Written by Gabriel Tsui, Edited by Sharifah Zaqreeztrina
After another nail-biting finish in Nashville to bring an end to the chaotic month of June, we head to Chicago for the once-a-year street race. As Joey Logano secures a playoff berth, the available playoff spots now shrink down to five.
In a track as unpredictable as Chicago, a track that saw Shane Van Gisbergen take the top spot in 2023, can someone outside the playoff picture work their magic and storm their way to the playoffs?
Track Preview
The Chicago Street Course is a 2.2 mile (3.5 kilometres) long street track that is hosted on the streets of Chicago right next to Lake Michigan. First hosted in 2023, the race was intended to replace Road America. The track will also host the XFinity series, while the Trucks take a week off.
There will be a lot of overtaking opportunities, with the wide turn two being one of the favourite spots for drivers to take a shot at the divebomb. There will be 20 laps in stage one, 25 laps in stage two, and 30 laps for the final stage.
Originally, the race was planned to run 100 laps and 220 miles in total, but last year’s shortened race proved to be more exciting. Therefore, in this year, the drivers will be running 75 laps and 165 miles around the track.
This weekend may have the same rainy conditions that made last year’s race incredibly thrilling, with the weather forecast predicting rain in the city of Chicago. The race will commence on the Sunday of July 7th, at 16:30 ET (13:30 PT, 22:30 CET).
Race Predictions
Last season’s race proved to be one of the more exciting races on the calendar, with tense door-to-door racing, alongside a surprise winner who drove the Chevy Camaro: Shane Van Gisbergen.
The Chevrolets dominated last year’s race, securing the top five positions, and they are poised to repeat that result. They have both road course wins so far this season, with William Byron in COTA and Kyle Larson in Sonoma, showcasing their ability to excel in road courses.
With a few drivers hanging around the playoff cut line, such as Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, Kyle Bush, and Carson Hocevar, they would be motivated to send one of their own to victory lane and secure more help for the playoffs.
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