Nascar made its highly anticipated inaugural street course event on the Streets of Chicago on Sunday.
After waiting out torrential rain across Saturday evening and throughout the day on Sunday, the Cup race finally went green 45 minutes past the scheduled start time around 6:15 ET.
Road course ringer Shane van Gisbergen, of Aussie V8 Supercars fame, took home the checkered flag, collecting his first career win in his first career start. Better still this was the first win for the Project 91 team put together by Trackhouse Racing, getting their second straight win as a team after Ross Chastain’s victory in Nashville.
The 34-year-old New Zealand native became the first driver to win in his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford did it at Daytona International Speedway in 1963; 60 years ago.
The racing in Chicago can’t be described without a plethora of chaos. Beginning in damp conditions, the rocky roads of the 12-turn course didn’t cut any slack for all 37 drivers and teams; as boundaries were learned by drivers regarding when to push the car; when to brake in various braking zones, and when to gamble on strategy, on top of fighting the fading daylight.
Late in the race, NASCAR elected to shorten the race distance from 100 laps (220 miles) to 75 laps (165 miles) due to the impending darkness. This threw a wrench in the strategies of the dominant cars of the day, shuffling back leaders like Christopher Bell, who led 37 laps and won both stages.
Additionally, midpack drivers surfaced at the top, with Justin Haley and Austin Dillon taking the top spots due to pit strategy with less than 30 laps left in an effort to steal a win and capture a playoff spot.
While today’s race had nine total cautions, one such incident that didn’t draw a yellow was Austin Dillon clipping the inside wall and wrecking out down the front stretch, leaving Justin Haley to fend off Shane van Gisbergen.
The defining moment ensued with Bubba Wallace coming in hot and wrecking Ricky Stenhouse Jr entering the treacherous turn 1, leading to an overtime restart. Justin Haley needed to hold off van Gisbergen for the win, but wasn’t able to do so as experience, fresher tires, and a rocket of a car prepared by Team Trackhouse prevailed for the three-time V8 Supercars champion.
While diciness is one way to describe the Streets of Chicago, the top finishers are headlined by the underdogs– starting with Haley, who wrecked in qualifying, finishing in 2nd after leading 23 laps. Michael McDowell scored a top-10 in 7th, followed by rookie Ty Gibbs in 9th, Corey LaJoie in 14th, Todd Gilliland in 19th, and former F1 Champion Jenson Button capturing a top-20.
This weekend can’t conclude without crediting Nascar’s efforts for this historic 4th of July weekend in Chicago. Many were skeptical of how this street circuit would perform, and the ominous weather throughout the weekend didn’t help either.
Although the Xfinity Series race had to be called after 25 laps with Cole Custer being declared winner, fans still were able to see ¾ of the Cup race, after rain almost washed out the race weekend.
With the on-track product being a success today, this event opens the window for NASCAR and other cities to potentially run a street course race, which could land a date on the 2024 schedule, and potentially elsewhere beyond next year.
Since van Gisbergen captured the inaugural Cup race, a chance to clinch a playoff spot was robbed from the full-timers, like Justin Haley and Austin Dillon, who gambled to steal a win.
Chase Elliott had a solid points day finishing third as he works to point his way into the playoffs. The Dawsonville, Georgia native sits only 55 points back of the cutline. Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs are just above the cutline, as 25 points separate Wallace (15th), Gibbs (16th), Daniel Suarez (17th, 6 points back), and Michael McDowell (18th, 10 points back).
With another potential wild card being dealt next weekend in Atlanta, can Chase Elliott repeat at his hometown track or will another surprise winner steal a spot with only six remaining?
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The Slow Restart 