Chicago Street Race live blog: All the updates for the Grant Park 165
By Steve Luvender
NASCAR.com
Published:
15 Minute Read
Michael Reaves
Getty Images
We’re bringing you live updates leading up to Sunday’s Grant Park 165 in the NASCAR Cup Series (4:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Bookmark this page and check back often as we chronicle the action from the 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course.
— The Chicago Street Race is a NASCAR event that is unlike any other. For information, including maps, schedules and tickets, visit the part of our website dedicated solely to the Chicago Street Race: NASCARChicago.com.
— Australian Supercars star Shane van Gisbergen won last year’s inaugural Chicago Street Race and did it in impressive fashion. SVG, as he’s known, has been the talk of the town in Chicago this week. Learn more about the New Zealand-born driver and what he thinks he can do for an encore.
— Chicago Street Race Weekend President Julie Giese spoke about what those on the ground are looking forward to most this weekend. Find out about the new things that are in store for fans and spectators.
All times listed are Eastern:
Sunday, July 7
10:20 p.m., checkered flag: Thank you, Chicago, for hosting another unforgettable NASCAR Chicago Street Race weekend. 🏁
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
10:02 p.m., checkered flag: Alex Bowman entered the weekend 16th in points – the last spot in the fight for the playoffs. With his win, he’s now safe.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
9:53 p.m., checkered flag: Another heartbreak for runner-up Tyler Reddick. Reddick would have likely won last week at Nashville with one more lap.
9:51 p.m., checkered flag: Some highlights from the top 10: Joey Hand in fourth, Michael McDowell in fifth (where’d he come from?!), Todd Gilliland in seventh, and a much-needed P9 for Kyle Busch. | Unofficial results
9:49 p.m., checkered flag: The celebration continues.
9:35 p.m., checkered flag: Bubba Wallace wasn’t happy with Alex Bowman and let his frustration out on the (ironically-named) cooldown lap. Bowman later apologized for disrupting the No. 23’s day in Victory Lane.
9:32 p.m., checkered flag: It’s the first-ever win for No. 48 crew chief, Blake Harris. The win is the eighth of Bowman’s career, and his first since March 2022 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
9:28 p.m., checkered flag: Alex Bowman’s burning it down – as best as his wet-weather tires will allow. He’s now locked into the playoffs.
9:21 p.m., Lap 58: ⚪️ Final lap for Alex Bowman. Tyler Reddick has moved to second place and he’s got his sights set on the No. 48.
9:20 p.m., Lap 57: Austin Hill and Denny Hamlin are the latest to run into trouble, but the race continues. Alex Bowman continues to lead the way as the time has expired. Next lap will be the white flag.
9:19 p.m., Lap 56: Alex Bowman is only a few laps away from ending a winless streak that dates back to 2022.
9:18 p.m., Lap 55: Christopher Bell goes sideways on slick tires, and there’s damage to the No. 20. Bell made contact with Martin Truex Jr., who got a bump from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. It’s not looking good for CBell.
9:17 p.m., Lap 54: Chase Briscoe and John Hunter Nemechek separately find a wall on a restart, but the race continues.
9:16 p.m., Lap 54: 🟢 Green flag! Alex Bowman leads the way on a single-file restart, likely the last restart of the day.
9:15 p.m., Lap 53: Five minutes to go – then the white flag and then the checkered flag.
9:10 p.m., Lap 52: Just 10 minutes remain in this race.
9:09 p.m., Lap 52: 🟡 Caution No. 5. Josh Berry is not having a great day. He’s again slammed into the wall, and this time they’ll need to pause the race to remove his Ford.
9:08 p.m., Lap 51: New leader. Alex Bowman made an aggressive move on Joey Hand in Turn 5. Move the No. 48 to P1.
9:07 p.m., Lap 50: Alex Bowman is all over Joey Hand’s rear bumper for the lead! The first car on slick tires is Christopher Bell in 11th – 8.6 seconds behind the leaders.
9:06 p.m., Lap 50: AJ Allmendinger has slid into a tire barrier. He’s freed and makes his way to pit road.
9:04 p.m., Lap 49: 🟢 Back to green! Joey Hand leads the way. Fifteen minutes of racing remain.
8:54 p.m., Lap 46: 🟡 Caution No. 4. Joey Hand has won the second stage, the first of his NASCAR career. He leads 12 cars that chose not to pit under green.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
8:52 p.m., Lap 44: Joey Hand is the new leader. Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Carson Hocevar, Martin Truex Jr., Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Harrison Burton, Ryan Preece, Denny Hamlin and Josh Bilicki join Hand in staying out.
8:51 p.m., Lap 44: Christopher Bell and the leaders are all headed to pit road. Nobody wants to pit under caution. It looks like teams are opting for slick tires.
8:50 p.m., Lap 43: Numerous cars are headed to pit road before the end of the stage. This could make things really interesting; the cars pitting now won’t pit when the stage caution flies. With only a half hour of racing left, drivers should be able to make it to the end.
8:47 p.m., Lap 41: PSA for Fantasy Live players: swap out those garage picks before Stage 2 ends. I wonder how many lineups, like mine, included both Shane van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson.
8:45 p.m., Lap 40: Tyler Reddick has fallen back to fifth. Just five laps remain in Stage 2.
8:42 p.m., Lap 38: Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe found the Turn 4 wall, but both cars continue.
8:40 p.m., Lap 37: 🟢 We’re back to green. Christopher Bell leads Tyler Reddick, Todd Gilliland and John Hunter Nemechek.
8:33 p.m., Lap 34: The No. 5 is freed from the wall, but the damage is terminal. Kyle Larson’s out of the car and he’s done for the day. Following Shane van Gisbergen’s early exit, that means yesterday’s first- and second-place finishers will now finish last and second-last today.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
8:28 p.m., Lap 33: 🟡 Caution No. 3. While racing for second place, Kyle Larson buried his Chevrolet in the Turn 6 tire barrier. He’s trying to free his car, but he’s stuck.
8:23 p.m., Lap 31: Christopher Bell has snagged the lead from his teammate. Deeper in the field, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Denny Hamlin are stopped after tangling in Turn 6. The race remains green.
8:22 p.m., Lap 30: 🟢 Green flag is back in the air! Ty Gibbs leads Christopher Bell. Let’s do this.
8:14 p.m., Lap 27: 🟡 We’re rolling again under caution. Remember, we’ve got just over an hour of time to complete this race.
8:05 p.m.: Let’s try this again! Drivers are seated in their cars and engines are fired once more.
7:55 p.m.: As we continue waiting out this storm, keep in mind that this race will conclude within an hour and a half. The latest that the race can conclude is 9:20 p.m. ET.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
7:45 p.m.: Well, hold that thought. Engines re-fired briefly, and now they’ve been shut off again due to a bit more rain.
7:38 p.m.: It’s almost time to re-fire those engines. Coverage continues on NBC.
7:35 p.m.: NASCAR has announced the upcoming restart and future restarts will be single-file instead of the usual double-file style.
7:30 p.m.: Teamwork makes the dream work.
7:25 p.m.: Good news! Drivers have asked to return to their cars in five minutes.
7:20 p.m.: Track drying continues. Looking at the current leaderboard, Team Penske will want to turn things around once the race resumes; the highest-running team car is Ryan Blaney in 31st. It seems the rain didn’t start as quickly as the team had anticipated, making the tire situation tricky for the trio in Stage 1.
6:55 p.m.: NASCAR’s track-drying team is moving standing water off the track. Cars can race on a damp surface, but inches of water are a no-go.
6:26 p.m., Lap 26: 🔴 The red flag is out and the field has been stopped on pit road. There’s a heavy shower passing through the area.
6:24 p.m., Lap 26: Let’s take inventory under caution. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell lead the way. Kyle Larson is third, Zane Smith is fourth and Tyler Reddick is fifth. Shane van Gisbergen is officially done for the day.
6:21 p.m., Lap 25: Shane van Gisbergen is out of the race! His car was damaged after contact from a sliding Chase Briscoe. Wow. SVG has climbed out of the No. 16.
6:19 p.m., Lap 25: 🟡 Caution No. 2 Lots happening! Bubba Wallace went for a slide in Turn 2, and then Chase Briscoe has piled into the tire barrier in Turn 6.
6:16 p.m., Lap 24: 🟢 Back to green! Zane Smith leads on worn wet-weather tires.
6:10 p.m., Lap 22: Last week’s runner-up finisher, Zane Smith, was the lone car to skip pit road. He’s now the leader.
6:06 p.m., Lap 21: Christopher Bell has won the race off pit road ahead of Ty Gibbs and Kyle Larson. Shane van Gisbergen was the fourth car off pit road. There’s a bottleneck on pit-road exit, but it seems no cars have notable damage.
6:05 p.m., Lap 21: Cars are on pit road as the rain falls. These are live pit stops, and you’d better believe everybody’s equipping their cars with wet-weather tires.
6:02 p.m., Lap 20: Something to keep in mind: if today’s race can’t reach the complete 75-lap race distance, NASCAR will end the race at 9:20 p.m. ET.
UPDATE: Per NASCAR Rule Book Section 8.5.7.6.C, NASCAR has announced that if the #GrantPark165 cannot reach the advertised race distance, its conclusion time today will be 9:20 p.m. ET.
5:57 p.m., Lap 19: Whew! What an opening run to end Stage 1. Shane van Gisbergen leads Christopher Bell, and the rain has significantly picked up. Ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Todd Gilliland, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suárez also pick up stage points.
5:47 p.m., Lap 16: 🟡 Caution No. 1. Corey LaJoie has lost grip and spun in Turn 5. He was running 29th.
5:46 p.m., Lap 16: Well, CBell’s lead was short-lived. Shane van Gisbergen retakes the top spot.
5:45 p.m., Lap 15: Move Christopher Bell to the point. He’s muscled past SVG.
5:40 p.m., Lap 13: Talk about Chicago traffic! Shane van Gisbergen has taken the lead from Ty Gibbs amid a cluster of slower cars. The drivers who pitted early for wet-weather tires are struggling – tires designed for damp conditions wear out quickly on dry portions of the track.
5:39 p.m., Lap 12: Shane van Gisbergen has caught leader Ty Gibbs. Remember, SVG won yesterday’s Xfinity Series race while Gibbs finished second.
5:36 p.m., Lap 9: More drivers continue to pit to swap tires. Tyler Reddick has dipped from second place back to sixth.
5:31 p.m., Lap 7: Ryan Preece and Harrison Burton have also pitted to change over to tires that are a little more rain-friendly. Ty Gibbs continues to lead – notably, with the windshield wiper in action.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
5:28 p.m., Lap 5: Michael McDowell has just pitted under green-flag conditions from eighth place to put wet-weather tires on the No. 34. Who else will follow?
5:27 p.m., Lap 4: Turns out that 40 NASCAR Cup Series cars can dry out a track surface pretty quickly! Slick tires seem to be the right call … for now.
5:25 p.m., Lap 2: Grip seems to be at a premium. This could give an advantage to the seven cars that started on wet-weather tires. Ty Gibbs leads early. Follow along on the live leaderboard.
5:21 p.m., Lap 1: 🟢 Green flag! We’re racing in Chicago.
5:18 p.m.: Per Racing Insights, seven cars opted to start the race on wet-weather tires: Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Zane Smith.
5:11 p.m.: Seems slick tires are a popular choice on pit road. It’s a tricky call for teams; there are some dry and some damp parts of this 2.2-mile course.
5:05 p.m.: Drivers will get to take a lap around the course to decide if they want to start the race on their usual slick tires, or swap to wet-weather tires. Teams that change tires will retain their original starting positions.
Don't forget to download the NASCAR Tracks App to access live leaderboards, the Fan Guide, event maps and so much more!
Get race day ready with the NASCAR Tracks App! 👇
— NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend (@NASCARChicago) July 7, 2024
11:23 a.m.: Here’s my Fantasy Live lineup for this afternoon. Is it a little cheap to pick each of the top five qualifiers? Well, maybe, but I believe they’ll be the drivers fighting for the win at the end of the day.
9:45 a.m.: Today’s the day!
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
Saturday, July 6
9:30 p.m.: There’s much more to come from Chicago. Lauren Alaina and Keith Urban will be among those performing tomorrow ahead of the main event, the Grant Park 165. Get acclimated with our What to Watch guide.
9:00 p.m.: Drivers are heading out on stage, the very stage that The Chainsmokers will take shortly for some more fun and music. Bubba Wallace took a second to show off those skills on the drum. (He’s got the stuff!)
— NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend (@NASCARChicago) July 6, 2024
5:45 p.m.: Shane van Gisbergen has won The Loop 110! It’s his third Xfinity Series victory of 2024. He’ll now try to sweep the weekend tomorrow in the Cup Series by keeping his undefeated record intact at Chicago.
— NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend (@NASCARChicago) July 6, 2024
5:07 p.m.: With just a handful of laps remaining in the Xfinity Series race, fans in Chicago are less than an hour away from a performance by The Black Keys.
3:50 p.m.: The Xfinity Series race is underway on NBC, and it’s already shaping up to be a battle to remember between Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen.
2:45 p.m.: That’s all for Cup Series action until tomorrow’s race. The Xfinity Series will take to the track next for the 50-lap race featuring a mix of NASCAR’s up-and-comers and a handful of Cup Series stars. Catch The Loop 110 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
2:40 p.m.: This marks the 21st pole of Kyle Larson’s career. Larson started seventh and finished fourth last year in Chicago.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
2:27 p.m.: That No. 5 car is fast! Kyle Larson, who was fastest in practice, has followed up his speed in qualifying by winning the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165. He posted his 1:27.836-second lap with moments to spare in the session.
2:05 p.m.: Talk about some quick Camrys! Four Toyotas will advance from Group B: Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell, followed by Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet.
Going for the Cup Series pole at the Chicago Street Course:
Kyle Larson Shane van Gisbergen Brad Keselowski Ty Gibbs Christopher Bell Michael McDowell Tyler Reddick Daniel Suárez Bubba Wallace Alex Bowman
— Cameron Richardson (@therichreport) July 6, 2024
2:03 p.m.: Harrison Burton has found himself embedded in the Turn 6 tire barrier as Group B qualifying comes to an end.
1:55 p.m.: William Byron’s reporting power-steering issues. It’s unlikely the No. 24 will compete for pole position while the team works on repairs. He’s 11th-fastest in Group B qualifying so far.
1:42 p.m.: Kyle Larson, Shane van Gisbergen, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell and Daniel Suárez will advance to the final round of qualifying. Group B, the other half of the field, will roll out next.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
1:40 p.m.: Add Josh Berry and Chris Buescher to the list of damaged cars from Group A qualifying. Both damaged the rears of their Fords in the final moments of the session.
1:30 p.m.: Corey LaJoie was set to post a fast lap but crashed, heavily damaging the left-rear corner of his Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. He won’t advance to the final round of qualifying, and the No. 7 team will have their work cut out for them to prepare for tomorrow’s race.
1:25 p.m.: Group A is now on track for 15 minutes of qualifying. The top five drivers will face off against the upcoming Group B’s fastest five to compete for pole position.
1:20 p.m.: Up next for the Cup Series is qualifying, where we’ll set the lineup for tomorrow’s Grant Park 165. Follow along on USA Network and with our live leaderboard.
1:17 p.m.: That’s it for practice. Ty Gibbs paced Group B for the third-fastest overall lap behind Group A’s Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen. Could Gibbs, the rookie, pick up his first career victory this weekend?
12:51 p.m.: Kyle Larson posted the fastest practice lap in Group A (1:28.443), beating Shane van Gisbergen by just over a tenth of a second. The two paced third-quickest Daniel Suárez by over a half second.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
12:30 p.m.: Cup Series cars have taken to the streets of Chicago for practice, the lone session to prepare cars on track this weekend. Catch it on USA Network and follow along with the Race Center live leaderboard or NASCAR Mobile.
12:05 p.m.: Last year’s Cup Series Chicago Street Race winner Shane van Gisbergen has qualified on pole for the Xfinity Series race this afternoon. SVG has won twice on road courses this Xfinity Series season where he competes full-time. But, in a half hour, he’ll need to shift to the Cup Series car for practice and qualifying.
Brittney Wilbur | NASCAR Digital Media
10:05 a.m.: It’s official: cars are on track! Xfinity Series practice and qualifying is taking place ahead of this afternoon’s The Loop 110. The stars of the Cup Series hit the streets at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
10 a.m.: Come hang with Mike Camerlengo and @nascarcasm on Twitch!
— NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend (@NASCARChicago) July 6, 2024
Bubba’s block party was a success! So humbled to play a role in welcoming new faces to this sport with events like these. We've come a long way and we ain't stopping ✌🏾 pic.twitter.com/bSU8aVhypm
2:15 p.m.: 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch paid a visit to Wrigley Field. Reddick threw the first pitch, while Busch serenaded the fans during the seventh-inning stretch.
12:10 p.m.: There’s a new addition to the Sten-house! Ricky Stenhouse Jr. announced the birth of his and his wife Madyson’s son, Stetson Steele Stenhouse.
Stetson Steele Stenhouse Born July 4, 2024 | 8lbs 7oz | 21 inches long Thank you, Jesus, for this wonderful blessing! 💙 pic.twitter.com/BPkOD5OqYp
