RCR Race Preview: Chicago Street Race

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Race… NASCAR returns to Chicago for the sport’s only street race, which weaves through Chicago’s Grant Park area, artfully parading the field through a 2.2-mile, 12-turn track configuration that includes stunning views of Lake Michigan. This weekend marks the sport’s third appearance to the streets of Chicago and in five Cup Series starts at the track, Richard Childress Racing earned its best finish of fifth with Kyle Busch in 2023. Additionally, RCR owns two top-10 finishes at the course in Cup Series competition.

Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Chicago Street Race… In four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the Chicago Street Race, RCR has earned two top-fives finishes and three top-10 finishes. Last year, Jesse Love led the RCR contingent with a fifth place finish at the track, and Austin Hill finished seventh.

Deep Roots in Chicago… NASCAR has a rich tradition of racing in Chicago and the surrounding areas dating back to 1954. The Cup Series has competed at five different tracks in the Chicago area, including Santa Fe Speedway (1954), Soldier Field (1956-1957), Chicago Motor Speedway (2000-2001), Chicagoland Speedway (2001-2019) and most recently the Chicago Street Course. RCR has a winning tradition in Chicago, with a total of seven wins across NASCAR’s top-three national series and the ARCA Menards Series at Chicagoland Speedway. Kevin Harvick won the inaugural Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile track in 2001, his second career win, and added another Cup victory in 2002. Harvick also won twice in the Xfinity Series (2005 and 2007) for RCR, while Elliott Sadler added an Xfinity Series win to the organization’s win tally in Chicago in 2012. In 2011, both Austin Dillon (NASCAR Truck Series) and Ty Dillon (ARCA Menards Series) were victorious at Chicagoland Speedway.

Three Times the Fun… RCR will field three Cup Series teams this weekend at the Chicago Street Race. Austin Hill returns to the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet, led by crew chief Andy Street. Hill and Street have a winning combination with 10 wins together in the Xfinity Series (2022-2024).

Tickets to the 2025 Carolina Cowboys Home Stand Are Available Now… Driven by the same passion for performance that guides his race team, Richard Childress’ latest endeavor brings Professional Bull Riding to the Carolinas. The Carolina Cowboys represent the Carolinas in the PBR Team Series, an elite league featuring the world’s top bull riders competing in games throughout the country. The team is owned by Richard Childress and Jeff Broin with 2018 Daytona 500 Champion Dillon serving as General Manager. Don’t miss the Carolina Cowboys 2025 “Cowboy Days” Home Stand September 12-14 at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tickets are on sale at PBR.com and Ticketmaster.

Catch the Action on Saturday… The NASCAR Xfinity Series Loop 110 at the Chicago Street Race will be televised live Saturday, July 5, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions will be shown for free on The CW App.

Watch Us on TNT Sports… The NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Race will be televised live on Sunday, July 6, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, the second of five consecutive races this season that will air on TNT. The race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying will be broadcast on truTV and Max. Ride shotgun all season long with live, in-car camera feeds and scanner audio with a paid subscription to Max as part of their NASCAR driver cam experience during the race.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… The NASCAR Cup Series is headed to the streets of Chicago for the city’s third annual street race. Dillon had strong Chevrolets in his two previous Cup Series starts at the course but has been plagued by on-track incidents. At the inaugural event in 2023, Dillon was racing in second and contending for the lead when he made contact with the Turn 12 wall and sustained enough damage to retire him from the race 16 laps shy of the finish. Dillon had a strong top-10 race going in last year’s race before a late-race accident relegated the Welcome, North Carolina driver to a 19th-place finish.

Road Course Experience… Now considered a staple on the Cup Series schedule, Dillon has 41 Cup Series starts on road course/street course tracks and notably earned a pair of top-10 finishes at Circuit of The Americas and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2022. He spent additional time in the simulator preparing for this weekend’s race.

BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Teams Up with Dillon… Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team will be supported by BREZTRI AEROSPHERE®, an AstraZeneca product, at the Chicago Street Course. This partnership is about more than just racing. You can learn more about Dillon and his family’s personal connection to the brand at Breztri.com. AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and Biopharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.

Influenced… Dillon and his RCR team will be hosting Chicago Bulls basketball star Lonzo Ball on Sunday. Ball, who was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers this week, will celebrate his time in Chicago with a full immersion with the RCR team, including the sitting on the team’s pit box for the race.

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:

What are your thoughts on racing on the streets of Chicago?

“The Chicago Street Race is an awesome race to check out. There are tight corners that impact how you enter and exit the corners. You’ve got to be so precise. The walls are very tight, and it’s easy to make a mistake on the course. The past couple of years, we’ve had to deal with the rain. Our Richard Childress Racing team will be ready for whatever comes our way.”

What’s it like driving the Chicago Street Race compared to a regular track—does it feel different behind the wheel?

“The Chicago Street Race is very different from the other courses we race on. We’re racing on the streets of downtown Chicago, and seeing the city skyline and the traffic lights definitely gives the race a different feeling. It’s a pretty cool sight to race around Buckingham Fountain and other historic monuments in the city. It’s going to be a great July Fourth holiday weekend. The fan support is huge, and NASCAR puts on a great race.”

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Slurpee Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… Sunday’s third-annual Grant Park 165 will mark Busch’s third career NASCAR Cup Series start at the Chicago Street Race. Busch has one top-five and two top-10 finishes in his previous starts at the track. Additionally, he has an average starting position of 18.5, an average finish of seventh, and has completed 100 percent (136 of 136) of the laps he’s contested there.

Best Average Finish… Busch’s average finish of 7.0 on the streets of Chicago is his best among all active tracks. It also ranks third-best among all drivers that have competed in both races at the Chicago Street Race, behind only Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell, who are tied at 6.0.

Road Course Prowess… In addition to his street course successes, Busch has 58 career road course starts at NASCAR’s highest level, racking up four wins (two at Sonoma Raceway and two at Watkins Glen International), 20 top-five finishes and 30 top-10 finishes. He has earned two poles in road course competition (Watkins Glen International in 2011 and 2017), and has led 472 laps in road course competition in the Cup Series.

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KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:

There’s a whole lot of unique tracks coming up on the schedule. Is there anything you can take from that?

“Each week we try to continue to focus on that week’s race and making sure that we know what to do to have good results. There’s a few road courses coming up, so honestly, some might say ‘hey, we screwed up road course points at Mexico, so now we’re not going to be very good on all the rest of the road courses.’ I wouldn’t say that’s true. You can either do really well and earn a lot of points at those races by staying out at the end of the stages and playing the strategy game, or you can have what happened to us in Mexico and have an incident where you get zero points. It’s up to our team to do everything we can to maximize the opportunities to earn points.”

Anytime you get to any of the road courses, you don’t want to have to deal with those road course ringers, right?

“The A.J. Allmendingers or the Shane van Gisbergens, those guys are really good, and recognized for their road course experience, although, last year Alex Bowman won the race and he does not come from a road course racing background. So, it’s anyone and everyone in the field that can go out there and get it done on at the road course races.”

Would you be okay with adding another street race to the schedule? If so, what would be a good location?

“Another street circuit would be a pretty good idea. If we’re going to do it, we should go to an area that we’re not currently racing in. I wouldn’t change racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to run on the streets of Las Vegas. Let’s go somewhere different.”

Austin Hill and the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… Austin Hill has made one career NASCAR Cup Series start at the Chicago Street Race, coming last season behind the wheel of the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The Winston, Georgia native completed every lap in that event and was in position to earn a top-10 result before receiving contact in the closing laps. Hill has also competed in two NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the 12-turn, 2.2-mile course, earning two top-10 finishes and a best result of fifth in 2023.

Second of Five in 2025… This weekend will mark Hill’s second of five starts aboard the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet during the 2025 Cup Series season. The remaining race lineup includes Daytona International Speedway on August 23, Bristol Motor Speedway on September 13, and Talladega Superspeedway on October 19.

Career Cup Series Stats… Hill has taken part in a total of 11 Cup Series races, making at least one start in each of the last three seasons. The Xfinity Series championship contender posted a career-best finish of 14th at Daytona International Speedway in the 2023 premier series event.

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Worksite Performance Solutions… United Rentals boasts the industry’s largest and most versatile fleet. In today’s digital age, we go beyond equipment, integrating people, equipment, and data to foster innovation and create connected worksites. United Rentals’ Worksite Performance Solutions enable unprecedented control, strategic decision-making, and unlock new opportunities. From the perimeter gate to the back office, United Rentals connects worksites to drive safety, productivity, and sustainability.

AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

The Chicago Street Race is unlike any other road course on the schedule. What are your thoughts returning to a track that you competed at last season in the Cup Series?

“It’s a unique track. There is not a lot of grip, because we are racing in the streets. The surface is rough with a lot of bumps and hard transitions. You have to hit your marks corner after corner, each and every lap. There is very little room for error. If you overdrive the entry, you are probably going to put it into the barrels. All of those things make it a really tough place to race at. I’m looking forward to being back in the Cup Series car though. It’s been a few months since our first start of the season at Darlington, and we are going back to a track where we ran last season. Our United Rentals Chevrolet was fast then, and we had ourselves in position to finish inside the top-10 before getting contact with a couple laps to go. The forecast looks like rain could come into play once again, so we will see how that changes the race and strategy.”

Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Aerospace Technologies (WAT) Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… Jesse Love has made one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start on the Chicago Street Course, driving the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet last season at the 12-turn, 2.2-mile circuit. The Menlo Park, California native started from the eighth position, led a total of 14 laps, and earned a fifth-place result.

Left and Right Success… With two road course races complete in the 2025 Xfinity Series campaign, Love has shown speed when turning left and right. At Circuit of The Americas in March, the 20-year-old led six laps and earned a sixth-place finish. In Love’s inaugural start in Mexico City in June, the No. 2 Chevrolet was in contention for the victory before a pit road penalty halted momentum.

Holding Steady… Through 17 races, Love currently sits in the fourth position in the Xfinity Series driver championship point standings – seven points behind third-place Austin Hill.

WAT Flying High… For this weekend’s event at the Chicago Street Race, Love will trade in his standard red-and-white Whelen colors for the black-and-yellow Whelen Aerospace Technologies (WAT) brand. Whelen Aerospace Technologies is the global leader in high-end lighting products for the aerospace industry. Their experienced staff designs, engineers, and manufacture high-quality products that provide safety, visibility, and recognition for aircraft across all platforms. The design engineers work closely with OEM and service provider networks to design high-performance products that enhance the pilot’s experience, as well as provide safety of flight. As a FAA-approved production holder, WAT owns hundreds of STCs for aircraft landing, taxi, anti-collision and position lights. The in-house composite shop produces a wide variety of STC and PMA approved speed modifications for a number of general aviation aircraft. The expansive product line is sure to provide a solution for pilots and owners alike, based on their individual needs.

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JESSE LOVE QUOTE:

What makes racing at the Chicago Street Race challenging?

“Chicago is a special and cool place. A lot of our tools, such as SMT, don’t work well there, and there isn’t a lot of history to go back on and study. Because of that, as a driver, there is a challenging element to the weekend. It’s the same boat for everyone though, so you have to do your best to find an advantage. Overall, it’s a weird course. There are super tight corners that you cannot pass in, and then there are great passing opportunities as well. It’s sort of high grip for it not being an actual track surface, but then you’ll get to other parts of the track with zero grip as you’re running over manhole covers. It’s the only road course we go to that there aren’t curbs to climb. The aura around the event is cool, but it’s one of the most challenging road courses we go to because it’s so different than our normal.”

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race… As the NASCAR industry returns to the streets of Chicago for the third consecutive year, Austin Hill will make his third start at the 12-turn, 2.2-mile circuit. In the two previous races, the Winston, Georgia native has claimed two top-10 results and never finished worse than seventh-place. Hill’s average starting position is 9.0 and average finishing position is 6.0. The 31-year-old has also competed in one NASCAR Cup Series event on the course, coming in 2024.

Chasing a Road Course W… Hill has once again come close to securing his first Xfinity Series road course victory – the only style of track that the veteran racer has not won at thus far into his series career – in the two previous road course events contested so far in 2025. At Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, Hill earned a fourth-place result, and at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, the No. 21 team finished third.

Points Check… With 17 races complete, Hill currently holds the third position in the Xfinity Series driver championship point standings – 13 points behind second-place Sam Mayer.

Double Duty… This weekend at the Chicago Street Course, Hill will climb aboard the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet to make the second of five NASCAR Cup Series starts in the 2025 season.

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AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:

What makes racing at the Chicago Street Race challenging?

“It’s completely different than any other racetrack that we go to. When you go down into a corner, there is a wall right in front of you. You have to be as close to the inside wall as you can, but that wall also is a good height that prevents eyesight. I’m the type of driver that traditionally looks really far ahead, especially on a road course. Normally on a road course, I’m looking two or three corners ahead to see what is coming next and how I need to set myself up for that particular part of the track. At Chicago, you simply cannot do that because you can’t see around the corner. All you see is what is right in front of you. That’s a challenge and makes spotters at a premium. If anything happens in front of you, you are relying on your spotters to tell you.”

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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