Determined Effort By Custer Ends Prematurely After Getting Collected in Michigan Crash – Speedway Digest
With the Xfinity Series off this weekend, Cole Custer carried the banner for the Haas Factory team during Cup Series racing at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway. Making his sixth Cup Series start at Michigan, Custer rolled off 24th on Sunday. 41 Cole Custer – Recap Early in Stage One, Custer was faced with challenges, […]
With the Xfinity Series off this weekend, Cole Custer carried the banner for the Haas Factory team during Cup Series racing at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway. Making his sixth Cup Series start at Michigan, Custer rolled off 24th on Sunday.
41 Cole Custer – Recap
Early in Stage One, Custer was faced with challenges, reporting that his No. 41 Ford was loose on entry and exit, with a hint of tightness in the center of the corners. The handling made it difficult to get back to the throttle quickly off the turns. Still, Custer and the team were undeterred. As Stage One ended the team worked to dial in the HaasTooling.com Ford. Adjustments, including a round of wedge, were made to help improve stability, and give Custer the ability to attack the turns.
As Stage Two began, Custer worked to overcome adversity, He found restarts especially challenging, due to a lack of grip while trying to re-enter the throttle zone. He described the car as being “out of the track” with minimal grip, though he noted the balance itself wasn’t far off – just lacking overall feel. Unfortunately, just as the team looked to regroup and regain track position, Custer was caught in a multi-car incident on lap 68. The crash ended Custer’s day early and brought a premature close to what had been a determined effort. Custer was officially credited with a 35th-place finish.
“I don’t exactly know what transpired to get us into that situation but it just seemed like we all just ran out of room,” said Custer. It’s really disappointing from the standpoint of we want to be on the up end of things with our team right now. We want to move in the right direction in the summer time. I like we are bringing better cars to the racetrack and getting more competitive but getting wrecked on days like this, definitely sets that back.”
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Welcome to the Racing America On SI Live Race Updates page for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. Be sure to refresh this post throughout Sunday’s event as the Live Race Updates story will be updated regularly with the biggest moments from the 165-mile race around the 2.2-mile […]
Welcome to the Racing America On SI Live Race Updates page for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course.
Be sure to refresh this post throughout Sunday’s event as the Live Race Updates story will be updated regularly with the biggest moments from the 165-mile race around the 2.2-mile street road course, including lead changes, crash replays, the winner of the race, finishing results, and In-Season Tournament updates.
Lap 75: Shane Van Gisbergen Wins AGAIN in Chicago!
A caution called by NASCAR race control on the final lap of Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course for Cody Ware, who crashed into the tire barrier in Turn 6 with two laps to go, sealed the deal for Shane Van Gisbergen, who won Sunday’s race, and completed a weekend sweep of the poles and race wins in the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series races.
Grant Park 165 Race Results
Fin
Car
Driver
Laps
Diff
1
88
Shane van Gisbergen #
75
—
2
54
Ty Gibbs
75
0.887
3
45
Tyler Reddick
75
1.058
4
11
Denny Hamlin
75
9.328
5
8
Kyle Busch
75
11.115
6
16
AJ Allmendinger
75
14.194
7
60
Ryan Preece
75
15.631
8
48
Alex Bowman
75
17.134
9
33
Austin Hill * (i)
75
17.618
10
1
Ross Chastain
75
19.591
Lap 74: Cody Ware Crashes Hard Into Tire Barrier, Caution!
Cody Ware went hard into the tire barrier with two laps to go in Turn 6, NASCAR held onto the caution flag until after Shane van Gisbergen took the white flag, which means the field is now frozen, and SVG will go on to win the race over Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch.
Lap 72: Tyler Reddick ON THE MOVE
Tyler Reddick is turning the fastest laps we’ve seen all race long, and he has just passed Denny Hamlin for the third position. Reddick has gone from over eight seconds behind leader SVG to now being under 3 seconds back.
Lap 71: Bell Sent Spinning Out
Christopher Bell is the latest driver to be turned around. The green flag remains out, but we are seeing gloves off racing with under five laps remaining in this race.
Lap 69: Bowman and Bubba Battling Hard for Position
Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace fought tooth and nail for several laps for the eighth position, and it was a spirited battle as the two drivers are facing off in this week’s In-Season Tournament matchup. Bowman would eventually send Wallace spinning backwards, and Bowman has continued on. Wow.
Lap 68: Chase Briscoe Cuts Tire
Chase Briscoe has suffered a cut tire and is unable to get to pit road. Briscoe had contact with Ryan Preece, while running fifth. It will be a long way around the 2.2-mile track for Briscoe on that flat tire.
Lap 67: Back to Green!
We’re back to green as Shane van Gisbergen and Ty Gibbs lead the field back to the restart. SVG launches, and received a slight rub from Gibbs, but he takes sole possession of the lead. Gibbs is now under fire from AJ Allmendinger, and Denny Hamlin is there too.
Lap 65: Caution
We’re back under caution as Austin Cindric, one of the drivers involved in the melees on the previous restart, has stalled on track, and we’re under caution for the sixth time in this race.
We’re back to green and Shane van Gisbergen takes control of the race, but a massive stack up caused by Ryan Preece divebombing the field in Turn 1 caused major damage for several cars. The race stayed green, and in the next set of Turns, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was crashed, and he has pulled behind the wall.
Lap 61: Caution
We’re under caution on Lap 61 for a medical emergency for a spectator at the Chicago Street Course. The race had to be put under caution to allow the transport of the spectator out of the track.
Shane van Gisbergen had just taken the lead from Chase Briscoe prior to the caution coming out.
After spending 22 laps getting the throttle cable on his No. 71 Chevrolet fixed, Michael McDowell has returned to the race on Lap 56. McDowell, who led the opening 31 laps, runs 32nd, 22 laps off the pace.
Lap 55: Alex Bowman Pits
Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team opted to make a pit stop on Lap 55 under green instead of during the Stage break. Bowman has reported his coolsuit is failing inside the car, which will not be a good recipe for success down the stretch.
Bowman now runs 27th, but should be one of the cars that can now make it to the finish of this race on fuel.
Lap 51: Tyler Reddick Hounding Chase Briscoe for Lead
Briscoe continues to lead the race after assuming the lead going into the restart on Lap 49, but Tyler Reddick is in Briscoe’s mirror and applying pressure for the top spot.
Lap 49: Back to Green!
Due to a variety of pit strategies, the running order is jumbled up heading into the final Stage of this race. Chase Briscoe leads the field to green ahead of Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Alex Bowman runs fifth.
Shane van Gisbergen is expected to be the guy to deal with the rest of this race, and he runs sixth on Lap 49.
Lap 45: Ryan Blaney Takes Stage 2 Win
With the top-two drivers in the running order — Shane van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger — pitting before the end of Stage 2 to set themselves up for a better chance at the overall race win, Ryan Blaney remained on track, and took the Stage 2 win. This is Blaney’s fourth Stage win of the 2025 season.
Stage 2 Results
Fin
Car
Driver
Stage Points
Playoff Points
1
12
Ryan Blaney
10
1
2
19
Chase Briscoe
9
—
3
45
Tyler Reddick
8
—
4
48
Alex Bowman
7
—
5
23
Bubba Wallace
6
—
6
11
Denny Hamlin
5
—
7
9
Chase Elliott
4
—
8
42
John Hunter Nemechek
3
—
9
43
Erik Jones
2
—
10
20
Christopher Bell
1
—
Lap 43: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Crashes Into Turn 1 Tire Barrier
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. slid from inside the top-10 into the tire barrier in Turn 1 on Lap 43. Luckily, Stenhouse was able to drive away from the incident, but that will really hurt his prospects.
Lap 43: SVG Pits, Allmendinger Pits A Lap Later
Shane van Gisbergen pitted from the race lead, and in doing so bailed on winning the race’s second Stage on Lap 43. A lap later, AJ Allmendinger also pitted, but had a sluggish stop, and lost some ground to SVG.
Lap 41: Erik Jones Catches Wall, Keeps Running
Erik Jones is running seventh, but collided with a concrete barrier moments ago. Fortunately, it looks like Jones, who is facing off against Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (13th) in the In-Season Tournament, didn’t suffer any major damage in the encounter with the wall.
Lap 41: Kyle Busch Penalized
Adding insult to injury for Kyle Busch, who spun earlier in this Stage, has been busted for driving through too many pit stalls on his path to pit road.
Lap 40: Katherine Legge Slams Hard Into Tire Barrier
Katherine Legge, who was the feel-good story that locked into the field for Sunday’s race, locked up her brakes heading into Turn 1 on Lap 40, and spun hard into the tire barrier. After sitting on the track for a few moments, Legge was able to drive away from the scene of the incident.
Lap 38: Michael McDowell Pushed to DVP Area
Heartbreak for Michael McDowell, who led the opening 31 laps of Sunday’s race. McDowell’s throttle issues persisted once the race went back green, and he has now been pushed back into the DVP area of the Chicago Street Course garage to get his throttle cable repaired.
Lap 34: Kyle Busch Spins
Kyle Busch went for a spin in Turn 7 from the sixth position on Lap 34. Busch, who has run near the front of the field all race long, will have a long road back to the front after that unfortunate spin out.
Lap 34: Back to Green!
Shane van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger lead the field back to green, and SVG clears Allmendinger leading into Turn 1.
Tyler Reddick, the highest-running driver that pitted before the Berry crash, is running 18th. McDowell restarted in 30th, but had to come back to pit road as the throttle issue was in fact not resolved.
Lap 32: McDowell Relinquishes Lead to Pit
Michael McDowell has finally moved to pit road, and he is reporting that the throttle is stuck at 75% open on his No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. His team has the hood open and is looking at it now. McDowell had led the opening 31 laps of the race.
The Spire team tells their driver they have the throttle situation fixed, and McDowell told his team that he hopes the engine doesn’t blow after he over-revved his car moving it into neutral as the throttle hung open.
Lap 31: Reddick, Briscoe and a Few Others Pit Before Caution Came Out
As it took nearly an entire lap for NASCAR’s race control to call the caution for the motionless Josh Berry, several drivers, led by Tyler Reddick, who had been running in the second position, hit pit road, and will likely gain a track position advantage on those that didn’t pit once this all cycles out.
Very odd situation. McDowell continues to lead, and Shane van Gisbergen is now scored in the second position.
Lap 30: Josh Berry Goes Hard Into the Wall
Josh berry has collided hard with the concrete barrier with the front of his car, and is stuck out on the track. After nearly a lap of Berry being stuck on the track, NASCAR race control finally called a caution flag.
Lap 28: SVG Passes Preece for Fourth
Shane van Gisbergen continues to knife his way through the field after restarting ninth on Lap 25. Van Gisbergen got around Ryan Preece on Lap 28 for the fourth position. He is now closing in on Kyle Busch for the third spot.
Lap 27: Tyler Reddick Moves to P2
Tyler Reddick made a move on Kyle Busch and took over the runner-up spot in this race on Lap 27. Reddick sits 1.5 seconds behind race leader Michael McDowell. Busch holds onto third for now over Ryan Preece, and SVG has now moved into the fifth position. Van Gisbergen is 3.86 seconds behind McDowell.
Lap 25: Bubba Wallace Spins
Bubba Wallace received contact in his door from Kyle Larson in Turn 11, which sent Wallace spinning out from the 14th position. Wallace had clawed his way from the back of the field, and will now have to do it again as he runs 32nd.
Lap 25: Gibbs Gets Past SVG, Leader of Strategy
Ty Gibbs got around Shane van Gisbergen for the ninth position after the restart, and is now the leading driver on the strategy for drivers that have already made a pit stop in this race. McDowell now leads Kyle Busch by more than a second.
Lap 25: Back to Green!
Michael McDowell gets another great restart, and is clear by a few car lengths over Kyle Busch heading into Turn 1. McDowell knows he will have to spend more time on pit road in this Stage than SVG and the others that have already pitted, so, he will look to build as much of a lead as he can to offset things.
Top-Eight Drivers Stay Out Under Stage Caution
Heading into the restart, Shane van Gisbergen, who was the highest scored driver, who pitted prior to the end of Stage 1, will actually restart ninth as the top-eight drivers have stayed on track under this Stage break.
Michael McDowell will lead Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Shane van Gisbergen, and Ty Gibbs on the restart.
Lap 20: McDowell Takes Stage 1 Win
With SVG pitting with two laps remaining in Stage 1, Michael McDowell easily cruised to the Stage 1 win over Kyle Busch. McDowell will remain on track under this caution and will run Stage 2 until he gets into his fuel window.
Michael McDowell wins stage one of the #GrantPark165 in the streets of Chicago!
Lap 19: SVG Pits, McDowell Will Likely Win Stage 1
Shane van Gisbergen had lost some time for Michael McDowell and with his hopes of a Stage 1 win all but over, SVG joined the group of drivers that pitted to set themselves up for Stage 2. McDowell will likely win Stage 1.
Christopher Bell was busted for speeding on pit road.
Lap 17: Blaney, Larson, Berry Kick Off Green Flag Pit Stops
Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Josh Berry have kicked off pit stops prior to the end of Stage 1. While McDowell and Shane van Gisbergen will likely remain on track through the end of Stage 1, others are positioning themselves to gain track position heading into Stage 2.
Lap 16: Buescher Told Problem Can’t Be Fixed
Chris Buescher runs 34th on Lap 16, and he is being told the issues with the engine in his No. 17 car can’t be resolved during the Grant Park 165. He’ll be forced to just attempt to nurse the car home, but it engine definitely sounds sick from the onboard camera.
Lap 14: Alex Bowman Spins From Top-20
Alex Bowman was running 20th and was locked in a spirited battle with Austin Cindric, but heading into Turn 12 on Lap 14, Bowman got into the turn too hot and went for a spin. Bowman now runs 26th.
Lap 10: McDowell Starts to Gap SVG; Kyle Busch Up to P2
Halfway through the opening Stage of Sunday’s Grant Park 165, and Michael McDowell has started to gap Shane van Gisbergen a little bit up front as he has a 0.650-second lead.
Kyle Busch has moved into the third position after starting the race in sixth. Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Joey Logano make up the remainder of the top-10 on Lap 10.
Lap 8: SVG Pressuring McDowell for Lead
Shane van Gisbergen is really applying some pressure to Michael McDowell for the race lead on Lap 8, but McDowell a fellow road racing ace, is holding strong for now.
At Lap 8, we have six cars behind the wall. Five were involved in that Lap 4 crash with Carson Hocevar, and William Byron remains in the garage with those clutch issues on Lap 1.
The six cars behind the wall include: No. 77 Hocevar, No. 3 Austin Dillon, No. 6 Brad Keselowski, No. 34 Todd Gilliland, No. 13 Will Brown, and No. 24 Byron.
Lap 7: Back to Green!
Michael McDowell leads the field back to the green flag on Lap 7. McDowell again gets a great restart, and he has cleared Shane van Gisbergen heading into Turn 1.
Lap 6: Buescher Heads to Pit Road for Diagnosis
A Roush-Yates Employee is working under the hood of Chris Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford on pit road as they continue to try to resolve the issues plaguing their car. Buescher relinquished the fifth position to head to pit road under this caution.
2:50 PM ET: Red Flag Has Been Lifted
We are back under the yellow flag as the track safety crew has cleaned up the track following the incident triggered by Carson Hocevar on Lap 4 of the Grant Park 165.
Red Flag: Chris Buescher Reports Issues With His Car
Chris Buescher, one of the best road racers in the NASCAR Cup Series, is reporting that his car randomly lost power prior to the crash on Lap 4, which put the race under the red flag. Roush-Yates Engines is trying to diagnose the potential issue under this red flag.
Buescher was told to do a power reset to see if it fixed the issue. Buescher reported to his team that he can already tell the power reset didn’t fix the issue.
The driver then told his team, “It doesn’t idle great, but it will just really low. It’s backfiring a lot. And yeah, it doesn’t run real rough, but it’s definitely got an issue of some sort. Can’t quite pick it out. To me, it feels more severe than an exhaust leak.”
Lap 4: Carson Hocevar Crashes, Blocks Track, and Massive Melee Ensues
Carson Hocevar collided with the inside wall in Turn 9 on Lap 4, which shot him into the outside wall on his approach to Turn 10. Hocevar would spin across the track in front of Austin Dillon, and with it being essentially a blind track in that portion of the track, Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Will Brown, Daniel Suarez, and Riley Herbst all piled into the crash.
Here is a replay showing Hocevar collide with the inside wall in Turn 9, which shot him into the outside wall on the straightaway to cause that crash. #NASCARpic.twitter.com/777ZWY2lId
William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has slowed on track, and the driver is limping back to pit road with clutch issues.
Lap 1: William Byron Reporting Issues
William Byron has reported to his team on the opening lap of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Street Race in Chicago that he is suffering from issues with his clutch. That is not an ideal situation at a track where shifting is a crucial component of running well. Could be a long day for Byron, the regular-season point leader heading into the day.
2:26 PM ET: We’re Green!
Shane van Gisbergen and Michael McDowell lead the field to the green flag, and McDowell was ready for the start as he has claimed the early lead of this race! McDowell, the driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, won at the Indianapolis Road Course a couple of seasons ago.
2:10 PM ET: Derrick Rose Delivers Command to Start Engines
Derrick Rose, a former legend of the National Basketball League’s Chicago Bulls who earned the NBA MVP Award while with the Bulls in 2011 and was named an NBA All-Star three times, delivered an excellent command to start engines.
After the healthy command, the 40 drivers in today’s race cranked up their engines, and the 40 cars have come to life. The cars will now begin to roll onto the 2.2-mile street course for pace laps ahead of the green flag of today’s race.
2:04 pm ET: Invocation and National Anthem Complete!
After an invocation from David Ocequera and a great rendition of the National Anthem by the Soul Children of Chicago, we are set to get Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at Chicago underway. Next up is the command to start engines.
NASCAR Confirms 10 Cars to Drop to the Rear Prior to Green Flag
NASCAR has officially confirmed that 10 cars, which equates to 25% of the starting lineup for Sunday’s Grant Park 165, will drop to the rear prior to the green flag at the Chicago Street Course.
Here is the full list of drivers that will drop to the rear on Sunday:
NASCAR Reveals Timeline of Pre-Race festivities
All Four Hendrick Motorsports Cars Among Those Going to the Rear on Sunday
After chaotic practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday at the Chicago Street Course, many teams will have to drop to the rear of the field prior to the start of Sunday’s Grant Park 165 due to damage incurred in the sessions, which necessitated unapproved adjustments following qualifying to repair the cars for Sunday’s race.
Among those that have confirmed they will drop to the rear of the field prior to the start of Sunday’s race: All four Hendrick Motorsports teams.
What’s that @Drake line about starting from the bottom again?
Unfortunately, due to needed repairs, all four cars will start tomorrow’s race from the back. pic.twitter.com/FaxmIcGLyJ
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) July 5, 2025
To be fair, Chase Elliott, and William Byron were already set to start from the rear after they suffered suspension damage to their cars during Saturday’s practice session, which prevented them from competing in qualifying later in the afternoon.
Alex Bowman qualified 11th, and Kyle Larson was 14th in qualifying, but both cars sustained damage during the qualifying session, and as a result, Bowman and Larson will join their teammates at the rear of the field prior to the green flag of Sunday’s race.
Grant Park 165 Pre-Race Info
The Grant Park 165 will be televised on TNT, the second of five NASCAR Cup Series races to be covered by the cable television channel this season. The TNT Sports race broadcast will begin at 7:00 PM ET, and the five-race TNT schedule can also be streamed on the Max streaming service.
The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of Sunday’s race. For subscribers of the Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today’s race.
The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday’s race, is a total of $11,704,450.
The race distance is 75 laps around the 2.2-mile, 12-turn street course, which equates to a 165-mile race distance.
The Grant Park 165 will be broken up into three Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 20. Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 45. And the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 75, barring an Overtime finish.
The winner of Stages 1 and 2 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the overall race winner will be awarded five Playoff Points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals if the drivers make it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and will be carried through each round of the Playoffs.
Alex Bowman is the defending winner of this event, and polesitter Shane van Gisbergen won the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023.
Katherine Legge Locks Into Chicago Street Race with Resilient Qualifying Run
It was a pressure-packed Saturday afternoon for the five “open” teams on the entry list for Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course as there was only enough room in the starting grid for four of them.
With one car going home this weekend, marking the first non-Daytona 500 DNQ in the NASCAR Cup Series in seven years, many expected the final spot to come down to Josh Bilicki in the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford and Katherine Legge in the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet.
Then, Legge had a hard crash in Saturday’s practice session, and it appeared her hopes of qualifying into the field were over.
However, Corey Heim, a 16-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race winner, found trouble on his qualifying run in the No. 67 23XI Racing “Open” entry Toyota, which bent the rear toe link on his race car. The damage hampered Heim’s speed, and gave Legge a fighting chance to lock into the field on speed.
Despite a sketchy qualifying run of her own, which saw her pop the wall a lap prior to her fastest lap of the session, Legge was able to muster a lap time two-tenths of a second faster than Heim, which sent the 23-year-old hotshoe packing. With the drama of qualifying behind her, Legge feels a lot better about her prospects in Sunday’s race.
“I actually feel pretty good about it now, having done that,” Legge explained. “It would have been a lot faster had I not of kept nicking the walls, I gave my crew a lot of work to do, but I just had to keep pushing and put it in the show, which we did, so I’m proud of them and I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow and a little bit less stress.”
Shane van Gisbergen Eyes Second Win of Cup Season With Pole at Chicago
Shane van Gisbergen smashed the field to capture the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course as he secured the top starting spot in the race by nearly half a second over Michael McDowell.
SVG turned a fast lap of 89.656 seconds (88.338 mph) in Saturday’s qualifying session, which topped McDowell by 0.468 seconds.
“That was epic,” van Gisbergen said after collecting the pole for the Grant Park 165. “I think the guys did a great job; the WeatherTech Chevrolet is really good. I’m a lucky boy, as I’ve got some great cars today – an Xfinity pole and a Cup pole. It’s pretty special. Looking forward to the race tomorrow, but what a tune-up. Practice wasn’t that great, went out in qualifying, car felt really good, and laid down two good laps.”
Full Story
Grant Park 165 Starting Lineup
Pos
Car
Driver
Time
Diff
1
88
Shane van Gisbergen #
89.656
—
2
71
Michael McDowell
90.124
0.468
3
77
Carson Hocevar
90.180
0.524
4
45
Tyler Reddick
90.227
0.571
5
19
Chase Briscoe
90.273
0.617
6
8
Kyle Busch
90.371
0.715
7
60
Ryan Preece
90.534
0.878
8
17
Chris Buescher
90.544
0.888
9
54
Ty Gibbs
90.627
0.971
10
3
Austin Dillon
90.719
1.063
Click here for the full official starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at Chicago.
16 drivers remain in the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Tournament as we enter the second of five rounds this weekend at the Chicago Street Course. The opening race of the tournament at EchoPark Speedway wreaked havoc on the top seeds, which has caused a shakeup in who is left to battle for the $1 million prize.
Here are the eight two-driver head-to-head matchup pairings set for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course, including the starting position for those drivers.
Dennis Hauger Pulls Away at Mid-Ohio for Fifth Win of Season
INDYCAR Dennis Hauger stayed calm after an unexpected break Sunday and expanded his INDY NXT by Firestone championship lead with a victory in the Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. Hauger, from Norway, earned his fifth win in eight starts this season in the INDYCAR development series. His lead over fellow Andretti Global rookie Lochie Hughes grew […]
Dennis Hauger stayed calm after an unexpected break Sunday and expanded his INDY NXT by Firestone championship lead with a victory in the Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio.
Hauger, from Norway, earned his fifth win in eight starts this season in the INDYCAR development series. His lead over fellow Andretti Global rookie Lochie Hughes grew to 47 points in the standings with six races remaining this season.
SEE: Race Results
Pole sitter Hauger led every lap to beat Caio Collet’s No. 76 HMD Motorsports car to the finish by 3.3220 seconds to earn the 300th overall win across all series in Andretti Global’s rich history. Hughes placed third in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car.
“The team did an amazing job getting the balance for the race,” Hauger said. “Huge congrats on the 300th win, really cool to be a part of that history.”
Salvador de Alba placed fourth in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine, the third Andretti Global car in the top four. Josh Pierson rounded out the top five in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports entry.
The race, originally scheduled for 35 laps, ended up being a timed race due to a massive crash between Andretti – Cape Motorsports teammates Ricardo Escotto and Sebastian Murray that triggered a red flag on Lap 5 for repairs of barrier damage caused by the impact.
Hauger pulled away from Collet on the start, building a gap of around one-half second. Then, Murray and Escotto were racing side-by-side on Lap 4 through the fast “kink” section of the track between Turns 3 and 4 on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile circuit when their wheels touched, hurling the No. 2 DREAM RACING DUBAI entry of Murray and the No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot car of Escotto into the barrier, with Murray going airborne.
Both cars suffered heavy damage, but neither driver was hurt. The remaining field returned to pit lane and climbed from their cars as facility crews and the INDYCAR AMR Safety Team needed approximately 37 minutes to make the major repairs.
Once the race resumed, Hauger again held off Collet. With 20 minutes remaining, Hauger led by seven-tenths of a second.
That margin grew to more than a second over the next few laps. Then with about six minutes remaining, Hauger dropped the hammer and padded his lead to two seconds. He kept the pace high until nearly the very end of the race, turning his quickest lap of the event on the third-to-last trip around the track.
“It was not easy; the first couple of laps were not the easiest,” Hauger said of the resumption of the race. “Once we got into a rhythm, it was just spot on. We just had a perfect race, so we’re happy about that.”
The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Saturday, July 12 at Iowa Speedway, the second of four oval races on the 2025 schedule.
Michigan Avenue pileup in NASCAR Chicago race – NBC Chicago
It only took four laps in the NASCAR Chicago Street Race for a big crash, with seven cars involved in a Michigan Avenue pileup. The start of the Grant Park 165 was calm and collected, but things quickly turned sideways as the No. 77 car, driven by Carson Hocevar, slammed into the wall as it […]
It only took four laps in the NASCAR Chicago Street Race for a big crash, with seven cars involved in a Michigan Avenue pileup.
The start of the Grant Park 165 was calm and collected, but things quickly turned sideways as the No. 77 car, driven by Carson Hocevar, slammed into the wall as it turned into Michigan Avenue, quickly causing a chain-reaction crash.
Hocevar started third in the race, with his car towed to the pit area.
In addition to Hocevar, Brad Keslowski, Daniel Suarez, Will Brown, Todd Gilliland, Riley Herbst and Austin Dillon were caught up in the wreck, which caused an early delay as cars were cleaned from the track.
A red flag was flown on the track during the delay.
We will update this story with details as they become available.
Lando Norris wins British Grand Prix cut Oscar Piastri’s F1 lead
SILVERSTONE, England — It was an image that inspired Lando Norris to chase his Formula 1 dream. The sight of Lewis Hamilton, his tires kicking up a tail of spray as he sped through the rain toward victory at the British Grand Prix in 2008, stayed with the 8-year-old Norris, who was watching on TV. […]
SILVERSTONE, England — It was an image that inspired Lando Norris to chase his Formula 1 dream.
The sight of Lewis Hamilton, his tires kicking up a tail of spray as he sped through the rain toward victory at the British Grand Prix in 2008, stayed with the 8-year-old Norris, who was watching on TV.
On Sunday, Norris got his own win in a thrilling wet British GP — also involving Hamilton — in front of the British crowd.
“I got that picture of him going around and seeing all the fans standing up, that picture of what the atmosphere at Silverstone is like, and dreamed of that for many, many years,” Norris said. “Today I got to live that feeling myself.”
Amid spins, crashes and controversy, Norris held on to win and cut the gap to his teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri.
Norris had said it was the race he’d give up all other victories for.
He started third on the grid, overtook Max Verstappen for second, lost the place again due to a slow pit stop, then saw Verstappen spin out ahead of him. He took the lead after Piastri had to serve a 10-second penalty for sharp braking behind the safety car earlier.
It was McLaren’s first win at Silverstone since that Hamilton victory in 2008. Hamilton went on to win his first title that year. On Sunday, Hamilton finished fourth.
“This is a dream, winning at home. It’s beautiful,” Norris told the team over the radio. “Thanks for the memory. I’ll remember this more than anything.”
He climbed out of the car and celebrated with both arms raised to take in the moment, before hugs with his team and his mother. On the podium, Norris closed his eyes with a smile as the British anthem played.
McLaren ignores Piastri’s request to swap
Piastri finished second behind Norris after the penalty. He asked for the lead back.
The Australian thought the penalty was unfair, arguing it was for a legal move that he and others had done before to slow down the cars behind before speeding off at the restart.
Adding an element of controversy to what’s been an unusually friendly title rivalry, Piastri even suggested that if McLaren thought the call was unfair, the team could ask him and Norris to swap places to cancel the effect of the penalty. The team declined to do so.
Piastri had been leading the pack before a restart from safety car conditions and slowed to back up the cars behind, but did it sharply enough that Max Verstappen behind had to swerve to avoid him.
Once it became clear Piastri would have to serve the penalty at his next pit stop, Norris made sure the Australian couldn’t build a lead to cancel it out. Norris just needed to stay with his teammate and hovered two seconds behind, waiting to inherit the lead.
Piastri now leads Norris by eight points overall, cut from 15. It’s the halfway point of the season, with 12 of 24 races remaining.
History for Hülkenberg
In a race with plenty of crashes and spins, Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg was third from 19th on the grid for his first podium finish in his 239th race of an F1 career that began in 2010. His team hadn’t finished in the top three since 2012.
Verstappen started on pole but ended up fifth after spinning from second behind Piastri at a safety-car restart, briefly dropping to 10th. The Dutch driver stayed third in the standings but it was another heavy blow to his title defense, leaving him 69 points off Piastri.
Smart strategy could win big, like it did for Hulkenberg, or risk everything. George Russell asked the team for slick tires on a slippery track and span off through the gravel a lap later, finishing 10th.
Rookies off the road
It was a rough day for the rookies. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar crashed into the wall after hitting the back of fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli, saying he couldn’t see the Mercedes driver in the rain.
Antonelli later retired and fellow rookies Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto all failed to finish too. Oliver Bearman made it to the end for Haas in 11th but crashed into teammate Esteban Ocon along the way.
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CHICAGO — The NASCAR Cup Series is blowing into the Windy City for the third time with the Grant Park 165 in Chicago. Follow here for live updates. FINAL STAGE Photo: Sophia LaRiche/TRE LAP 59: Shane van Gisbergen is looking for the lead on Chase Briscoe. He takes it going in turn three. LAP 55: […]
CHICAGO — The NASCAR Cup Series is blowing into the Windy City for the third time with the Grant Park 165 in Chicago. Follow here for live updates.
FINAL STAGE
Photo: Sophia LaRiche/TRE
LAP 59: Shane van Gisbergen is looking for the lead on Chase Briscoe. He takes it going in turn three.
LAP 55: Alex Bowman pits for the final time. His previous stop came 38 laps before on lap 17. Christopher Bell pitted a lap later. Shane van Gisbergen is on the bumper of Tyler Reddick, who runs second to Chase Briscoe.
LAP 51: Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick run nose-to-tail and have to save fuel to make it to the end. Reddick is reportedly three laps short.
Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and John Hunter Nemechek, in third, sixth and seventh respectively, are also saving on fuel.
The final stage is not starting well for Chase Elliott who pitted with damage to the front end of his car. The stage goes green with Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs and A.J. Allmendinger in the top 10. Ryan Blaney pitted under the stage caution.
STAGE TWO WINNER: Ryan Blaney
Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE
STAGE TWO TOP-10 (LAP 45): Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, John Hunter Nemechek, Erik Jones, Christopher Bell.
LAP 43: A.J. Allmendinger pits. This will likely hand the stage win to Ryan Blaney. He is one of 11 drivers staying out for the stage points. Shane van Gisbergen sits 12th.
LAP 42: Shane van Gisbergen, Joey Logano and Ty Gibbs pit.
LAP 41: Kyle Busch drove through too many pit boxes, pass through penalty coming. Just makes a bad day worse for him. Kyle Larson pits a lap later, likely for the final time of the race.
LAP 40: Katherine Legge spins exiting turn one and gets back going… No caution.
LAP 37: Ross Chastain pits for the first stop of the day… Only Ryan Preece is left among the contenders on the 1-stop strategy. Preece pits a lap later.
Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE
LAP 36: Michael McDowell, who led the first 31 laps, is being told to go to the DVP area to fix a throttle pedal cable. That will take him out of contention for what looked like a big win for him.
LAP 34: Shane van Gisbergen leads A.J. Allmendinger… Kyle Busch spins from sixth and drops to 31st.
LAP 32: Leader Michael McDowell pits after leading every lap. McDowell reported a stuck throttle so the team is going to work under the hood. They are going to go “max save” once he gets back on track.
LAP 31: Anticipating a caution for Josh Berry’s crash, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe pit. Caution now flies.
LAP 30: SVG is up to third after restarting 8th on lap 24… Josh Berry has crashed and destroyed the front end of his car.
LAP 27: Tyler Reddick takes second from Kyle Busch. Shane van Gisbergen cracks the top five. Top 10 is now Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Briscoe, A.J. Allmendinger, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Austin Hill.
LAP 26: Bubba Wallace spun in turn 11 and lost several positions.
The second stage is 25 laps, putting the stage end at lap 45 — 30 to go in the race. Tyler Reddick and Ty Dillon have officially moved on to the third round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge Tournament after a big wreck early on — pending post-race tech inspection.
STAGE ONE WINNER: Michael McDowell
Photo: Sophia LaRiche/TRE
STAGE ONE TOP 10 (LAP 20): Michael McDowell, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, Austin Hill, Noah Gragson. According to NASCAR, “only once in the last 23 Cup road course races has the Stage 1 winner gone to win: Michael McDowell, Indy Road Course 2023.” It is also the first-ever Cup stage win for Spire Motorsports.
McDowell now has fourth career stage wins. Two of them came at the Indianapolis Road Course in 2023.
LAP 18: Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell pit from the top 10. Bell gets a speeding penalty. Shane van Gisbergen pits a lap later.
LAP 17: Ryan Blaney pits from just outside of the top 10 with four laps to go in the stage. Josh Berry and Kyle Larson also pit. They were among the biggest movers early on:
Denny Hamlin +7 to 23rd
Kyle Larson +6 to 16th
Bubba Wallace +6 to 17th
Josh Berry +5 to 14th
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +5 to 21st
LAP 13: Alex Bowman spins exiting the final corner after getting loose behind Austin Cindric.
LAP 11: Chris Buescher is told he’s going to have to ride out the issue as they suspect is something internal. He is one lap down and about 1-2 seconds off the leader’s pace after the crew looked the car over.
TOP-10: Michael McDowell, Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, Christopher Bell, A.J. Allmendinger, Joey Logano.
LAP 7: Green flag! Michael McDowell quickly takes control of the lead over Shane van Gisbergen. Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Will Brown and Carson Hocevar are all out after the big wreck.
LAP 6: Chris Buescher is going to pit with engine issues. “We had an exhaust leak a couple of weeks back, but we didn’t lose this much power. That’s all I’m able to compare it to,” he said, adding the engine is backfiring.
TOP-10 AT LAP 5: Michael McDowell, Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano.
LAP 4: Carson Hocevar hit the inside wall in turn 10 and bounced into Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Will Brown, Riley Herbst, Todd Gilliland and A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger drove away. The big crash triggered a red flag.
Photos: Ryan Kemna/TRE
LAP 2: William Byron is going to the DVP area with clutch issues after starting in the rear.
Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE
Green flag is in the air! Michael McDowell has taken the lead from Shane van Gisbergen right away on the first lap. Kyle Busch moved from sixth to third, Chris Buescher jumped from eighth to fifth, Carson Hocevar dropped from third to seventh.
RACE START
The engines are fired under cloudy skies in Chicago. For the third year in a row, rain is likely to play a factor in the race.
:20 PM CT #Weather – @NASCARChicago update – Showers are 30 Miles west of circuit – 2:30- 3:30 PM CDT arrival, heavy line 45 miles – moving 20-25mph. While they have rain tires , heavy rainfall is possible & may cause delays.
All four Hendrick Motorsports cars will go to the rear of the field for Sunday’s race after issues Saturday in practice and qualifying. In the back of the pack, they will join Bubba Wallace who also showed speed in practice but couldn’t put together a good lap in qualifying and even crashed.
Photo: Ryan Kemna/TRE
Wallace will also be in the rear of the field with team owner Denny Hamlin who blew an engine right at the start of practice. Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Katherine Legge will also start in the rear of the field.
Not in the field is Corey Heim. Katherine Legge bumped Heim and the third 23XI Racing entry from the field in qualifying.
Alex Bowman and Shane van Gisbergen are the former Cup Series winners in the field. Cole Custer also earned a NASCAR Xfinity Series win here in 2023.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ Grant Park 165 in Chicago is 75 laps with the stages ending on laps 20, 45 and 75 for the checkered flag. The fuel window is 40 laps. Here is when everything is set to get started:
NASCAR DraftKings Picks Cheat Sheet: Chicago Street Race DFS
The Chicago Street Race (Grant Park 165) is ready to roll, and Stokastic’s FREE DraftKings NASCAR Cheat Sheet is your go-to guide for top DFS picks! Powered by expert projections and advanced NASCAR DFS Sims, this cheat sheet gives you the data-driven edge you need to build winning lineups and dominate the track. NASCAR DFS […]
The Chicago Street Race (Grant Park 165) is ready to roll, and Stokastic’s FREE DraftKings NASCAR Cheat Sheet is your go-to guide for top DFS picks! Powered by expert projections and advanced NASCAR DFS Sims, this cheat sheet gives you the data-driven edge you need to build winning lineups and dominate the track.
NASCAR DFS DraftKings Picks: Chicago Street Race
Tier
Driver
Superstar
William Byron $10,000; 47.81 Kyle Larson $10,500; 26.74 Christopher Bell $10,200; 25.34
High
Chase Elliott $9,500; 47.52
Medium
Austin Cindric $7,800; 32.36 Ross Chastain $8,100; 27.91
Low
Denny Hamlin $7,100; 44.73 Bubba Wallace $6,400; 35.70 Erik Jones $5,800; 33.38
Drivers selected based on the highest exposure in top-300 lineups according to ROI.
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, heavy rainfall is possible & may cause delays. 
