5 KYLE LARSON
 

Age: 32 (July 31, 1992)
 

Hometown: Elk Grove, California
 

Last Week: 17th (Atlanta)
 

Crew Chief: Cliff Daniels
 

Standings: 3rd
 
Twitter Instagram Facebook
 
 
No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet
 

2025

Cup Career

Chicago Street

Races

18

384

2

Wins

3

32

0

Poles

1

22

1

Top 5

9

128

1

Top 10

12

194

1

Laps Led

851

10,107

0

Stage Wins

8

70

0

Average Finish

12.7

14.0

21.5

Kyle Larson leads all NASCAR Cup Series drivers with nine top-five finishes and 12 top 10s in 2025. That marks his second-highest total of top 10s in a season's first 18 races (2021). 
The 32-year-old is tied for the most road course wins in the Next Gen era with Tyler Reddick (three).
Larson has the third-best average finish this season at 12.67. 
On 36 laps on road courses this season, Larson turned in the fastest time. That's the highest total in the series, 13 more than the next-closest driver, Shane van Gisbergen (23).
Larson has won two of his last six starts on road courses. His most recent road-course victory came at the 2024 Charlote ROVAL.

 
9 CHASE ELLIOTT
 

Age: 29 (Nov. 28, 1995)
 

Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia
 

Last week: 1st (Atlanta)
 

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson
 

Standings: 2nd
 
Twitter Instagram Facebook
 
 
No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet
 

2025

Cup Career

Chicago Street

Races

18

340

2

Wins

1

19

0

Poles

0

12

0

Top 5

6

110

1

Top 10

10

181

1

Laps Led

136

5,662

0

Stage Wins

0

38

0

Average Finish

10.3

12.8

12.0

With his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend, Chase Elliott is now second in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season points standings, 37 markers behind teammate William Byron. 
The triumph was his second at Atlanta and his 20th career Cup Series win, making him the fourth driver to reach 20 victories with Hendrick Motorsports.
The 29-year-old advanced to the second round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. Elliott will be up against John Hunter Nemechek in the Chicago Street Race. Elliott has finished better than Nemechek in 14 of 18 events this season, including both road course races.
Elliott’s average finish of 10.23 in 2025 leads the series and is also his second best ever in the first 18 races of a season. He is the only driver to finish in the top 20 in every event so far. 
His three consecutive top-five finishes account for the longest active streak in the series and his longest of the season.
Heading into Chicago this weekend, Elliott is tied for the longest active streak of top fives on road courses with three.
The 2020 Cup Series champion has the most road course wins among active drivers and the third all-time behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). His average finish of 8.84 leads active drivers (minimum four starts).
In the Next Gen era on road courses, Elliott has led 147 laps – the most by a driver without a win so far. His average finish of 9.83 in that span ranks second and his 585 points earned rank third.
Elliott’s autographed race-winning Desi9n to Drive uniform is up for grabs as part of a sweepstakes fundraiser that runs through July 9. 

 
24 WILLIAM BYRON
 

Age: 27 (Nov. 29, 1997)
 

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
 

Last Week: 37th (Atlanta)
 

Crew Chief: Rudy Fugle
 

Standings: 1st
 
Twitter Instagram Facebook
 
 
No. 24 All-Pro Chevrolet
 

2025

Cup Career

Chicago Street

Races

18

270

2

Wins

1

14

0

Poles

2

15

0

Top 5

7

61

0

Top 10

10

114

1

Laps Led

769

3,747

0

Stage Wins

7

30

0

Average Finish

12.8

15.0

10.5

William Byron is in the midst of a remarkable 2025 season, leading the driver points standings for 15 out of 18 weeks including presently by 37 markers. He has also collected the most stage points (188).
The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has paced the field in a NASCAR Cup Series-leading 13 of 18 events for a total of 769 laps (second most).
The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet has an average starting position of 11th (second best) this season and an average finish of 12.78 (fourth best).
In the Next Gen era on road courses, Byron has a 12.74 average finish and has collected 541 points.
In the last nine road course races, Byron has two wins, two second-place finishes, five top-five finishes and seven top 10s, all tied for the most. He also has led 110 laps which ranks second.
Currently, the 27-year-old driver has three consecutive top-10 finishes on road courses which is tied for the second longest active streak. Byron is one of six drivers who finished in the top 10 at both Circuit of The Americas as well as in Mexico City this year.

 
48 ALEX BOWMAN
 

Age: 32 (April 25, 1993)
 

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
 

Last Week: 3rd (Atlanta)
 

Crew Chief: Blake Harris
 

Standings: 12th
 
Twitter Instagram Facebook
 
 
No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
 

2025

Cup Career

Chicago Street

Races

18

343

2

Wins

0

8

1

Poles

2

7

0

Top 5

4

44

1

Top 10

9

105

1

Laps Led

157

1,525

8

Stage Wins

0

7

0

Average Finish

17.9

19.3

19.0

After a third-place finish in Atlanta last weekend, Alex Bowman enters this weekend 15th in the playoff standings, 39 points above the elimination line.
The driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet returns to the Chicago Street Course as the defending race winner, having captured his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory there in 2024 after leading the final eight laps. Bowman remains the only driver to win on both the Chicago Street Course and the Chicagoland Speedway oval. 
The Tuscon, Arizona, native will return to the Windy City on Thursday, July 3, for a full day of community events and media appearances. Bowman’s schedule includes visits to the South Side YMCA for The NASCAR Foundation’s Speediatrics Fun Day Festival and to Chicago Animal Care and Control for a pet adoption event. He will also appear at NASCAR’s Speed and Sound Fest at the DuSable Black History Museum where he’ll take part in a fan panel alongside historian Sherman “Dilla” Thomas.
Chicago marks the second race of the five-race NASCAR In-Season Challenge. After defeating Joey Logano in Atlanta, Bowman advanced into the second round and will face Bubba Wallace.
For this weekend's Chicago race the Best Friends Animal shelter partner is One Tail At A Time in Chicago.
Ally and HendrickCars.com are teaming up again to give fans the chance to win prizes with this year’s “Open Road Sweepstakes.” Fans can win VIP experiences at various races throughout the season and one lucky winner will hit the open road in a Chevy Silverado LT Trail Boss with an Airstream camper. Fans can stop by the Ally Fan Zone to enter the sweepstakes in-person and check out the camper. Fans can also enter at ally.com/sweepstakes/nascar.

 
HENDRICK
MOTORSPORTS /
Hendrick Motorsports
 

2025

All-Time

Chicago Street

Races

18

1,399

2

Wins

5

317*

1**

Poles

5

258*

1**

Top 5

26*

1,305*

3*

Top 10

41*

2,228*

4*

Laps Led

1,913*

84,225*

8

Stage Wins

15*

130

0

 
*Most all time
**Tied for most all time

With Chase Elliott winning and Alex Bowman coming home third at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports pushed its organizational record for consecutive races with a car in the top five to 26 events dating back to last season. It remains the only team to have a top-five finisher in each of this season's races.
The Hendrick Motorsports engine shop has won 15 combined poles (seven in the NASCAR Cup Series and eight in the Xfinity Series) and 16 combined races (five in the Cup Series, 10 in the Xfinity Series and the preseason Clash) this year. 
Hendrick Motorsports has led 40% of all laps raced through 18 events this season. Its 1,913 circuits paced are the third most through a season's first 18 races in company history. The team has led at least one lap in each of the last 33 races, the longest active streak by any organization and Hendrick Motorsports' third-longest streak all time
The organization's 15 combined stage wins are tied for the most ever through 18 races in a season. 
Hendrick Motorsports enters this weekend's race at the Chicago Street Course with Bowman as the event's defending winner. Kyle Larson sat on the pole for last year's race. The organization's three top fives and four top 10s are the most in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Five of the last nine road course races have gone to Hendrick Motorsports. The company leads all teams in poles, wins, top fives, top 10s, laps led and average finish on serpentine tracks in the Next Gen era.

 
QUOTABLE /
 

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on the Chicago Street Race: “It’s a really fun event. I love it. I hope the weather is good, rain has kind of come out of no where the last couple of years. I hope it goes good. The fans deserve to see a good race there. I love being in the city and walking to the race track and good food, it’s fun.”

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on the performance of the team: “We’ve just been doing this long enough to know it all kind of starts and ends with us. We have to make sure we’re doing our part and I’m doing my part. Just bringing everything I can possibly bring every single week. It’s the honest conversations that we have on Monday mornings that are either going to make us better or make us fail. All of the pieces of the puzzle are there. We’re working on the right things. I think I’m asking for the right things out of the car. I’m really proud of our team for just sticking together. I think there’s been so many times that we could have thrown in the towel and really kind of fractured from the inside. It’s a really important thing for me to have climbed that mountain and stood on top of it with AG (Alan Gustafson) and we’ve kind of fallen off that hill. Getting back to the top with him and with our group and doing it together, I think is a really important thing to do. We have so much respect for one another as a team that we’re going to continue to make each other better as we push forward.”

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on the Chicago Street Race: “Honestly, I’m just hoping we have good weather this weekend in Chicago. The last two years it has rained, and it really changed the dynamic of how the race goes and who is a factor. It would just be cool to see how the race plays out when that element isn’t involved. But even if it is, we have two years of experience with it. I just love the vibe the race brings, racing downtown through the city. It’s unlike the other venues we go to, and I think it brings an element that we need.”

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on returning to the Chicago Street Race after winning last year: “Going back to Chicago is pretty special. That win last year was huge for me and this 48 team it was one of those races where everything came together at the right time. The street course is such a unique challenge, and the atmosphere is unlike anything else we see all year. I’m excited to get back there, defend that win, and hopefully keep building momentum for the playoff push.”

Hendrick Motorsports PR

On Tuesday, Trackhouse Racing announced that the team’s original driver — Daniel Suarez — will not return in 2026 as the driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet.

Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Suarez said of the news: “I want to make sure that you guys and the people listening know that I’m not sad. This is not sad. This is just a new chapter. That’s all it is … This is not a sad moment. It’s just a change and it happens.”

Suarez also revealed that this decision did not happen suddenly, adding: “This is not something new for me. I have known about this for a while and it just happens to be official today (Tuesday). I’m actually a little bit relieved that this is out and people know about it and we can talk about it and we can move forward with future plans and continue to work. I’m excited for whatever comes next.”

Suarez went on to talk about how thankful he is for his time with the organization, making it clear that there is no ill will between the two parties. “It’s just a change. I love Trackhouse. I love everyone there. There’s a lot of great people there, a lot of people I consider my family.”

Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet

Photo by: Krista Jasso / Getty Images

When Trackhouse originally formed as a single-car team in 2021, they signed Suarez, who had previously raced for large organizations such as Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. In both situations, he was let go to make room for another driver.

At Trackhouse, Suarez became a winner in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time, but the past five years have not been without their struggles. Trackhouse also has a rising star in Connor Zilisch waiting in the wings, and he’s a driver many rival teams would be happy to snatch up. While no announcement has been made, it’s expected that Zilisch will be called upon to replace Suarez at Trackhouse.

IMSA has published the provisional entry list for next week’s Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, featuring 35 cars.

As one of two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds that will not feature the GTP class, 12 LMP2 cars will battle for the overall victory at the historic Canadian circuit.

JDC-Miller MotorSports will enter the No. 79 ORECA 07-Gibson for American Bronze driver Gerry Kraut and Australian teammate Scott Andrews. Together, Kraut and Andrews finished second at Road America last season.

The No. 79 car takes AF Corse’s place in the entry list, while other LMP2 teams have made driver changes, due in large part to the clash with the WEC 6 Hours of Saõ Paulo. As announced yesterday, United Autosports USA will have Tom Blomqvist in the No. 22 car alongside Daniel Goldburg, replacing Paul di Resta.

Blomqvist’s Acura Meyer Shank Racing stablemate, Renger van der Zande, will fill in for Sebastien Bourdais at Tower Motorsports. Hunter McElrea is set to return to TDS Racing in place of Mikkel Jensen, and Australian Alex Quinn will replace Malthe Jakobsen at Crowdstrike Racing by APR.

Two Canadian Bronze drivers will also make their IMSA LMP2 race debuts, at their home race. United Autosports’ No. 2 car will welcome Phil Fayer to race alongside Ben Hanley. Reigning HSR Prototype Challenge Am champion Travis Hill will make his series debut at Era Motorsport, driving the No. 18 car with the returning Ryan Dalziel.

The 10 regular GTD PRO entries feature two returning drivers. Marco Mapelli is back in the No. 9 Lamborghini for local favorite Pfaff Motorsports, and Giacomo Altoe returns to the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari after a two-race leave of absence.

In GTD, Korthoff Competition Motors has dropped off the entry list after finishing third at Watkins Glen, leaving 13 cars to run next week.

Fan-favorite Robert Wickens will be back in his specially prepared No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette, alongside Alec Udell. The Heart of Racing Team has also made a driver change, plugging Roman de Angelis into the No. 27 Aston Martin in place of WEC-bound Tom Gamble.

Other changes include the return of Gradient Racing’s sprint line-up of Jenson Altzman and Robert Megennis, and Triarsi Competizione’s No. 021 Ferrari, which has yet to announce its drivers for CTMP.

CHICAGO (WLS) — Kids were catching NASCAR fever as they maneuvered remote control race cars at Navy Pier Wednesday.

As the races prepare to take over downtown this weekend, they are giving kids a taste of the experience now.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

“My son has enjoyed the sport for a number of years, and my wife and I saw it was here. And we wanted to bring him to share the experience,” Jamal Norman said.

Kids at the Boys and Girls Club in Pilsen got an idea of what racing is like, as well.

They heard from drivers in a question and answer session.

NASCAR has also set up an array of activities, from LEGOs to virtual races: all designed to encourage potential racing team members of the future.

“I think it’s really fun that NASCAR is supporting the Boys and Girls Club with LEGOs and fun things for children,” Delayza Nillan said.

SEE ALSO: Street closures for Chicago NASCAR race underway, construction schedule shortened: officials

The pre-race events all lead up to the big weekend of racing. It’s the third year of a three-year contract for NASCAR.

They do have the right to extend the contract for two more years, and five downtown aldermen have signed a letter to NASCAR asking about their plans.

Alderman Brian Hopkins says the aldermen want to be at the bargaining table if the race continues in the city.

“Between the five aldermen who represent downtown, we have 250,000 residents. We’re responsible for airing their views and having their opinions heard. That didn’t happen last time. We’re going to make sure it happens this time,” 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins said.

NASCAR officials are a little preoccupied with the race this weekend, but they are still considering their options for the future.

They are also reportedly negotiating with the city of San Diego about holding a street race there.

“We’ll have those conversations. We’ve been having those conversations. We’ll handle that once we get through the weekend,” said Julie Giese, with NASCAR.

Chicago Bulls legend Derrick Rose will serve as grand marshal for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race.

He will give the famous “Drivers, start your engines” command in Grant Park.

NASCAR says Rose represents the heart of Chicago sports.

He called it an honor to be part of such a big event in his hometown.

Formula 1 Boss Declares: British Grand Prix Here to Stay Forever!

In a bold statement, Formula 1 chief Stefano Domenicali has proclaimed that the iconic British Grand Prix is set to remain on the racing calendar indefinitely. This announcement comes ahead of a high-profile meeting between Domenicali and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, where discussions about the future of the sport are expected to take center stage.

Domenicali, along with a group of top drivers including rising British star Ollie Bearman and seasoned racer Carlos Sainz, will be welcomed at a reception hosted by Prime Minister Starmer at 10 Downing Street. The anticipation is building as the F1 community gears up for the upcoming race weekend at the historic Silverstone circuit, with exclusive coverage available on Sky Sports F1.

Last year, F1’s owners, Liberty Media, secured a monumental 10-season deal with Silverstone, ensuring that the British Grand Prix will captivate audiences until 2034. This agreement, valued at a staggering £300 million, solidifies Silverstone’s position as a cornerstone of the UK’s sporting calendar.

Domenicali expressed his unwavering confidence in Silverstone’s enduring appeal, stating, “I believe that Silverstone has the right characteristics to stay forever on the calendar because there is no other place where you can develop such a huge event in the UK.” The significance of Silverstone extends beyond just sports, with the motorsport industry contributing an estimated £12 billion annually to the UK economy.

During his meeting with Prime Minister Starmer, Domenicali will emphasize the vital need for infrastructure improvements around Silverstone and address the challenges faced by overseas workers following Brexit. The Italian executive stressed the importance of streamlining visa processes for foreign staff to ensure the seamless operation of F1 events.

Amidst geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Domenicali revealed that contingency plans are in place for the season’s final races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The F1 organization is closely monitoring the situation and maintaining regular communication with race promoters to assess any potential risks to the events.

As the anticipation builds for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, fans can look forward to a thrilling weekend of racing action, with comprehensive coverage provided by Sky Sports F1. Stay tuned for all the excitement as the F1 season unfolds, showcasing the best of motorsport competition on a global stage.