Chicago NASCAR Street Race 2023: Live updates and news

Christopher Bell in the No. 20 led the field across the start-finish line at the end of the first 20-lap stage of the Grant Park 220. The leaders of the stages pick up extra playoff points in the Cup Series.

Rain has stayed out of the area throughout the first few laps of the race, and the track is starting to dry out along the groove drivers are sticking too.

Teams will have to make a choice between keeping rain tires, which could overheat without water to cool them off, or swapping them for slick tires that have less traction.

Several more cars have gotten into the wall in the wet conditions. Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 came down Pit Road after getting into the wall.

Joey Logano in the No. 22 slid into the tire barrier in turn 6 a few laps after the end of the first stage, which has caught several other drivers in the first stage. Then he got tangled with Jenson Button in the No. 15 as Button was trying to get into pit road.

The Grant Park 220 is under caution again after another crash after just 12 laps of racing.

Noah Gragson, driving the No. 42, slid into the tire barrier in turn 6. That 90-degree turn, at the corner of Balbo Drive and Columbus Drive, also caught Kyle Busch earlier in the race.

Slick conditions have continued to dominate racing. Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 had led the field until lap 9, when he hit a slick spot and slid, allowing Christopher Bell in the No. 20 to pull ahead.

The yellow flag was out on the third lap of the Grant Park 220 after Kyle Busch, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet, slid straight into a tire barrier.

Multiple cars slid in the wet conditions in the first few minutes. Brad Keselowski in the No. 6, Eric Jones in the No. 43 and Noah Gragson in the No. 42 all slid into each other before the first lap was finished.

Pole winner Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota slid coming into a turn and hit a tire barrier, giving Tyler Reddick in the No. 45 the opportunity to start pulling away from the field.

The green flag has dropped in the Grant Park 220 — kicking off 100 laps of Cup Series racing.

It’s an unusual start to a race. The track is still wet after a long day of soaking rains, though NASCAR dryers and sweepers have cleared some of the large puddles of standing water.

There’s not a lot of room for error on this narrow road course. Hydroplaning could easily send them into the concrete barriers.

Drivers are starting off with rain tires, which have treads to give them extra traction. But if the rain stays away, parts of the track will dry up as cars go over it, giving teams the opportunity to switch to slicker tires.

Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields has told drivers to start their engines, kicking off the Grant Park 220.

Fields gave the command remotely from the media center. A few minutes afterwards, cars started rolling out onto the track.

Cup Series drivers are walking to their cars in preparation for the race to start.

NASCAR said in a tweet that they’re aiming to start racing at 5:15 p.m.

Teams could be seen pulling tarps off cars in Pit Road in anticipation of racing starting.

Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields, who is the Grant Park 220 grand marshal, is back in the press room to give the opening command for drivers to start their engines.

Anthony Vazques/Sun-Times

Margaret and Dave Sula of the Kankakee area stepped out of the course to change into dry clothes at their Loop hotel.

They were walking across the course to meet their son and daughter-in-law when the rain became too much.

“But walking over there we were just like, ‘I’m so soaked.’ I don’t even want to sit through a race right now,” Margaret Sula said.

Unlike at other NASCAR tracks, there was hardly anywhere to take shelter, she said. Gate workers weren’t allowing fans to bring in umbrellas, either.

The couple said they wished they could’ve been alerted by loudspeaker about the Xfinity Series race being called off.

And they said they’d prefer the race be postponed to Monday, when better weather is expected. The National Weather Service was predicting partly cloudy skies and a high of 76.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

NASCAR announced racing is on hold a few minutes before the Grant Park 220 was set to start.

Heavy rain continues to fall in downtown Chicago, leaving inches of standing water on the track. The National Weather Service issued an updated flash flood warning at 3:58 p.m. saying up to 3 inches more of rain could fall in the next few hours.

According to the NWS, 2-6 inches has already fallen across much of the area, with as much as 8 inches reported in isolated spots. Rain is falling at about an inch an hour in downtown Chicago.

The sound of the emergency alert siren on reporter’s phones prompted groans and complaints in the press room, where the national anthem and invocation were just held.

With rain still falling on Sunday afternoon, NASCAR did something unusual for the national anthem and invocation — by moving it to the press room.

The Uniting Voices Chicago children’s choir performed amid rows of tables and laptops, where reporters have been working and press conferences held throughout the weekend. The Chicago Fire Department Honor Guard presented the colors, and Pastor John F. Hannah delivered the invocation.

The Grant Park 220 is scheduled to start shortly after 4 p.m.

Rain continues to fall in downtown Chicago on Sunday afternoon.

The National Weather Service has extended a flash flood warning for the area to 6:30 p.m., after the Cup Series race is scheduled to start this afternoon.

Despite heavy rains, NASCAR Cup Series teams could be seen rolling their cars from their temporary garages to the course for the Grant Park 220, which is scheduled to start around 4 p.m.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, was sitting with his team in Pit Road waiting for the Loop 121 to restart when he got word that he won.

“It’s just the weirdest race I’ve ever won,” Custer told reporters Sunday afternoon in the NASCAR Chicago Street Race press room in the Art Institute of Chicago. He joked that they’d contemplated jumping in Buckingham Fountain to celebrate but were told it would’ve been a felony.

Custer won the pole and led every one of the 25 laps that Xfinity Series drivers completed on Saturday, before the race was halted due to lightning.

The race had been scheduled to continue Sunday morning. But instead, Custer and the other drivers were left waiting at the track as heavy rain fell in downtown Chicago.

Rain introduced a lot of new complications to an already-challenging course. Drivers had just started to get a sense of what line to follow through the course on Saturday, and rain would’ve required them to change that up.

Visibility would’ve been a challenge, with heavy rain still falling. And standing water on the race would’ve increased the risk of hydroplaning — and crashing.

Custer said he thinks that it’s still possible to drive the course if the rain lets up some though.

“I think that if it’s just a little damp, I think there’s no reason why you can’t race here in the rain,” Custer said.

The second planned race of the day, the Grant Park 220, is scheduled to start around 4 p.m.

Hundreds of NASCAR fans are seeking shelter in businesses along Michigan Avenue as heavy rain keeps pouring down in Grant Park.

Ronald Jackson and his 14-year-old son Josiah Jackson drove from Portage, Indiana, to experience their first-ever NASCAR event. They’ve waited in various locations in the area since 9 a.m. Sunday.

Josiah is enjoying himself by practicing his photography skills and keeping his eyes peeled for a Lamborghini Urus.

“Whatever my son likes to do, I’m gonna support him,” Ronald Jackson said.

He and his son are “playing hooky” from church today in hopes of seeing the race that was postponed on Saturday. They’ll settle for catching Bubba Wallace when he races in the Grant Park 220 Sunday afternoon and are willing to come back on Monday if it’s rescheduled.

NASCAR has called off the Loop 121 race and declared Cole Custer the winner of the race.

Custer, the driver of the No. 00 Ford, won the pole in qualifying on Saturday and led the race during the 25 laps run on Saturday before lightning in the area forced a weather delay.

On Sunday, with rain falling and a flash flood warning in effect, NASCAR declared him the winner, even though the race wasn’t halfway through yet.

In a statement, officials cited “unprecedented circumstances” in their decision. Much of the track is covered in standing water following heavy rains.

There wasn’t enough time to run the race on Sunday before the Cup Series race, scheduled for the afternoon. They also considered running the race on Monday, but the race was already close to halfway over.

NASCAR and city crews are working to dry off the downtown Chicago street track from today’s storm in an effort to complete the Loop 121 that was suspended because of lightning yesterday.

Drivers have been sitting in a holding pattern since NASCAR tried to restart the race at 10:45 this morning as a result of standing water.

NASCAR jet dryers as well as trucks from Chicago’s Department of Water Management have been on the track for the past several hours to try to blow away the flooding waters on the track.

Brent S. Gambill, the senior director of track communications, said the race could take place while it is still raining, but the larger concern is making sure the track can stay dry enough.

While NASCAR officials hope to complete the Loop 121 in its entirety, by rule, only half of the laps need to be completed in order to declare a winner. Since the race made it through 25 laps out of 55 yesterday prior to the lightning delay, they would only need to complete three more laps to be able to officially declare a winner.

Through 25 laps, driver Cole Custer holds the lead.

A small crowd largely composed of veteran race fans took the shoddy weather in stride.

Brothers Timothy and Cody Alguire, from the Quad Cities, took shelter in a merchandising tent while waiting for officials to announce when the race would start.

They came prepared with ponchos. It’s not their first NASCAR rain delay.

“It seems to not be NASCAR unless it rains,” said Timothy, 31.

They weren’t worried that the races may be pushed to Monday. They drove in for the races and don’t have to worry about booking another hotel night or rescheduling a flight.

Thomas Kurtz Jr. and his father waited for the race to start outside the Fountain Club.

Does the rain bother the father and son who traveled from southern Wisconsin?

“For me? Not at all,” Kurtz Jr. said.

NASCAR says that the Loop 121 Xfinity Series race is scheduled to start at 10:45 a.m.

Rain is continuing to fall in Grant Park. The city is under a flash flood warning until 3:15 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

The race was paused on Saturday just short of halfway through. NASCAR started letting fans back into the venue Sunday morning around 10:15 a.m. after more morning delays due to weather.

The Xfinity Series cars are equipped with windshield wipers and rain tires are available, according to NASCAR.

Saturday’s Xfinity Series The Loop 121 race has been postponed.

The race will resume at 10 a.m. Sunday and be aired on the USA Network. Gates open at 9 a.m. for fans. The 55-lap race was stopped on 26^th lap as lightning was seen in the area.

The concerts on Saturday night have been canceled.

NASCAR released the following statement:

“Due to the potential for continued lightning strikes and in the interest of public safety and caution, the facility needed to be evacuated. NASCAR had hoped to resume activities, but not until city officials allowed fans to return to the grandstands. The forecast for lightning extends into the next several hours, forcing NASCAR to postpone the completion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race until tomorrow morning.”

Cole Custer, led all 25 laps before the red flag.

“I was honestly shocked we didn’t wreck more cars.” Custer told NBC during the delay. “Hats off to the field so far.”

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Kathy and Mark Robinson, a couple from Romeoville, left the track to seek shelter during the rain delay.

“It’s a bummer, but not the first rain delay at a NASCAR race I’ve been to,” Mark Robinson said.

“It just sucks that after 45 days of no weather in Chicago and then this happens today of all days,” Kathy Robinson said.

The two have been enjoying the race so far and said they’re impressed by how NASCAR has organized the weekend.

“We’re seated at Michigan West, which has been a great spot to watch,” Mark Robinson said. “It’s been just a great experience so far.”

Once the delay is over, they plan to head back in for the remainder of the race.

Amanda Simmons was studying in her dorm at University Center on State Street when she heard Saturday’s race start.

“There was this very loud rumble, I felt it in my building, and so I came down to check it out,” she said.

Simmons, who is getting a master’s in theater directing from Roosevelt University, said she’s been watching the set up happen all week.

And being from Louisville, Kentucky, she’s more into horses racing than cars.

“This is so bizarre, never did I think my summer in Chicago would involve NASCAR,” Simmons said.

“And to have it over the Fourth of July weekend? What’s more American than that?”

The Loop 121 has gone under a red flag because of lightning in the area.

The race, which has been led by Cole Custer in 25 of the 30 laps, is under a 30-minute weather delay on lap 26 of 55. There is no precipitation on the course, but with lightning within an 8-mile proximity, the race must be stopped

The cars have been brought onto Pit Road and drivers exited their cars. Video screens are warning attendees of lightning in the area and asking them to clear the festival areas.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Cole Custer leads through the 18 laps in the Xfinity Series The Loop 121.

Custer, who drives the No. 00 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, has led from the start in the race.

Custer, only one of four active drivers to have experience driving on road courses, has winning experience in the Chicago-area. He took the checkered flag at the Chicagoland Speedway in 2019.

NASCAR’s inaugural Chicago Street Race got underway at 4:06 p.m. The street course with 12 turns posed new challenge for drivers. The first major wreck occurred on the 18^th lap almost an hour into the race.

The race was under the yellow flag as the No. 34 University of Chicago Medical Chevrolet car driven by Andre Castro crashed on the 18th lap at turn No. 1, which is at the corner of Columbus Ave. and Balbo Dr. and sent the race into caution.

Some NASCAR fans who showed up to the Chicago Street Race on Saturday were surprised to find their tickets did not guarantee a seat.

Shon George and Urina Idohl spent nearly $400 each on general admission plus tickets that they thought would seat them near Columbus Avenue.

When the Bronzeville couple arrived in Grant Park Saturday, a track employee told them they would have to find a space to stand along the track, they said. The couple said other people in line were surprised too.

“A lot of people are disappointed about this,” Idohl said.

With a couple hours before the green starting flag, they still hadn’t chosen where they were stand to watch the race. A spot they found in front of the Fountain Club seemed promising because a big screen broadcasting the race had sound.

Despite the ticket snafu, George said the ticket price was worth it. This is the NASCAR fan’s second race in two years.

“I think they should come every year” to Chicago, George said. “This is better than the Taste.”

Mamus Oputu, in town from Austin, Texas, doesn’t have a ticket for the race. He’s hoping to catch some of the action at Jackson Drive and Michigan Avenue, where drivers will make one of the final turns toward the finish.

“This seems like the best spot to catch the race from outside,” he said.

He’s excited to watch, but he said NASCAR doesn’t compare to his preferred motorsport, Formula 1 racing.

“I’m more into F1 and this just doesn’t compete with it. F1 is on another level, it’s international and is done on more technical courses,” Oputu said. “NASCAR is usually just an oval.”

He noted that this street circuit seems to be an effort to compete with the rising popularity of Formula 1 in the U.S.

In the lead up to the inaugural Grant Park 220 race, NASCAR drivers expressed skepticism about the logistics of the infinity-sign-shaped track on city streets.

But on Saturday morning, veteran racers Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick both said they were cautiously optimistic about the race, and complimented organizers on the construction of the track.

Harvick told the press he considered the unorthodox race a necessary move to “grow the sport,” and said he was keeping an open mind.

Shortly after, during the qualifying round for Sunday’s race, Elliott and Harvick both smashed their cars into the walls of the track.

Elliott had said he was prepared for an adverse outcome.

“It may go great, and it may not. And that’s totally fine. I’m good with that either way,” Elliott told reporters before his qualifying round crash.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

As NASCAR fans streamed into Grant Park for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, some made a pitstop at the “free experience” at Butler Field a few hours before the race started.

One family from the Loop stopped by out of curiosity, even though they didn’t have tickets.

“It’s interesting. When there’s an event [downtown], we go and see it,” said a woman who identified herself only as Sandy.

She stopped by a U.S. Army booth and deadlifted 140 pounds.

Most of the fans who spoke with a reporter had tickets for the race. They stopped by the kiosks that lined the unshaded park.

The U.S. Air Force had a booth offering a virtual flight simulator. A sunglass company set up a game of cornhole. Chicago police had a kiosk. The longest lines were at a NASCAR trailer selling merchandise.

Kathy Roberts traveled from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to see the race in her husband’s hometown.

She called herself a “big fan,” and said it made sense to get tickets. They’re usually in town, anyway, to visit relatives on the Fourth of July weekend.

“This is a place that I love. And to experience NASCAR in the heart of the city. Oh my god. This is incredible,” Roberts said.

She and her husband posed for a photo in front of a NASCAR in the middle of the field.
Roberts said she was excited about the unpredictability of the street race.

“It requires a different skill set. I’m really looking forward to see how these professional drivers navigate the course,” she said.

Sunday’s Cup Series race won’t be Jenson Button’s first road course race.

The Formula 1 champion, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang this weekend, has driven difficult courses all over the world. But he says that driving the Chicago course with its tight 90-degree turns in a larger and heavier stock car will pose a unique challenge.

“We can make it work, but it’s just a very limited amount of time to get it ready before qualifying,” Button told reporters in NASCAR’s temporary press room in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Stock cars need more room to brake than the cars Button is used to. The surface is more unpredictable than the usual NASCAR oval, with changes from asphalt to concrete, manhole covers, bumps and divots. The narrow track will require extra attention too, and there won’t be a lot of room to pass other cars.

“The speeds won’t be extremely high, but when the barriers are that close, it feels incredibly fast,” Button said.

Button said he spun out coming out of Pit Row the first time he drove the simulated course. Ross Chastain, who won last week’s Cup race in Nashville, Tennessee, said he crashed in every single turn in the simulator.

There’s not very much room for error on the track. There are no run-off areas for drivers when they lose control — just unforgiving concrete barriers. Chastain, who’s driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro, said he’ll be extra careful in practice and qualifying.

“The moment I break traction, I’m not going to wonder if I’m going to hit the wall for very long, because the wall is right there,” Chastain said.

Dozens of people peeked through fences Friday to catch a glimpse of NASCAR’s final preparations for its street races this weekend.

But not everyone was there for race cars.

Debbie and Tony Roden-Reynolds had planned to visit Buckingham Fountain but found it blocked off by NASCAR construction.

They had flown from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for the Phillies-Cubs game yesterday at Wrigley Field.

The couple said they were disappointed that Buckingham Fountain was closed to the public.

“We’re leaving tomorrow. That was the last thing we were going to see,” said Debbie Roden-Reynolds, 71.

The couple strolled through Maggie Daley Park on the way back to their room at the Doubletree Hilton.

NASCAR has said it would take extra efforts to keep Grant Park open to the public as much as possible.

The majority of the park was closed to the public Friday morning.

One family walked near the track on Columbus Drive, trying to find a way to the Museum Campus.

“There’s no signs or anything anywhere to tell people alternatives,” said Drake Shrader, 28, of Avondale.

His family is visiting from Houston, Texas. For some of them, it’s their first time in Chicago.

“I feel comfortable making my way around the park, but now I’m lost,” Shrader said.

He said he booked a parking spot in Millennium Park’s garage, but he wasn’t able to access it and had to find another garage.

Shrader said he supports bringing industry and “unique experiences” to the city, but they should be less disruptive.

The races won’t begin until tomorrow but cars are already being pushed out onto the pit road in Chicago for this weekend’s NASCAR action.

The first one to hit pit road was the very purple Toyota Supra No. 20 car set to be driven by Joe Gibbs Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek:

Three NASCAR drivers set to race in downtown Chicago this weekend — Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick — took a pit stop at Wrigley Field on Friday to throw out the first pitch before the Cubs game.

With only one day left until the beginning of the NASCAR races in Chicago, massive semitrailer trucks hauling the stock cars arrived in the city Friday morning.

It’s not difficult to tell they’re not your usual semis: Each one is covered in the same colorful branding used by the vehicles set to race.