Chicago Street Course Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CHICAGO – Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen are two of the best in the business when it comes to road course racing in NASCAR and this weekend in Chicago are putting on a clinic for the rest of the field when it comes to racing hard, but respectful around the tight confines of a street course. Since van Gisbergen shocked the NASCAR world with his win at the inaugural Chicago Street Race a year ago, drivers have been astonished with the way he was ableRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CHICAGO – Just when the NASCAR Xfinity Series field thought it had Shane van Gisbergen covered, he showed them how it’s done, winning Saturday’s The Loop 121 on the Streets of Chicago. With two road course wins already in 2024 and a Cup Series win on the Chicago street course last season in his back pocket, van Gisbergen came in as the overwhelming favorite and rightfully so. Rolling off from the pole alongside Kyle Larson, it was a heavyweight fight for the New Zealander and LarsonRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CHICAGO – This time last year, Shane van Gisbergen was an unknown commodity in the NASCAR world as he was getting set to make his first start in the Cup Series on the Chicago Street Course. By the end of the weekend, everyone knew his name. A year later, van Gisbergen comes into Chicago with a target on his back as the entire field will be gunning for him to take down the street course king. With a year of studying the tricks of the tradeRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CHICAGO — Back to Chicago. After the NASCAR Cup Series stepped off into the unknown last year with the first ever street course race in series history, the drivers and teams are back for Round No. 2 with their eyes open wide to all of the pitfalls of racing on city streets. The 2.2-mile, 12-turn course that comprises the layout for the race will once again wind its way around Grant Park on the shores of Lake Michigan as the series hopes to continue capture theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CHICAGO – SVG. Three letters that say it all. Shane Van Gisbergen, a three-time V8 Supercars champion from New Zealand rolled into Chicago for his first NASCAR Cup Series start and took the field to school, capping off a strong weekend by capturing the victory in the inaugural Grant Park 220 on the Chicago Street Course. “You always dream of it,” Van Gisbergen said of the possibility of winning coming into the weekend. “Thank you so much to the Trackhouse team, Enhance Health, Project91. What anRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CHICAGO — Drenching rain and standing water on the Chicago Street Course forced NASCAR to declare Cole Custer the winner of The Loop 121 NASCAR Xfinity Series race three laps short of halfway and five laps short of the completion of Stage 2.  Custer had led all 25 laps of NASCAR’s first-ever street course race before lightning strikes in the area on Saturday caused NASCAR to red flag the race and then to postpone completion until Sunday morning. But the rain persisted, forcing NASCAR’sRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CHICAGO — After 25 laps on Saturday, all of which were led by pole winner Cole Custer, a lightning strike within eight miles of the Chicago Lakefront halted action in The Loop 121 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the Chicago Street Course and ultimately forced postponement until 11 a.m. ET Sunday.  Because of the continuing danger of lightning strikes, NASCAR opted to delay the race in the interest of public safety. The initial lightning strike forced the third caution of the event, with CusterRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CHICAGO – Denny Hamlin will lead the field to green for the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series street race on Sunday after snagging the pole for the Grant Park 220. Noting that the first day on the 2.2-mile, 12-turn course in downtown Chicago was “my single best day at the race track in all of my career”, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota took the top spot in the waning moments of qualifying with a lap of one minute, 28.435 seconds. Tyler Reddick,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CHICAGO – Ross Chastain and his Trackhouse Racing team might have partied hard after winning last weekend in Nashville, but it’s back to business heading into the unknown of a first-ever street course race this weekend in Chicago. With the momentum of his first win of the season and his first victory in more than a year, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet noted that his team is not changing tactics mid-season and will be keeping their foot on the gas as the summer stretchRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor CHICAGO – NASCAR. Fourth of July weekend. A first ever street course race. Expect fireworks. Former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button has been able to experience street course racing in other forms of motorsports throughout his career, but even he is unsure of what will happen when the green flag drops for the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220 on the Chicago Street Course. “It’s so cool – racing within a city,” Button said. “There aren’t many racing drivers that get that opportunity. I’veRead More