A request that this article title be changed to Chicago Street Race is under discussion . Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
NASCAR Cup Series | |
---|---|
Venue | Chicago Street Course |
Location | Chicago, Illinois |
Corporate sponsor | McDonald's and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSI) [1] |
First race | 2023 |
Distance | 165 miles (265.542 km) |
Laps | 75 Stage 1: 20 Stage 2: 25 Final stage: 30 |
Previous names | Grant Park 220 (2023) |
Most wins (manufacturer) | Chevrolet (2) |
Circuit information | |
Surface | Asphalt |
Length | 2.200 [2] mi (3.541 km) |
Turns | 12 [2] |
The Grant Park 165 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series race held on the Chicago Street Course, a street circuit in Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States. The race was first held in 2023 and was the first ever street race contested in the NASCAR Cup Series. The NASCAR Xfinity Series also holds a race on the street course on the day before the Cup Series race. [2]
Alex Bowman is the defending race winner, having won it in 2024.
On March 24, 2021, NASCAR announced that an imaginary street course in the Chicago Loop in Downtown Chicago would be the track for the fifth (and what turned out to be the final) race of the 2021 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The iRacing event was broadcast live on NASCAR on Fox on Wednesday, June 2. [3] Rick Ware Racing Cup Series driver James Davison would win the virtual Chicago street race. [4] Ever since the announcement of the track's virtual creation for this iRacing event, there had been rumors and speculation that NASCAR would like to make this track a reality and have a street race in Chicago on the Cup Series schedule in the future. On July 7, 2022, Jordan Bianchi from The Athletic reported that an official announcement of a Chicago street race being added to the Cup Series schedule would come on July 19. [5] On June 17, Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal suggested that the Chicago Street Course could replace Road America on the 2023 Cup Series schedule as any street course race would likely replace one of the road course races and Road America did not have a contract to have a Cup Series race in 2023. [6] On July 19, the official announcement of the addition of the Chicago street race to the Cup Series schedule took place. [2] After the announcement, NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy confirmed Stern's report of the Chicago street race replacing the race at Road America on the Cup Series schedule in a question and answer session with the media. [7]
On March 7, 2023, NASCAR announced that the race would not have a title sponsor and would instead be named after Grant Park, which the street course will pass by. Similarly, the Xfinity Series Chicago street race was named The Loop 121 after the Chicago Loop, the area of the city in which the street course is located. It was also announced on that day that the Cup Series race would be 220 miles and 100 laps in length. [1]
The inaugural running of the event was held during a rain storm. The start of the race was delayed, and eventually ran for only 78 of the scheduled laps. New Zealand racing driver Shane van Gisbergen and triple Australian Supercars champion won the event. [8] in his first-ever NASCAR race running for Trackhouse Racing's PROJECT91 program after qualifying in third. [9] He also became the first driver to win in his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in 1963. Following the race win, van Gisbergen left Supercars in 2024 and came to the United States to race full-time in NASCAR. He later would join the Cup Series full time in 2025.
On October 20, 2023, NASCAR announced that the 2024 Cup Series Chicago Street Race would be shortened from 220 miles (354.056 km) and 100 laps to 165 miles (265.542) and 75 laps. [10] This is about the same length of the rain and darkness-shortened 2023 race, which was 171.6 miles and 78 laps long.
Year | Date | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Race Distance | Race Time | Average Speed (mph) | Report | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laps | Miles (km) | ||||||||||
2023 | July 2 | 91 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 78* | 171.6 (276.163) | 2:50:48 | 60.281 | Report | [11] |
2024 | July 7 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 58* | 127.6 (205.351) | 2:19:24 | 54.921 | Report | [12] |
# Wins | Manufacturer | Years Won |
---|---|---|
2 | Chevrolet | 2023–2024 |
Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Cup Series has been held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 1993. The race is currently held as a 301 lap (318.458-mile race and under the USA Today 301 name for sponsorship reasons. A second race in September was also formerly held at the track from 1997 to 2017 until it was moved to Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting in 2018.
The Ambetter Health 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Daniel Suárez is the defending race winner.
Shane Robert van Gisbergen, also known by his initials SVG, is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing. He is known for his time racing in the Supercars Championship, last driving the No. 97 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 car for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is a three-time Supercars Champion, winning driver's titles in 2016, 2021, and 2022. With a total of 80 wins and 46 pole positions, van Gisbergen is 4th on the all-time wins list in the Supercars Championship. He has won the Bathurst 1000 three times, in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
Cole Matthew Custer is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Haas Factory Team. He is the son of Joe Custer, the team president of Stewart–Haas Racing. He is the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
The Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car race held at Pocono Raceway.
Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams: the No. 10 full-time for Ty Dillon, and the No. 16 full-time for A. J. Allmendinger. It also fields three full-time Xfinity Chevrolet Camaro teams: the No. 10 for Daniel Dye, the No. 11 for Josh Williams, and the No. 16 for Christian Eckes. The team has a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, and formerly operated out of the NTS Motorsports facility.
Chandler Michael Smith Sr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 81 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He was a member of Toyota Racing Development's TD2 driver development system from 2018 until the end of 2022 but rejoined the program starting in 2024.
Trackhouse Racing is an American motorsports organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and MotoGP. The team is owned by Trackhouse Entertainment Group, a venture of Justin Marks, Grammy Award–winning rapper Armando Christian "Pitbull" Pérez, and Avenue Sports Fund.
The Kwik Trip 250 presented by Jockey Made in America was a NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The series first raced on the 4.048 mi (6.515 km) road course in 1956, but it did not return to the schedule until 2021 as part of Independence Day weekend. The race returned for another year in 2022 before being removed again in favor of a street race in Chicago.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series was the 75th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 52nd season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season started with the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 5. That race was followed by the Daytona Duel qualifying races and the 65th running of the Daytona 500 on February 19, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 5.
The Enjoy Illinois 300 is a NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois in the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area, first held in 2022. This race replaced the Pocono Organics CBD 325, one of the two Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series was the 76th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 53rd season for the modern-era Cup Series. The pre-season started with the Busch Light Clash on February 3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Clash would then be followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races on February 15. The season would then officially kick off with the 66th running of the Daytona 500 on February 19, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 10.
The Chicago Street Course is a 2.140 mi (3.444 km) street circuit in Grant Park in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It currently hosts the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, with the first races run on July 1–2, 2023. The track was initially a conceptual track on iRacing made for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series in 2021.
The Loop 110 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that is held on the Chicago Street Course, a street circuit in Chicago, Illinois. The race was first held in 2023 and was the first ever street race for the Xfinity Series. A NASCAR Cup Series race is also held on the street course on the same weekend the day after the Xfinity Series race.
The 2023 Grant Park 220 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 2, 2023, at the Chicago Street Course in Chicago, Illinois. Originally scheduled for 100 laps, the race was shortened to originally 75 laps due to darkness before being extended to 78 laps due to an overtime finish on the 2.2-mile (3.5 km) street course. It was the 18th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. It was the first street race contested for the series. The race was won by reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, making his NASCAR debut.
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 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. 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.
The 2024 Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 was the 14th stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 2nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, June 8, 2024, in Sonoma, California at Sonoma Raceway, a 1.99 miles (3.20 km) permanent asphalt road course. The race took the scheduled 79 laps to complete. Shane van Gisbergen, driving for Kaulig Racing, would cruise to a dominating victory, winning the pole and leading a race-high 32 laps to earn his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his second consecutive win of the season. Ty Gibbs led 26 laps in the race, before being involved in late race pileup on lap 49. To fill out the podium, Sheldon Creed, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Sam Mayer, driving for JR Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The 2024 Grant Park 165 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 7, 2024, at the Chicago Street Course in Chicago, Illinois. Originally scheduled for 75 laps, the race was shortened to 58 laps due to darkness, on the 2.2-mile (3.5 km) street course, it was the 20th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Alex Bowman won the race, his 8th career win, breaking an 80 race win drought. Tyler Reddick finished 2nd, and Ty Gibbs finished 3rd. Joey Hand and Michael McDowell rounded out the top five, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Todd Gilliland, William Byron, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top ten.
The 2024 The Loop 110 was the 18th stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 2nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 6, 2024, at the Chicago Street Course in Chicago, Illinois, a 2.2 miles (3.5 km) street course. The race took the scheduled 50 laps to complete. Shane van Gisbergen, driving for Kaulig Racing, would continue to show his dominance on road courses, passing the leader Jesse Love with under five laps to go, and holding off the rest of the field to earn his third career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, his third of the season, and his third consecutive win on a road course. The early stages of the race saw Gisbergen and Kyle Larson in an intense battle for the lead, and eventually led to Gisbergen winning the first stage. After shuffling towards the back of the field from a pit road strategy, Gisbergen and Larson made their way back to the front, with Larson unable to challenge Gisbergen and finished 3rd, behind Ty Gibbs. Gisbergen and Love both led a race-high 14 laps, while Larson led 12 laps.
The 2024 Bank of America Roval 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 13, 2024, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 109 laps on the 2.32-mile (3.73 km) road course, it was the 32nd race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the sixth race of the Playoffs, and the final race of the Round of 12. Kyle Larson won the race. Christopher Bell finished 2nd, and William Byron finished 3rd. Austin Cindric and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five, and A. J. Allmendinger, Shane van Gisbergen, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top ten.
NASCAR's Ben Kennedy says Road America won't be on the Cup schedule in 2023.