASCAR Cup race at WWT Raceway:
Kyle Larson (1st) -- First win in 51 Cup race
While the attrition helped some others on this list, Larson's win was possible even with a tame race. He started on the front row, and remained near the front for most of the day. However, one of the many late-race cautions provided him the opportunity to get a tire advantage on Joey Logano, and that was the difference in getting Larson back to Victory Lane for the first time since Kansas in May of 2025 -- 51 races ago.
Alex Bowman (2nd) - Best finish of the 2026 season
Bowman was part of a Hendrick Motorsports 1-2, earning his best result of the season in the No. 48 Chevrolet. In his 50th career top five, it was actually Bowman's best finish since placing second at Homestead in March of 2023, with teammate Larson winning that race as well. Bowman was also racing with a heavy heart after the loss of his dog, Finn, just before the race weekend.
Ross Chastain (5th) -- First top five since February
Gateway wasn't Chastain's best result of the year, but it was the Trackhouse driver's first top five in any race since Atlanta in February. He now has two fives for the entire season, which is way down from previous years but a step in the right direction. It was also a day where Chastain led 15 laps and earned his best-ever Gateway finish in the Cup Series.
Austin Dillon (6th) -- Matched season-best finish
While Chastain was the top-finishing driver with an ECR engine, he was one of three ECR-powered cars inside the top ten. Dillon matched his season-best finish in the best showing by any Richard Childress Racing car since the tragic passing of Kyle Busch in May, finishing a strong sixth.
Connor Zilisch (7th) -- First career top ten on an oval
In a nightmarish rookie season for Zilisch, he was part of a double top ten for Trackhouse as he earned his first-ever oval top ten since joining the Cup Series. He also matched his career-best finish anywhere, also finishing seventh at Sonoma. With eight finishes of 25th or worse in the nine races before Gateway, that showing had to feel good for the 20-year-old Cup rookie.
Cole Custer (11th) -- Best finish at a non-superspeedway in over a year
Custer hasn't finished this high in a non-superspeedway race since Mexico City last summer. Taking out road courses as well, you have to gall the way back to Bristol in 2022 when it was still Stewart-Haas Racing. It was a great day for the single-car team, staying out of trouble all day.
Cody Ware (22nd) -- Best finish at a non-superspeedway since 2024
Even with the window net forcing an unscheduled green-flag pit stop, Ware kept his car fairly clean and finished 22nd, which was solid for the lowest-ranked full-time driver and team in the championship standings. The last time Ware finished that high up the field in a non-superspeedway race was Las Vegas in the fall of 2024, almost two years ago.
