Posted on by Staff Report

All four Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets will start from the rear for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Chicago Street Course (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) due to incidents sustained in practice and qualifying on Saturday.

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos

The four-car fleet joined a sizable list of 10 cars that will drop to the rear during pace laps, according to NASCAR competition officials. Of those, nine will drop to the back for unapproved adjustments. The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Denny Hamlin will fall to the rear because of an engine change, stemming from an issue that halted his on-track time just minutes into opening practice.

The full list of teams dropping to the rear of the field:

  • No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford, driver Noah Gragson
  • No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Kyle Larson
  • No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Chase Elliott
  • No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, driver Ty Dillon
  • No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, driver Denny Hamlin
  • No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, driver Bubba Wallace
  • No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driver William Byron
  • No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  • No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Alex Bowman
  • No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Katherine Legge

Byron posted the fastest time in Group 1 practice, but with less than two minutes remaining, the No. 24 machine hit the outside wall in Turn 10. In an interview with truTV, Byron explained that he carried too much speed into the corner and consequently suffered heavy left-rear damage. Byron did not turn a lap in qualifying as the team repaired its primary car.

In Group 2 practice, Elliott hit the wall in the short chute between Turns 3 and 4, just after the long back straightaway and past a heavy braking zone. He suffered left-side damage and, like Byron, did not turn a qualifying lap.

Bowman caught the wall and suffered suspension damage later in Group 2 practice. The No. 48 car turned a qualifying lap to better pit selection and posted the 11th-fastest time, but the team elected to repair the car before Sunday’s 75-lap race.

MORE: Full Saturday recap

Larson qualified 14th but sustained damage during his run. Like Bowman, the No. 5 team chose to repair the car and forfeit starting position.

Byron, Elliott and Larson own the top three spots in Cup Series points with five combined victories this season, including a win last weekend at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway) for Elliott. Bowman, the defending winner in Chicago, is 12th in points.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

CHICAGO — After upsetting top-seeded Denny Hamlin in the first round of the In-Season Challenge last Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), Ty Dillon fired the parting shot heard around the NASCAR world.

“For all you Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out,” Dillon said, borrowing a turn of phrase Hamlin himself made famous.

Dillon, the 32nd seed, acknowledged Saturday that he had planned the trash talk after Hamlin wrecked out of the Atlanta race on Lap 69.

RELATED: In-Season Challenge hub | Dillon talks In-Season Challenge battle with Hamlin

“It was planned when I knew he was eliminated,” Dillon said. “When I knew we had him, I told (pit reporter) Mamba (Smith) for the interview, I said, ‘Hey, give me a second after this interview, I got something to say.’

“So, somewhat spontaneous, I guess you could call it that, but it was there. It was always there, and I just wanted to lean into it a little bit.”

Dillon will face 17th-seeded Brad Keselowski in the second round on the Chicago Street Course, and he likes his chances against the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

“Honestly, I feel good,” Dillon said. “We’re going to do our best starting today and all through the race tomorrow to put pressure on him. This is a place that, if you feel like you can pressure people, they can make mistakes.

“Obviously, you’re seeing in practice in Xfinity cars, a little bit more (aggression) can get you in a lot of trouble. And I enjoy road-course racing. We ran really good in Mexico City, another one of the races that we ran up front. A lot of people credit it to being good in the rain, but we also ran really well when it turned dry, too.”

MORE: Chicago schedule | How to watch NASCAR on TNT Sports, truTV

Dillon and the rest of the Cup Series field will tackle the street course on Sunday in the Grant Park 165 (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series head to the Great Lakes this weekend for a stop at the Chicago Street Course for the third time. Bookmark this page and come back often for your race-week essentials — from links to qualifying order, average practice speeds, results and more.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on TNT Sports. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Six sets for the race (five race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying). Teams also have one set for practice, plus six total rain sets for the weekend, if needed. 

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Race day: Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Four sets for the race (three race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying). Teams also have two sets for practice, plus four total rain sets for the weekend, if needed. 

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on by Reid Spencer

CHICAGO — Road-course superstar Shane van Gisbergen pulled off the second qualifying double of his NASCAR career during Saturday’s time trials on the Chicago Street Course.

After securing the pole position for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, Van Gisbergen blitzed the rest of the field on his final run for the top starting position in Sunday’s Grant Park 165 on the 2.2-mile, 12-turn street circuit (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos

Van Gisbergen posted a respectable lap on his second run, only to see it surpassed by Pocono Raceway winner Chase Briscoe. But van Gisbergen responded with a lap at 88.338 mph (89.656 seconds) to beat eventual second-place qualifier Michael McDowell (87.879 mph) by 0.468 seconds.

The Busch Light Pole Award was van Gisbergen’s first on the Chicago Street Course, his second this season (Mexico City) and the third of his career. Last fall, he swept the Cup and Xfinity poles at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

“I’m a lucky boy. I got some great cars today,” said the three-time Australian Supercars champion. “Xfinity pole, Cup pole, pretty special. Hopeful for the race tomorrow.

“Practice wasn’t that great, and I went out in qualifying, and the car felt really good … I learned a lot in the Xfinity car this morning, and that just gives you a great leg up for the Cup car.”

Carson Hocevar, McDowell’s Spire Motorsports teammate, will start third after a lap at 87.824 mph. Tyler Reddick claimed the fourth spot on the grid, followed by Briscoe, who was second fastest behind van Gisbergen in the first of two qualifying groups.

Hocevar and Reddick are head-to-head opponents in the In-Season Challenge, with the second round taking place on the same Chicago streets.

Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs and Austin Dillon claimed the sixth through 10th starting positions, respectively. Defending race winner Alex Bowman will start 11th.

Bubba Wallace, facing an In-Season Challenge matchup against Bowman, spun twice and backed into a Turn 2 tire barrier during time trials and will start 37th.

William Byron, EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) winner Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin will start 38th, 39th and 40th, respectively.

Katherine Legge will be the first female driver to compete in the Chicago Street Race after knocking Corey Heim out of the field late in the Group B session. Legge earned the 33rd spot on the grid with a lap at 85.744 mph.

Bubba Wallace paces eventful practice session

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace turned the fastest lap in practice, a session split between two groups for roughly 25 minutes each. Wallace turned a lap of 87.080 mph in Group 2, besting William Byron (87.027) out of Group 1.

Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell completed the top five. Carson Hocevar, Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.

MORE: Practice results

Denny Hamlin suffered an apparent engine issue in the opening moments of Group 1 practice, looping his car in Turn 5 after dropping fluid on the racing surface. The failure came on the up-to-speed lap and never posted a time.

In the final minutes of the opening group, Byron hit the outside wall in Turn 10, suffering damage to his left rear. In an interview with truTV, Byron explained that he simply carried too much speed through the corner.

During Group 2 practice, Elliott pancaked the outside wall in the short chute between Turns 3 and 4. Alex Bowman also suffered suspension damage.

The cars of Hamlin, Byron and Elliott went to the garage area, and none turned qualifying laps, meaning they will start from the rear in Sunday’s 75-lapper.

Contributing: Staff Report

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

CHICAGO — With the air now finally cleared, Daniel Suárez feels “relief” with the news that he and Trackhouse Racing will officially part ways after the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. He expressed that after four full seasons in the No. 99 Chevrolet, the chemistry faded and a change was needed after months of knowing he would not return to the organization in 2026.

“I have known this for six or seven months, this was going to happen,” Suárez said before Saturday’s practice got underway. “It’s just like everything in life, things change, people change, companies change, and that’s OK, there’s nothing wrong with that. There just wasn’t really love anymore, but there is no hard feelings at all.”

RELATED: Chicago schedule | At-track photos

Despite earning both of his Cup wins under the Trackhouse banner, Suárez could slowly feel the love fading over time, and the distraction of having an uncertain future in the Cup Series over the past two seasons made it difficult for him to remain a contender.

When asked about what led to both sides drifting apart, Suárez opened up candidly about the factors that led his situation to reach this point.

“Since my new crew chief [Matt Swiderski] came to Trackhouse, he told me a lot of things that he didn’t think were right within the organization and a lot of things that needed to be changed,” Suárez said. “I’ve been very vocal with the team on we need to address this, we need to address that, and I’m not the only one seeing it. There are more people seeing it. I don’t think that’s the only reason. I think there are more things. I just think that lately, there have been things that have made me feel that I’m not as important.”

Knowing open seats for next season are limited, the Monterrey, Mexico, native remains confident he will be on the Cup Series grid next year and has no plans of moving down to the Xfinity Series for a year to reestablish his market for 2027.

“I’m confident about [staying in Cup Series], but by contract, I couldn’t talk to anyone about this, even though I knew it was going to happen for a while,” Suárez added. “Everything is still very early, and there are a lot of things that are in the air still. It’s pretty early. Most of the time, these kinds of moves happen a little bit later. I have had a lot of conversations with a lot of people, and there are going to be opportunities. We just have to see how things play out. I’m not going to lie. I believe that if this was happening next year, it was going to be way easier because next year, there’s a lot of more openings, but there is going to be some, and I’m confident that things are going to work out.

“In my mind, I don’t have anything to prove in the Xfinity stuff. I mean, I love the Xfinity Series. I had probably one of the best weekends of my career, winning in Mexico City in there. … It’s an amazing series. I love it. I like to compete with the best of the best.”

Admittedly, Suárez feels “lighter” having this weight off his shoulders, and though the last few seasons haven’t gone the way he hoped for, he still looks back at his time at Trackhouse with fondness.

“I wasn’t very happy anymore, and it was just a matter of time to end this chapter,” Suárez said. “But at the end of the day, we are still in the middle of the season, so we have a lot of things that we still have to work on with my 99 team. I love the 99 team. It’s probably one of the best teams I’ve ever had, and I’m going to miss that group so much. That group is very special to me.”

Ross Chastain, Suárez’s longstanding teammate, reflected on the impact Suárez had on him when he first signed with the team in 2022 and how they connected on and off the track.

“It’s been incredible. It’s been four years together, my entire time at Trackhouse, and really, once we moved into the Concord building, it was him and I,” Chastain said. “He’s the most like-minded person outside of the car of a teammate that I’ve ever had. We were at the same, I feel like, parts in our careers where we had something to prove — when Justin [Marks, team owner] hired us. We put the time in the gym, weights-wise, and available effort in the gym, we were like, line-over-line the same.”

MORE: Cup Series standings 

His most special memory with Suárez is, of course, the celebration and genuine excitement each shared when the other scored their first career Cup win three years ago.

“Both of us winning, seeing his excitement for me at COTA (Circuit of The Americas), and then me when he won at Sonoma,” Chastain said. “I parked the car where I had to, and then I ran up to the start/finish line where he was celebrating. Just seeing that come full circle for both of us.

“Our path to get to Trackhouse were both relatively similar timelines, I’d say. So I feel like that, just seeing all that pay off with Cup wins, I mean, just can’t get over our first wins, and we were there for each other. We were there leading into that, into both of those wins that year in ’22.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

CHICAGO — Regardless of how his 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign turns out, Ryan Blaney has a life-changing moment to look forward to this offseason.

The former series champ and his wife, Gianna, announced this week that they are expecting the arrival of their first child. The couple married last December, one year to the day after their engagement (on 12/12, nonetheless). Their due date, Blaney said, follows suit in keeping major life events outside of the racing calendar.

RELATED: At-track photos: Chicago | Weekend schedule

“We’re in the winter, so that takes a lot of stress off,” Blaney said Saturday before practice and qualifying for Sunday’s Chicago Street Race (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “I can’t say we necessarily drew it up that way. Just kind of got fortunate on the timing of it. So hopefully, fingers crossed, it all goes to plan, and we can be kind of settled into the offseason by the time that the little one comes.”

Blaney said he’s planning to lean on longtime friend Bubba Wallace for advice in the parenthood department. Wallace and his wife, Amanda, welcomed their first child — a son, Becks Hayden Wallace — to the world last Sept. 29. The youngest member of the family joined in on the celebration earlier this year after Wallace’s victory in a Daytona 500 qualifying race; Gianna voiced her approval in the comments, saying: “Fav pic ever.”

“I ask him every day,” Blaney said. “I ask him all the time, and I see it firsthand, being over at his place and flying together and stuff like that. You know, seeing Becks around and watching Becks grow up and stuff like that has been kind of neat. So yeah, I ask him all the time for advice, what are some goods and what are the struggles of a newborn and things like that. So it’s been nice to have him right there and kind of go through the same thing.”

Said Wallace: “I’ve known for a while, obviously, and just hearing how excited they’ve been. Gianna has been going through a little rough patch just from the sickness and stuff. It’s crazy how everybody’s different through their pregnancies and everything. Amanda was, for the most part, OK, and Gianna’s been taking it all in stride, but excited to see them become parents.”

Blaney’s parents — Lisa and former Cup Series driver Dave — have already become grandparents with Ryan’s sister Emma the mother of two young boys. The new addition to the family, however, will be the first of a new generation on Gianna’s side.

“My older sister has a couple kids, but it was Gianna’s parents’ first grandchild, so that’s pretty exciting for them,” Blaney said. “And so yeah, my parents were excited, and yes, it’s pretty cool. That’s like another level of pride as a parent, I feel like, and as a kid, too, giving your parents a grandchild and stuff like that. So my parents were excited, and her parents were extra excited, like I said, because it’s going to be their first grandchild.”

Posted on by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Chicago weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on TNT Sports

 

A graphic depicting the NASCAR Cup Series pit road layout for the Chicago Street Race.
NASCAR

See where your favorite NASCAR Xfinity Series driver will pit for Saturday’s The Loop 110 at the Chicago Street Course (4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: How to watch NASCAR on The CW

A graphic depicting the NASCAR Xfinity Series pit road layout for the Chicago Street Course.
NASCAR

 

Posted on by Staff Report

CHICAGO — Officials penalized the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing and the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club teams after two pre-race inspection failures each at the Chicago Street Course.

RELATED: Chicago weekend schedule

As a result, both teams will have a crew member ejected and lose choice of pit stall selection for Sunday’s Grant Park 165 (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Competition officials barred the car chiefs for each team for the remainder of the race weekend — Kirk Almquist with the No. 21 team and Ryan Dextraze with the No. 42 group.

Berry, driver of the No. 21 Ford, currently sits 19th in the driver standings and has a provisional playoff berth secured after his victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. Nemechek, meanwhile, ranks 23rd and is 82 points behind the elimination line in the Cup Series Playoffs grid.

This weekend’s Cup Series race is the 19th regular-season event of the 2025 season and the third race in downtown Chicago. Practice and qualifying are set to begin Saturday at 1 p.m. on truTV and will set the 40-car starting grid.

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

The NASCAR Cup Series heads back to the concrete jungle in Chicago for the third annual Grant Park 165 and Round 2 of the In-Season Challenge, where 16 drivers have eyes on advancing but half will see their hopes of a $1 million payday come to an end (Sun., 2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Chicago schedule | How to watch NASCAR on TNT Sports

Of course, the driver that’s going to be tough to beat for the overall win is Shane van Gisbergen, who already has a dominant road-course dub in hand this season (Mexico City) and earned his first Cup Series checkered flag in his NASCAR debut two years ago in this same race. His Australian Supercars background and competition on street circuits in the past give him a leg up over the Cup Series field when it comes to this contest, but there is one driver who could give the Kiwi a run for his money this weekend.

Christopher Bell has led 51 laps across both street races, swept the stages in 2023 and ranks second in Speed Rating on the Chicago Street Course, according to NASCAR Insights. However, his best finish in two Chicago starts is 18th. Good luck has yet to blow his way in the “Windy City” with an incident last year and an unlucky strategy the year prior. However, on road courses this year, Bell is the only driver to rank in the top three in Speed Rating, Long Run Speed Rating, Passer Rating and Restart Rating, signaling he should be a threat yet again in Chicago.

The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has cooled since ripping off three consecutive wins in the first four races this year and needs a rebound after three finishes of 16th or worse in the last four races. Although he finished runner-up to van Gisbergen in Mexico City (albeit by 16.5 seconds), this weekend is a chance for him to get revenge on the Trackhouse Racing driver.

It’s worth noting, though, that both Chicago winners secured the first win of their respective seasons, and a few names stand out as possible candidates to continue that trend and provisionally secure a spot in the Cup Series Playoffs.

FANTASY: Set your lineup | Make 36 for 36 pick

OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

ALEX BOWMAN: After a slump of finishing 27th or worse in seven of the nine races, Bowman has finished 11th or better in the last three, including two top fives to find momentum at the right time toward defending his Chicago win a year ago.

TYLER REDDICK: Last year’s runner-up has arguably been the best driver on road courses in the Next Gen era, owning the most laps led (206) and points (614) and tying for the most poles (three), wins (three) and stage wins (four). He additionally has the second-most top fives (eight) and top 10s (13) since 2022.

TY GIBBS: Still looking for his first Cup Series win, Chicago presents a good opportunity for Gibbs to break through. He leads all drivers in points scored on the street course and is one of three drivers to score top 10s in both races. Gibbs has also led the third-most laps on road courses this year.

MICHAEL MCDOWELL: One of the other drivers to finish top 10 in both Chicago races, McDowell has notched 11 top 10s in 19 road-course races since 2022. It’s also been 66 races since McDowell last visited Victory Lane, doing so on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2023.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE GRANT PARK 165

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula incorporates current track, track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to predict a projected winner and provide full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.

FinishCar NumberDriver
188Shane van Gisbergen
25Kyle Larson
39Chase Elliott
420Christopher Bell
554Ty Gibbs
671Michael McDowell
745Tyler Reddick
824William Byron
917Chris Buescher
1016AJ Allmendinger
118Kyle Busch
121Ross Chastain
1312Ryan Blaney
1477Carson Hocevar
1522Joey Logano
1648Alex Bowman
1719Chase Briscoe
1811Denny Hamlin
192Austin Cindric
206Brad Keselowski
2199Daniel Suárez
2223Bubba Wallace
2334Todd Gilliland
2447Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2560Ryan Preece
267Justin Haley
2738Zane Smith
284Noah Gragson
2935Riley Herbst
303Austin Dillon
3143Erik Jones
3242John Hunter Nemechek
3333Austin Hill
3441Cole Custer
3521Josh Berry
3666Josh Bilicki
3710Ty Dillon
3813Will Brown
3951Cody Ware
4078Katherine Legge
Posted on by Alex Cadavid

CHICAGO — “This place has changed my life, so I’m gonna have special memories of this place forever”: Shane van Gisbergen, inaugural winner of the Chicago Street Race in 2023.

Van Gisbergen’s impressive victory set him on the path to NASCAR’s national series scene. He won three races as a rookie in the Xfinity Series a year later before getting the call to the Cup Series this season. Now competing at the sport’s highest level with a playoff spot secured, the New Zealander returns to the Windy City aiming to bounce back from last year’s performance on the 2.2-mile street circuit, where he exited early after a Stage 2 crash.

“We have them all circled going into the year,” Stephen Doran, van Gisbergan’s crew chief of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, said after the Kiwi dominated Mexico City. “I don’t think we approach road courses any different than we do ovals. It’s max effort on every car, but we know with his skill set, if we just put him in position, he’s going to take care of business at these types of places.”

RELATED: Chicago weekend schedule | How to watch NASCAR on TNT Sports

What makes van Gisbergen special and hard to beat at turning left and right is his street smarts. Coming from an Australian Supercars background, he’s raced a great multitude of traditional road courses and street circuits, so much so that he even finds some familiarity in Chicago’s layout to tracks he’s won at from the land down under.

“It’s a bit like Gold Coast in some way, like the 90-degree corners and stuff, and Adelaide in some sections. But yeah, it’s different in its own way. The hardest part here is the no runoff, like Turn 1 and Turn 5; going straight into a wall at the biggest braking zones is pretty daunting. Normally, you have runoff in the tricky corners, so that’s probably the hardest part about this place. ”

With the third annual Grant Park 165 slated for Sunday (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), van Gisbergen returns not only to the site of his NASCAR debut win but also as the main target. The rest of the Cup Series field has improved its road-racing chops in the past year — yet in the garage and on pit road, he’s still seen as the benchmark.

“This place is pretty cool to me. Every time I come back, I hate cities,” van Gisbergen joked. “But when you get here, it’s pretty cool. You know, I got great memories here.”