In a minor upset, Kyle Larson won the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course (4:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). He and three other drivers clipped defending race winner Shane van Gisbergen, who will start fifth. There was plenty of action during practice and qualifying, making for an unpredictable race. My advice would be to lean toward drivers who constantly run up front on road courses while having other drivers who need to race for points.
RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live lineups
Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: Shane van Gisbergen
Starter 2: Michael McDowell
Starter 3: Tyler Reddick
Starter 4: Ty Gibbs
Starter 5: Chase Elliott
Garage pick: Alex Bowman
NEXT IN LINE: Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suárez, Bubba Wallace
RISING: It feels like an obvious choice to slot Larson in your lineup. He scored his fifth pole while turning left and right – his first outside of Sonoma Raceway – and led the way in practice. The No. 5 Chevrolet might be the best car in Chicago this weekend. I’m assuming, however, that, like me, you probably have very limited starts remaining with Larson in the regular season. And with races like Pocono Raceway, Darlington Raceway and a few others on the horizon, Larson could theoretically score more points at those than he will on Sunday, should the No. 5 team’s strategy be to chase the race win rather than scoring stage points. You can make up those points in other areas this weekend. Admittedly, this strategy bit me at Sonoma, but it feels right to save a Larson start.
Gibbs is one of those drivers you might be able to make those points up with, though. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody if the young phenom scores his first victory on a road/street course, just as he did while breaking onto the scene in the Xfinity Series. Gibbs is in a tight points battle to remain in the top 10 and, should there be another winner below the elimination line, make the playoffs outright. The No. 54 Toyota will start second and will most likely be chasing points with a car that could still work its way through the field in the final stage to tally big-time points.
FALLING: Multiple drivers made their weekend more challenging by getting involved in incidents during practice and qualifying. Notably, Chris Buescher — who has 12 top-10 finishes in 14 road course starts in the Next Gen car — tapped the outside wall and broke his left-rear toe link. By replacing it, the No. 17 car will need to drop to the rear for the start of the race.
You never know what to expect out of a part-time entry for a race team. When AJ Allmendinger showed up to COTA in March for Kaulig Racing, he was competitive and finished sixth. He was not that at all on Saturday. For a driver that has a prestigious road racing background, the No. 13 team has a bunch of homework to do Saturday evening. Allmendinger will take the green flag from the 37th position. His practice pace was slightly better, though, placing 23rd on single-lap speed.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Kyle Larson vs. Chase Elliott: Elliott had mediocre speed in qualifying and will start 18th but was seventh in practice. Larson was on top of the leaderboard after practice and qualifying and has a car capable of winning. Although it hurts not to have Larson in my lineup, the No. 5 pilot should outrun his No. 9 teammate.
Shane van Gisbergen vs. Denny Hamlin: For the second year in a row, Hamlin had a solid opening day to the Chicago Street Race Weekend. It wasn’t as flawless as last season when he won the pole, but being the first driver to miss the final round cut isn’t shabby. But let’s be honest, he’s going up against van Gisbergen, who had a life-changing weekend here one season ago. He is the standard at Chicago, and that’s not changing this weekend.
Tyler Reddick vs. Ty Gibbs: Oof, this is tough. Both drivers are stout on road courses and could be in contention to win on Sunday. Reddick, who led eight laps last season at Chicago before being nose-deep in the Turn 6 tire barriers, might have a clearer race strategy. Gibbs is hovering near the playoff bubble and needs points. Because this is a heads-up battle, I’m thinking Reddick will finish ahead of Gibbs.
Austin Cindric vs. AJ Allmendinger: If you glance at the starting lineup, you will miss Allmendinger’s name — it’s way down towards the bottom of the page. Cindric was slightly better and will start mid-pack in 20th. Allmendinger seemingly finds a way to find decent finishes on these types of tracks, so while I dropped him from my lineup, I’m staying the course here.