CHICAGO — The first time Shane van Gisbergen raced in Chicago, he was largely unknown in NASCAR. The second time, he was one of the favorites on the downtown street course.

The third time is a different situation for van Gisbergen once again. This time, he has a second Cup Series victory in his back pocket — providing some flexibility for the 36-year-old New Zealand native as he prepares for the playoffs.

“We’re in a nice position now having won a race,” van Gisbergen said Friday. “And it may change our strategy. If we’re in a position to get a playoff point, we’ll probably try and get that, but that’ll put us deep in the field for the next stage. So yeah, there’s a bit of a toss-up there what we’re going to do, but it’s a nice position to be in.”

Sure is.

Just two years ago, van Gisbergen — a three-time champion in Australia’s Supercars — put on a dazzling show in a rainy first edition of NASCAR’s downtown Chicago experiment. Making the most of his extensive street racing experience, he became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.

He won Chicago’s Xfinity Series stop last year and the first stage in the Cup race before he was knocked out by a crash.

“You know, I have great memories here,” van Gisbergen said. “This place has changed my life, so I’m going to have special memories of this place forever.”

Van Gisbergen’s success in Chicago led to a full-time Cup ride with Trackhouse Racing. But the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet is learning his way around NASCAR and he got off to a slow start this season.

While oval tracks remain a challenge, he certainly hasn’t forgotten his roots on street and road courses. He posted his second Cup win last month at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.

Van Gisbergen is scheduled to compete in both Chicago races this weekend. Next up for NASCAR is another road course at Sonoma Raceway, providing an opportunity to move up from No. 32 in the Cup standings and build up some momentum.

“Road courses are just a bonus for us,” he said. “We know we’re going to be good and we can just focus on trying to get results there.”

Even after two years, the downtown Chicago street course remains a tricky proposition. The 12-turn, 2.2-mile track is narrow and bumpy in spots — to go along with manhole covers, and transitions from concrete to asphalt and back — and there is little room for error in some areas. Rain affected the action in each of the first two weekends, and there could be more showers on Sunday.

Patience is sometimes the best approach, but that only goes so far in NASCAR.

“It’s easy to say that until Shane is out there a second faster than you and you have to go put yourself in some uncomfortable situations,” said Joey Logano, the reigning Cup Series champion.

When it comes to van Gisbergen on road courses, Logano said the rest of the Cup Series is “in a way, playing catch-up.” Van Gisbergen said he feels the same way about ovals.

“These guys have been doing left-handers since they were 10 years old,” van Gisbergen said. “You know, they’re two completely different sports, and although there has been road racing in NASCAR forever, it’s not that much. So yeah, just the experience levels are different in what we do. And I feel like, yes, they’ve definitely gotten a lot better since the first one on this track, for sure.”

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William D’Angelo
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The massive Microsoft layoffs yesterday saw many Xbox subsidiaries see at least some layoffs with some seeing 100 or more people let go. One of the studios with the biggest cuts is Turn 10 that reportedly saw nearly 50 percent of its staff laid off.

Former Turn 10 employee Fred Russell in a post on Facebook is now claiming the Forza Motorsport team has been shut down.

Turn 10 Studios has shuttered the Forza Motorsport space and the team is no more,” said Russell. “A very sad day for one of the best car racing video games. I loved my time there.”

If this is true the remaining employees are likely going to focus on updating ForzaTech and will act as more of a support studio for Playground Games on the Forza Horizon series.

The last entry in the Forza Motorsport series was 2023’s Forza Motorsport.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.

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Team Penske announced today a new leadership structure for the organization’s championship-winning INDYCAR and Sports Car programs.

Two of the team’s longtime associates that have experience across both programs will officially transition to their new roles, beginning this weekend.

Related Article:  IndyCar News: Penske sacks top personnel over cheating scandal

Jonathan Diuguid (pictured) has been promoted to President of Penske Racing, Inc., and Travis Law has been named Competition Director for Penske Racing, Inc.

Diuguid and Law bring a combined 38 years of experience at Team Penske that will serve them well as they look to build on the organization’s legacy of motorsports success. In their new roles, Diuguid and Law will oversee the Team Penske teams competing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES (INDYCAR), as well as Porsche Penske Motorsport, which races in both the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship (IMSA) and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Most recently, both Diuguid and Law served in leadership positions for Porsche Penske Motorsport.

As the Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, Diuguid led the global sports car program to consecutive wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona (2024, 2025), a victory in the 2025 12 Hours of Sebring, a championship in IMSA’s GTP Class last season and the 2024 WEC Hypercar driver’s crown – all achieved in less than three seasons. Since joining Team Penske in 2005, the Raleigh, North Carolina native has gained valuable experience, first working on the team’s Porsche RS Spyder program followed by seven successful seasons as a race engineer for the organization’s INDYCAR SERIES teams before taking on his most recent leadership role with Porsche Penske Motorsport.

“The opportunity to lead the Team Penske efforts across the INDYCAR SERIES, IMSA and WEC is a tremendous responsibility, and the feeling of being trusted to lead these teams is a great honor,” said Diuguid. “After two decades working for Roger Penske, I truly know and understand what the Penske name means in the world of motorsports. The best way I know to show my appreciation to him for his trust is to ensure our success continues well into the future.”

Law represents another shining example of the organic growth and advancement that has been cultivated throughout the Penske organization. The Maquoketa, Iowa native has also been a key contributor to the success of Team Penske’s INDYCAR and Sports Car programs in recent years. After beginning his Team Penske career in 2007 as an INDYCAR tire specialist, Law rose through the ranks to become a championship-winning chief mechanic in the INDYCAR SERIES before enjoying the same success in sports car competition. Law most recently served as Competition Director for Porsche Penske Motorsport before earning a promotion to his new role with the organization.

“Success is what is expected at Team Penske,” stated Law. “Roger Penske is someone that leads by example. When we get to the racetrack, we know we have the support of someone who has achieved at the highest levels. I am ready to get to work.”

The NASCAR leadership structure for Penske Racing South remains unchanged with Michael Nelson serving as President, Penske Racing South and Travis Geisler continuing his role at Vice President of Competition, Penske Racing South. Nelson and Geisler bring nearly 50 years of team experience in leading the five-time and defending NASCAR Cup Series championship team.

The 2025 INDYCAR SERIES season continues with this weekend’s race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Sunday, July 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX). Porsche Penske Motorsport will return to action on Sunday, July 13 with the World Endurance Championship race in São Paulo, Brazil while the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season resumes on Sunday, August 3 at Road America

The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to the Chicago street course for the third straight season this weekend.

The Xfinity Series will practice, qualify and race in The Loop 110 on July 5, with Shane van Gisbergen in the field for the first time this year.

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The Cup Series will practice and qualify also on July 5 for the next day’s Grant Park 165. For the first time since 2018 in a non-Daytona 500 race, there will be one driver to DNQ. 41 drivers are entered for 40 starting spots.

Here is the full on-track schedule in Chicago:

NASCAR Chicago street on-track schedule, TV schedule for the Grant Park 165

All times Central; on-track activity at the Chicago street course unless otherwise detailed.

Saturday, July 5

9:30 am. — NASCAR Xfinity Series practice and qualifying, CW app

12 p.m. — NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying, truTV (Watch FREE on Fubo)

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3:30 p.m. — The Loop 110 NASCAR Xfinity Series race (50 laps, 110 miles), CW Network (Watch FREE on Fubo)

Sunday, July 6

1 p.m. — Grant Park 165 NASCAR Cup Series race (75 laps, 165 miles), TNT (Watch FREE on Fubo) and MAX (in-car cameras)

NASCAR Chicago street news, stories

CHANGES AT TRACKHOUSE FOR 2026: Daniel Suarez will not return to Trackhouse Racing after 2025 NASCAR season

LAST WEEK: NASCAR Atlanta winners, losers: Chase Elliott steals playoff spot from Brad Keselowski on last lap

PLAYOFF PICTURE: NASCAR points standings: Cup Series points update after Atlanta race

IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT UPDATE: NASCAR in-season tournament results: First round winners, Chicago street matchups set

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Chicago full weekend schedule, TV schedule for Cup Series race

Before there was the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, there was Denny Hamlin‘s Bracket Challenge. Hamlin’s Bracket Challenge pitted drivers against each other over a five-race period, and fans were allowed to submit their predictions.

The winning entrant received an RTIC Outdoors bundle and Dirty Mo Media swag. Hamlin and 23XI Racing are already in court with NASCAR after declining to sign the charter agreement last fall. Earnhardt jokingly pointed out on this week’s “Dale Jr. Download” that Hamlin has another issue to bring against the sanctioning body after they came up with a near carbon copy of his original bracket idea.

“There’s people out there that think the bracket is stupid. … I don’t understand why you would go, ‘Ah, this is dumb. We ain’t college basketball.’ We created this bracket. Denny Hamlin created this idea and said, ‘This would be fun,’ and we did it. We put it on a website. All the people who follow Dirty Mo Media, we had like 20,000 people sign up and do it. It’s fun as hell,” Earnhardt said. “NASCAR took the idea, carbon copy enough that I think Denny oughta be like, ‘Hey, man.’ They’re already in court. Tack that one in the end.

“The bracket’s cool. If you’re not into it, just don’t say sh*t. Sit over there and enjoy what you enjoy about racing and NASCAR. But I think it’s fun as hell.”

NASCAR In-Season Challenge: Zero perfect brackets remain after Round 1

For the In-Season Challenge, there was a $1 million prize for anyone who guessed a perfect bracket. Zero brackets remain after Round 1. Hamlin, the No. 1 seed, was knocked out by No. 32 seed Ty Dillon. It was one of several stunning upsets at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta this past Saturday.

Hamlin certainly helped lay the groundwork for the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. He anticipates his $1 million royalty any day now.

“This is such a win for our sport and drivers,” Hamlin wrote on X last year after NASCAR announced the tournament. “Many story lines will made [sic] during this 5 week period. I will collect by 1M royalty next season.”