For the second time, NASCAR is moving to “another city.”
In 2023, drivers rev their engines on the streets of Chicago. As is the case with the best-laid plans, the 2023 Grant Park 220 was somewhat scuttled: rain delayed the start of the race and darkness intervened. Race up to 75 laps.
In his NASCAR Cup Series debut, Shane Van Gisbergen took home the checkered flag, passing Justin Haley and Chase Elliott on the way to his first podium and his first win. “SVG” became the first driver in modern NASCAR history to win his first title.
This year, Van Gisbergen will have the opportunity to defend his victory, as he sits fifth on the grid behind pole sitter and 2024 points leader Kyle Larson.
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Zane Smith, who was already racing on rain tires, stayed out under caution at the end of the first stage as most of the rest of the field – who remained on the lead lap – hit pit road to change from slick wet tyres.
The Spire Motorsports driver will make the field green for the start of Stage 2 in his No. 71 Chevrolet, followed by Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen.
Defending race winner Shane Van Gisbergen won the opening stage, which ended under caution as rain began to intensify.
Gisbergen, who also won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race on the streets of Chicago, took the lead on Lap 13 and held it until the end of the 20-lap first stage. Drivers go to pit road to change tires in wet weather.
Here are the top 10 finishers in Stage 1:
Lajoie brings out first caution in NASCAR Chicago street race
Corey Lajoie was coming out of Turn 4, bringing out a caution on lap 17. Lajoie, who had started 20th, hit the wall with the rear of his No. 7 Chevrolet and was unable to turn as the field of cars approached, forcing officials to call the first yellow flag of the day.
NASCAR officials decided not to open pit road before the end of the 20-lap opening stage, and ended it under caution. As more rain approaches, teams will have a chance to decide whether to switch to wet-weather tires at stage breaks.
Defending race winner Shane van Gisbergen overtook Ty Gibbs on lap 13 of the Grant Park 165. As the leaders came to the rear of the field, Gibbs was forced to slow down, and SVG took advantage, passing the Joe Gibbs Racing driver on the inside. Turns 11 and 12. The starting stage is scheduled for 20 laps.
Ty Gibbs, who started second, has led 10 laps so far in the Grant Park 165. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver passed pole sitter Kyle Larson when the green flag dropped. Starting on primary slick tyres, Gibbs held the lead for the first part of the 20-lap opening stage.
Reigning race winner Shane Van Gisbergen moved into second, followed by Christopher Bell, Larson and Chase Briscoe.
The green flag has waved for the Grant Park 165, with pole sitters Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs leading the 40-car field across the start/finish line at Grant Park. Some drivers have changed to wet weather tyres, while others are driving with primary slicks. Some roads in the city have puddles, while others remain mostly dry.
Ty Gibbs quickly moved ahead of Tyler Reddick and Larson.
The cars came out of pit road to inspect a lap of the Grant Park 165 course. Drivers are racing down city streets at high speed trying to determine whether they should keep their normal smooth tires or change to rain tires, which have treads.
Although you shouldn’t expect torrential rain to happen in 2023, Grant Park 165 already encountered Mother Nature on Sunday.
Light rain fell on the streets of Chicago before the start of the race. It is expected to rain in light sheets in the next hour.
NASCAR has declared the track wet, and teams are prepared with rain tires if the wet weather continues at the festival this afternoon.
A light rain begins to fall over downtown Chicago ahead of the start of Grant Park 165. Crew members have covered the cars on pit road to keep them from getting wet. NASCAR and Goodyear brought rain tires to the event, so if the rain doesn’t get too heavy the race should go green soon.
Former Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte gave the order to drivers to start engines for the Grant Park 165. The two-time NFL Pro Bowler played eight seasons in Chicago and two seasons with the New York Jets before retiring in 2017.
Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney is among nine drivers who will move to the back of the field before the green flag flies for the Grant Park 165 in Chicago. Eight of the nine were required to have their cars repaired after Saturday’s track session, which NASCAR considers unapproved adjustments.
In addition to Blaney, the other drivers undergoing repairs are Chris Buescher, Josh Berry, Brad Keselowski, Corey Lajoie, Harrison Burton, William Byron and Erik Jones. Josh Bilicki’s car failed pre-race inspection three times, invalidating the team’s qualifying time, while also incurring a pass-through penalty down pit road at the start of the race.
NBC is televising Grant Park 165 and will have a pre-race show at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. local time).
Grant Park 165 can be streamed live on Peacock, the NBCSports website and the NBC Sports app. The race is also available to stream on Fubo.
The Grant Park 165 makes 75 laps around the 2.2-mile road course, covering a total distance of 165 miles. The race will consist of three segments (laps per stage) – Stage 1: 20 laps; Stage 2: 25 laps; Step 3: 30 laps.
Kyle Larson is in pole position as drivers prepare for Sunday’s race. Here’s the lineup:
The forecast for Grant Park 165 in Chicago on Sunday is mostly favorable, although there is still a chance of thunderstorms.
The National Weather Service is forecasting a 30% chance of rain at 3 p.m. local time, half an hour before the race starts, with the chance of rain reaching 31% at 4 p.m. The NWS is also estimating the chance of a hurricane at that time between 30% and 50%.
As a group of storm clouds moves through the region, moving east, the chance of showers and thunderstorms will gradually decrease by the afternoon, with the chance of rain falling to 21% by 6 p.m. .
According to the NWS, temperatures are expected to be in the mid to low 80s, with a forecast of 86 degrees at 3 p.m., with 17 mph winds expected throughout the afternoon.
During Grant Park 165, drivers will pass by iconic streets like Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive and famous landmarks like the Buckingham Fountain. The 12-turn, 2.2-mile circuit will start on Columbus Avenue and wind through city streets before it hits the start/finish line in front of Grant Park.
Shane Van Gisbergen scored his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in a memorable finish in the series’ first street race while chasing Justin Haley and Chase Elliott on July 2, 2023. The New Zealand native and three-time Supercars champion led the final eight laps and finished 1.259 seconds behind Haley and became the first driver to win his Cup since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.
There are seven races remaining in the regular season, including Sunday’s race at Chicago, before the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin on Sept. 11. Regular season wins virtually guarantee a spot in the playoffs, but the possibility still remains that there may be more race winners than available playoff spots as 11 drivers have the fewest wins this season.
2024 winners (points in parentheses): Kyle Larson 3 (664); Denny Hamlin 3 (621); Christopher Bell 3 (576); William Byron 3 (570); Chase Elliott 1 (644); Tyler Reddick 1 (611); Ryan Blaney 1 (560); Brad Keselowski 1 (531); Joey Logano 1 (470); Daniel Suarez 1 (383); Austin Cindric 1 (367).
Grant Park kicks off at 4:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. local) on 165 Chicago city streets.
This post was published on 07/07/2024 2:56 pm
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