Race details | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 16 of 33 of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
Date | July 1–2, 2023 | ||
Official name | Inaugural The Loop 121 | ||
Location | Chicago Street Course in Chicago, Illinois | ||
Course | Permanent racing facility 2.2 mi (3.5 km) | ||
Distance | 25 laps, 55 mi (88 km) | ||
Scheduled Distance | 55 laps, 121 mi (194 km) | ||
Average speed | 52.660 mph (84.748 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing | ||
Time | 1:30.421 | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
Laps | 25 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | USA | ||
Announcers | Rick Allen, Steve Letarte (booth), Mike Bagley (Turns 1 and 6), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Turn 4), and Jeff Burton (Turn 11) | ||
Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | MRN |
The 2023 The Loop 121 was the 16th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the inaugural iteration of the event. The race was scheduled to be held on Saturday, July 1, 2023, but after 25 laps, the race was postponed until Sunday, July 2, due to inclement weather. The race was held in Chicago, Illinois at the Chicago Street Course, a 2.2 miles (3.5 km) street course. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 55 laps, but was decreased to 25 laps (2 laps short of the typical point where the race could be called official) due to downpouring rain and standing water. Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, would lead all 25 laps of the race after starting from the pole, and earned his 12th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his second of the season. [1] To fill out the podium, John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Justin Allgaier, driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively. This was the first street race to be contested in the series. [2]
The Chicago Street Course is a 2.2 mi (3.5 km) street circuit located in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The track was initially a conceptual track on iRacing made for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series in 2021.
The track for the actual race in 2023 ended up being the exact same layout as the version used in 2021 for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The start/finish line is located on South Columbus Drive in front of Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. The cars will go south and then turn left onto East Balbo Drive and then right onto South Lake Shore Drive (also part of U.S. Route 41), which is alongside Lake Michigan. The cars will then turn right onto East Roosevelt Road and then make another right, which gets them back onto South Columbus Drive where they are going north. They will then reach the intersection of South Columbus Drive and East Balbo Drive again and will make a left turn. When they are back on East Balbo Drive, they will cross a bridge over the Metra Electric District tracks. Next, the cars will turn right onto South Michigan Avenue and go north, go onto East Congress Plaza Drive and back onto South Michigan Ave. Lastly, they will make a right turn onto East Jackson Drive, go back across the Metra Electric tracks, and right back onto South Columbus Drive to the start/finish line. [2]
The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, July 1, at 10:00 AM CST, and would last for 50 minutes. [3] Justin Marks, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:32.138, and an average speed of 85.958 mph (138.336 km/h). [4]
Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | Justin Marks | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1:32.138 | 85.958 |
2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1:32.157 | 85.940 |
3 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:32.250 | 85.854 |
Full practice results |
Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 1, at 11:00 AM CST. [3] Since the Chicago Street Course is a street course, the qualifying system is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each driver will have multiple laps to set a time. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. The fastest driver to set a time in that round will win the pole. [5] Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 1:30.421, and an average speed of 87.590 mph (140.962 km/h). [6]
Only 25 laps of the race were run, the entirety of stage 1 and the first 10 laps of stage 2. After several lightning delays on Saturday, NASCAR planned to postpone the rest of the race to Sunday, the morning before the Cup race. However, torrential rain on Sunday morning (including several flash flood warnings issued for the region) led to NASCAR issuing an unprecedented decision to call the race before the point the race could be called official.
Stage 1Laps: 15
Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
2 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
3 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
5 | 19 | Connor Mosack (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
6 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 5 |
7 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
8 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
9 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
10 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2Laps: 10* [lower-alpha 1]
The drivers who finished in the top ten were given stage points (10-1)
Final Results
Pos. [8] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 25 | 25 | Running | 60 |
2 | 3 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 25 | 0 | Running | 53 |
3 | 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 49 |
4 | 7 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Racing | Ford | 25 | 0 | Running | 45 |
5 | 5 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 46 |
6 | 8 | 18 | Sammy Smith (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 25 | 0 | Running | 40 |
7 | 9 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 37 |
8 | 16 | 16 | Chandler Smith (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 33 |
9 | 10 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 32 |
10 | 25 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 25 | 0 | Running | 28 |
11 | 2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 26 |
12 | 13 | 50 | Preston Pardus | Pardus Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 25 |
13 | 17 | 88 | Miguel Paludo | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 24 |
14 | 32 | 4 | Kyle Weatherman | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 23 |
15 | 18 | 36 | Alex Guenette | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 22 |
16 | 26 | 24 | Parker Chase | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 25 | 0 | Running | 21 |
17 | 29 | 02 | Blaine Perkins (R) | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 20 |
18 | 14 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 19 |
19 | 31 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 18 |
20 | 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 17 |
21 | 19 | 35 | Alex Labbé | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 25 | 0 | Running | 16 |
22 | 11 | 44 | Sage Karam | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 15 |
23 | 23 | 8 | Josh Berry | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 14 |
24 | 15 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 25 | 0 | Running | 13 |
25 | 24 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 25 | 0 | Running | 12 |
26 | 33 | 6 | Brennan Poole | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 11 |
27 | 34 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 10 |
28 | 22 | 07 | Spencer Pumpelly | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 9 |
29 | 21 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff (R) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 8 |
30 | 30 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 7 |
31 | 20 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 6 |
32 | 27 | 53 | Brad Perez | Emerling-Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25 | 0 | Running | 5 |
33 | 35 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | RSS Racing | Ford | 25 | 0 | Running | 4 |
34 | 38 | 28 | Brent Sherman | RSS Racing | Ford | 25 | 0 | Running | 3 |
35 | 4 | 19 | Connor Mosack (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 25 | 0 | Running | 8 |
36 | 36 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 22 | 0 | Running | 1 |
37 | 28 | 34 | Andre Castro | Jesse Iwuji Motorsports | Chevrolet | 16 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
38 | 12 | 10 | Justin Marks | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 3 | 0 | Engine | 1 |
Official race results |
|
Stewart–Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. It was founded in 2002 as Haas CNC Racing after Haas, whose company was a sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports, elected to form his own team. In 2009, Stewart, who had been driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, made a deal with Haas to drive for the team and in return receive a 50% stake in it.
Spencer Pumpelly is an American professional racing driver who competes part-time in IMSA, driving the No. 44 Acura NSX GT3 for Magnus Racing with Archangel Motorsports as well as part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro for SS-Green Light Racing. A veteran sports car racing driver, Pumpelly has competed in IMSA and its predecessor series, the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series since 1998 and 1999, respectively. He also has competed in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the ARCA Menards Series in the past.
Cole Matthew Custer is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. He is the son of Joe Custer, the team president of Stewart-Haas Racing. He is the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
Preston J. Pardus is an American professional racing driver who competes in the Sports Car Club of America as well as part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro for his own team, Pardus Racing. Pardus won the Spec Miata class at the 2017 SCCA National Championship Runoffs and claimed the 2020 Super Sweep in the Spec Miata division. He is the son of former NASCAR driver Dan Pardus.
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