Chaotic Afternoon in Historic NASCAR Event

CHICAGO (July 2, 2023) – Brad Keselowski overcame an early misfortune Sunday in a chaotic race on the Chicago Street Course to finish 24th in the Elk Grove Village Ford.

Historic rains moved in Sunday morning and delayed in the initial start, nearly pushing the race to Monday, but clear skies prevailed giving way to the green flag not long after the scheduled green flag. Keselowski began the day from the 20th position, but was pushed into the tire barriers just a few laps in, unfortunately giving up his track position.

He went on to finish the opening stage in 35th at lap 20, as the field eventually all switched to dry tires just after the stage end. From there, three cautions waved in stage two with Keselowski working back up to 22nd by lap 44, which ended the stage under yellow.

At that point, NASCAR deemed the race would end at lap 75 due to approaching sunset. Four more cautions flew over the final 27 laps, including one that sent the race to NASCAR overtime, with Keselowski finishing the day 24th.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend for the second time this season, with race coverage Sunday night set for 7 p.m. ET on USA, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

CHICAGO STREET COURSE

RACE: GRANT PARK 220 DATE: JULY 2, 2023

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

START: 31ST STAGE ONE: 22ND STAGE TWO: 29TH FINISH: 6TH POINTS: 22ND

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric recorded a strong sixth-place finish in Sunday’s inaugural Grant Park 220 on the streets of Chicago, marking his third top-10 finish of the season. Heavy rain loomed over the Chicago area throughout the morning and early afternoon, delaying the start of the much-anticipated event to the evening. When the green flag flew, Cindric started at the rear after extensive repairs had to be made to the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford following an accident in practice on Saturday. Cindric reported early on that the car was lacking drive, and made his first trip down pit road on Lap 24 to exchange the wet weather tires for slicks. The Team Penske driver returned to pit lane under caution on Lap 40 after relaying that the car was tightening up. Cindric restarted 33rd, but when a caution a few laps later slowed the field, Cindric remained on track and gained significant track position as the majority of the field pitted. After the race length was shortened to 75 laps from its original 100-lap distance due to the threat of darkness, the 24-year-old racer maneuvered through various late-race cautions to collect a sixth-place result at the Chicago Street Course.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “The entire No. 2 team started the day with very wet shoes and socks. I know everyone was kind of in that same boat, but these guys have been working their tails off since I hit the same wall twice yesterday. I’m just really proud of the team, not just the effort. I mean, Jeremy made a great strategy call and had great forethought with what was gonna happen with the weather and the timing and everything. We kept it off the wall and were able to have some speed at the end of the race to really contend inside the top 10 and really earn a good finish. I’m just proud of everybody on this Discount Tire Ford Mustang. It’s not what I want. I want to win, but we’ve had a really tough stretch and this is a good step in the right direction.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/DUTCH BOY FORD MUSTANG

START: 17TH STAGE ONE: 37TH STAGE TWO: 36TH FINISH: 33RD POINTS: 9TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney started from 17th in Sunday’s inaugural Chicago Street Course race as single-file racing took place during the opening laps with teams in wet weather tires in damp conditions. While running 19th at the time of the second caution of the day on lap 12, Blaney made his first trip to pit road for fuel only as the No. 12 team looked to gain track position with a green flag pit cycle looming. Shortly after the restart on lap 17, Blaney made contact with the wall and suffered right front damage, forcing him to come to pit road for repairs to the right front toe link. After rejoining the field two laps down, Blaney crossed the line 37th at the end of Stage 1. As track conditions began to improve, Blaney made his way to pit road under green on lap 27 for four slick tires, but was forced to make an additional stop on the following lap to remove the blocker in the windshield air duct. After the race distance was shortened to 75 laps, Blaney earned the free pass under caution on lap 57 and maneuvered his way around several late-race incidents to come away with a 33rd-place finish.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Tough one for our No. 12 crew, wish we could have had a better showing in an event like this. We got put in a tough spot with the right front damage early but ended up being too big of a hole to climb out of.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG

START: 9TH STAGE ONE: 11TH STAGE TWO: 27TH FINISH: 8TH POINTS: 10TH

RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano picked up three spots in the first three laps of the inaugural Chicago Street Course race despite a single-file start to begin the afternoon. Battling the damp conditions on wet weather tires, Logano was shuffled out of the top-10 by the halfway point of Stage 1 before settling for an 11th-place finish in the opening segment. Logano continued to struggle with overall grip as green-flag pit stops began to cycle and made contact with one of the tire barriers before making his way to pit road. The damage proved to be insignificant when the No. 22 team surveyed the Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang on pit road on lap 22 and sent Logano back out on the course with four slick tires. While running in the top-20 when the caution flag flew on lap 31, several cars stayed out but the No. 22 team called Logano to pit road for four tires and a round of adjustments. The strategy call ended up paying off in a big way as Logano took the green flag from fourth in lap 49 after a majority of the field pitted under caution. Following a multi-car incident shortly after the restart, the race was shortened to 75 laps, allowing Logano to make it the rest of the way on fuel. Logano held steady in the top-five of the running order as the laps clicked off but fell to sixth when the caution came out on lap 67. Another on-track incident with two laps to go set up a green-white-checkered finish and Logano was able to fend off those on fresher tires to secure an eighth-place finish, marking his ninth top-10 showing of the season.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It was hard to race. I mean, there were some passes made. It’s not probably any harder than any other track that we go to. Overall, I’d say this was a success. I’d say more cautions than normal on a road course because of the walls, but hey, we got it in today. That was good.”

WHAT’S NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series makes its second trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 9 for the Quaker State 400. Coverage begins at 7 pm E.T. on USA, PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
CHICAGO STREET RACE
GRANT PARK 220
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JULY 2, 2023

Van Gisbergen Steals Inaugural Chicago Street Race in NASCAR Cup Series Debut

Team Chevy Sweeps Top-Five

· Making the crossover from his Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Supercars Championship to the No. 91 Enhance Health Camaro ZL1, Shane van Gisbergen’s victory came in his first career NASCAR Cup Series start.

· This marks the first time a driver has won in his first career NASCAR Cup Series start since 1963 (Johnny Rutherford – Daytona International Speedway).

· Van Gisbergen became the sixth driver born outside of the United States to win in NASCAR Premier Series – last accomplished by Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez (Sonoma Raceway 2022).

· Van Gisbergen is the sixth different Team Chevy driver to record a NASCAR Cup Series win this season.

· The victory marked Chevrolet’s series-leading 11th NASCAR Cup Series victory this season.

· The winningest manufacturer in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevrolet now sits at 844 all-time wins in NASCAR’s premier series.

· Team Chevy drivers swept the top-five finishing positions in the NASCAR Cup Series street race debut – recorded by drivers from four different Chevrolet teams. The feat was last accomplished by the manufacturer one year ago at Road America.

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 91 Enhance Health Camaro ZL1
2nd Justin Haley, No. 31 Benesch Law Camaro ZL1
3rd Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1
4th Kyle Larson, No, 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
5th Kyle Busch, No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Shane Van Gisbergen (Chevrolet)
2nd Justin Haley (Chevrolet)
3rd Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
4th Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
5th Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart on Sunday, July 9, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN, NO. 91 ENHANCE HEALTH CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 1st

Let’s be honest, Shane, when this deal came together, did you honestly feel like this was possible?

“No, of course not, but you always dream of it. Thank you so much to the Trackhouse team, Enhance Health, Project91. What an experience in the crowd out here. This was so cool. This is what you dream of. Hopefully I can come and do more.”

What were you telling yourself on those final few restarts?

“Wow, when we had that strategy back to 18th, I started to worry a bit. But had some full stands on some people, and the racing was really good, everyone was respectful. It was tough, but a lot of fun.”

It’s Monday back in Auckland but I’m sure there’s a party going on about 1:00 in the afternoon. What would your message be to the young drivers back there in Australia and New Zealand?

“Anything is possible. But the fans in Australia and New Zealand, the response this week and the coverage has been — I can’t explain it. Like the response and the support I’ve got from everyone and even over here how welcoming everyone is, I can’t believe it. Dream come true.”

You know everybody is going to want you to drive their car now. Are you up for a full-time Cup ride?

“I’m doing one more year in Oz and then I’d love to come over here.”

JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 BENESCH LAW CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 2nd

Justin Haley had the unenviable task of trying to hold off a three-time Supercars champion with 16 lap less fresh tires. Talk us through final laps there.

“Yeah, it was tough. I put it in the tire barrier yesterday and we stayed up all night. I stayed with the guys through the rain; rewrapped this thing and put a new body on it. Benesch came on for this weekend. Congrats to Project91. It sucks, obviously, where we are right now – we aren’t in position to win every week, so coming that close obviously is not what you want. But just really proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing and what an awesome event. Can’t wait to come back next year.”

Once your crew chief, Trent, told you that you were okay on fuel, what clicked in your head to try and go get it because you had no idea where Van Gisbergen was?

“I was really struggling under the braking zones. Felt like I could get off the corner better than anyone, but, I mean, what are you going to do? He had 16 lap fresher tires.

Just strategy, and I feel like I put us behind yesterday putting it in the tire barrier. And then from there, it just kind of trickles and whatnot.

But what is there to be disappointed about, you know? We’ll go to Atlanta (Motor Speedway) next week and try our best. Appreciate Kaulig Racing, Matt Kaulig, Chris Rice, for giving me this opportunity and we’ll try to make the best of it.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 3rd

Was there anything more you had to go up and contend with the 91?

“Well, first off, I really appreciate everyone on our Hooters team for just fighting all weekend. I did not do a very good job yesterday, obviously crashing and crashing again today and just kept putting us in big holes. So I have to certainly be better, but I appreciate the effort and the willingness to keep fighting by everybody on our team. I appreciate that and looking forward to going back to work and trying to get better.

Huge congratulations to Shane (van Gisbergen), man that was a clinic. He made us look really, really bad. He is going to go home and tell all of his friends how bad we are. So, I am looking forward to getting to work and hopefully we can figure out how to run with him at the next one he comes to.”

He is pretty good, but what kind of momentum does this build for you guys in the Playoff push right now?

“Yeah, I am still of the mindset that we need to win. I need to do a lot better job than I did this weekend to go win. We were gifted an opportunity there at the end and I just could not comfortably out-brake someone enough than really putting myself in a vulnerable position. I felt like when we got the track position, I was trying to get Justin (Haley) as quick as I could. I knew Shane was coming and I needed to get that pass done quicker and try to get going there, but just needed more pace and needed to be faster in a lot of different areas. So, like I said, need to go to work a little bit, but proud of the effort and glad our group never quit.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 4th

YOU WERE PATIENT IN THE WET, THEN YOU LIT UP LIKE FIRE WHEN YOU PUT THE SLICKS ON

“Yeah, I was trying to get my confidence built up while it was wet and I knew as long as it didn’t rain, it was eventually going to dry out. So, just didn’t want to hurt my car in the wet and tried to maintain the best I could, which we did. As soon as the lanes started to dry out, we were much better than the people braking. We just had a lot more confidence than the people braking around me and was able to get to second and the pit strategy cycle stuff happened and it kind of messed our race up a little bit. But we were able to rebound to finish fourth. So, a great points day for our team and we needed that. So, had a lot of fun and congrats to the Trackhouse team. I mean, so much respect to them because that was really cool to watch. Him out my windshield making the moves he was making and taking us all to school. So, he is an extremely amazing race car driver and I hope the rest of the world notices that. Its pretty damn cool. So just a pleasure to get to race with him and battle with him a little bit. I know all of Western Springs Speedway in New Zealand is pretty pumped up right now.”

DISREGARDING THE RAIN, WHAT WAS THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE LIKE HERE ON THIS TRACK IN CHICAGO?

“It was an amazing experience and I hope everybody here enjoyed it as much as I did. I hope the fans here that maybe had never been to a race before enjoyed it. I hope the city enjoyed it enough to welcome us back because I felt like the buzz around the city last handful of days was amazing. The crowd stuck around the whole race too. I mean, it was downpouring all race long and I was not sure what kind of crowd we were going to have once we got going and it was great. Without the rain we had yesterday and today, it would have been way better with the concerts and all that. So, hopefully we get another go at it last year because I enjoyed it, I thought NASCAR did a great job with the racetrack, and all that. It got a little messy with the stack up in 11, but aside from that……and we all need to look at that and see how we can do that better to get the lineup right. But, all in all, it was a great event and I just had a great time.”

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1

Finished 5th

“The No. 91 passed me there towards the end of the race. Just finding a rhythm- I just couldn’t find that middle all day long. So when you see someone else do it, and you’re like ‘I’ll trust him, I’ll do it.’

We gave everything we had for the 3CHI Chevy. A good top-five finish; solid run. I wanted more, obviously. I felt like I could’ve got the next two, at least. Just trying to maintain and come home with a good top-five at the end.”

From wet tires to slicks, and the track was still wet in parts – what was that like?

“Just slick. Just ice to start. You’re trying to brake as hard as you can, as deep as you can, into these turn; but yet as soft as you can so you don’t lock up tires. That was my issue there getting into Turn Six – I just overstepped it a little bit and got the rears locked up. Just could never get it back under control the whole way in. Just was sliding.

Hate it for my guys that we got back behind there, but again, we had a good car that was able to get us good track position to get a good day out of it.

Thanks to Rowdy Energy, Chevrolet, 3CHI, everybody to get us a good finish again today. We’ll see if we can get this again next week.”

How did you think NASCAR managed the race with single-file restarts and everything?

“They did it alright. That was definitely the way to go. Just trying to finish out two-wide into Turn One with half the track dry, half the track wet, was not going to be good.

Talk about how your day played out in Chicago…

“I mean we put it in the tire barriers there early in the race. Didn’t do us any favors. Trying to get all you can in those icy conditions. It was a bit treacherous, but I just got locked up and couldn’t get it back. Just slid off the track into the tires. Thankfully we didn’t have too much damage. We were able to come in and fix it; get back rolling, get back out there and work on passing some guys. Really wasn’t going too far forward, so we were able to pull a different card on strategy being back there, being back in traffic, and just thinking – maybe, just maybe the race would get cut short for darkness. We played that option and it worked in our favor.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 GET BIOETHANOL CAMARO ZL1

Finished 36th

“Unfortunate ending to an exciting day. Road racing has never come easy to me, but the work and effort has started to show up. Proud of the fight today by the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevy team. As far as clipping the wall, I knew it would be an issue. I even talked about coming to this place knowing you can’t peak out to get more air. In this instance, I didn’t feel like I peaked out, just had my car setup for an early apex, it was turning and just caught the wall. Thankful for our partners at Get Bioethanol. We had the green machine rolling pretty good. We will keep fighting.”

NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 42 WENDY’S CAMARO ZL1

Finished 25th

“Today was kind of crazy – it the course was so different than yesterday – I really had fun yesterday and today was just so different. It was definitely a learning experience for sure. We had good speed in qualifying and had an incident early on. Lost two laps and then got them both back so we battled a bit. We had a lot of fun with Wendy’s this weekend and it was so cool to see how many fans stayed through all that rain to watch the race. I’m proud of what all we did with Wendy’s for bringing out the Baconator to Chicago. We had a fast No. 42 Chevy last time in Atlanta so just looking forward to next week and getting back there. Overall a fun weekend, just wanted a better result.”

ERIC JONES, NO. 43 DRAIVER CAMARO ZL1

Finished 16th

“It was a good day for the DRAIVER Chevy. Just got up there and were in a good spot, then got a little behind and crossed up on pit strategy when they shortened the race. Lost a lot of spots there through that cycle and just never could get them back. Only had 25 laps there and a lot of them were yellow, so it kind of is what it is. I thought we had good speed, a good car. Just got mired too far back in the pack to try and get back up front and contend. Solid day, though. Good car and had a lot of fun.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Noah Gragson, No. 42 Wendys Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 23RD

FINISH: 25TH

POINTS: 32ND

Noah Gragson Post-Race Thoughts: “Today was kind of crazy – the course was so different than yesterday – I really had fun yesterday and today was just so different. It was a learning experience for sure. We had good speed in qualifying and had an incident early on. Lost two laps and then got them both back so we battled a bit. We had a lot of fun with Wendy’s this weekend, and it was so cool to see how many fans stayed through all that rain to watch the race. I’m proud of what all we did with Wendy’s for bringing out the Baconator to Chicago. We had a fast No. 42 Chevy last time in Atlanta so just looking forward to next week and getting back there. Overall, a fun weekend, just wanted a better result.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 Draiver Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 21st

FINISH: 16TH

POINTS: 30TH

Erik Jones Post-Race Thoughts: “It was a good day for our Draiver Chevy. We got up there and we were in a good spot but got behind and crossed up on pit strategy when they shortened the race then lost a lot of spots through that cycle. We could never really get them back. We only had twenty-five laps there at the end, and most of them were yellow, so it is what it is. I thought we had good speed, the car just got mired a bit too far back in the pack, but we tried to get back up front and contend. It was a solid day, with a good car, and I had a lot of fun.”

ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (NCS) Jimmie Johnson. The club competes full-time in the NCS fielding the Nos. 42 and 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for drivers Noah Gragson and Erik Jones, respectively, along with the No. 84 part-time entry for Johnson in 2023. Richard Petty “The King” serves as team ambassador.

In 2021, Gallagher acquired Richard Petty Motorsports and renamed the team to Petty GMS. With the addition of Johnson to the ownership structure in 2023, the organization rebranded to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (LEGACY M.C.). With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level.

Based in Statesville, N.C., LEGACY M.C. operates alongside GMS Racing (GMS), which currently fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Since the formation of GMS in 2012, Gallagher and Mike Beam, team president, have shared incredible success. GMS Racing captured the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championships and the 2019 and 2020 ARCA East championships, accumulating over 65 wins across six national racing circuits.

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Inaugural Grant Park 220

Date: July 2, 2023
Event: Inaugural Grant Park 220 (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Chicago Street Course (temporary 2.2-mile, 12-turn street circuit)
Format: 100 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/25 laps/55 laps)
Note: Race was shortened 22 laps shy of its scheduled 100-lap distance due to darkness.
Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Race Finish:

● Aric Almirola (Started 24th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 78 of 78 laps)

● Ryan Preece (Started 28th, Finished 15th / Running, completed 78 of 78 laps)

● Chase Briscoe (Started 16th, Finished 20th / Running, completed 78 of 78 laps)

● Kevin Harvick (Started 35th, Finished 29th / Running, completed 78 of 78 laps)

SHR Points:

● Kevin Harvick (7th with 523 points, 68 out of first)

● Ryan Preece (25th with 312 points, 279 out of first)

● Aric Almirola (27th with 297 points, 294 out of first)

● Chase Briscoe (31st with 207 points, 384 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Almirola earned his best result since finishing sixth April 16 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

● This was Preece’s sixth straight finish of 17th or better.

● Briscoe finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn a bonus point.

Race Notes:

● In his first career NASCAR Cup Series start, Shane van Gisbergen won the inaugural Grant Park 220, becoming the first driver in 60 years to win in his Cup Series debut. The New Zealander and three-time Supercars champion beat second-place Justin Haley by 1.259 seconds. The last time a Cup Series driver won in his first career start was Johnny Rutherford at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in 1963.

● Van Gisbergen was the 12th different winner in the 18 NASCAR Cup Series races run this season.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 21 laps.

● All but three of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Martin Truex Jr., remains the championship leader after Chicago with a nine-point advantage over second-place William Byron.

Sound Bites:

“What an awesome event. It’s almost dark out and the city’s lit up. Amazing event. My hat is off to NASCAR, the city of Chicago, everybody who thought about putting on this event. What an amazing event. I’m glad to have a good run, too – the start of the turnaround of our season, hopefully. It was pretty dicey there in the wet. I’m not going to lie. I was tip-toeing around just trying to not crash, trying to survive, and I’m so glad that it finally dried out and we got slicks on and got those rain tires off. I was way more competitive in those conditions. Just super proud of Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) and everybody on this Smithfield Ford Mustang team. We’re grinding. We’re fighting and, hopefully, this is the turn we need to go get us a win here in the next few races.” – Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang

“Truthfully, for a street course, I think it raced better than I thought it would. There are definitely parts that can be improved, like widening the track, but all things considered, it surprised me compared to what I thought it was going to be. I thought there were a ton of fans here, and I thought the event was cool. I would’ve loved for the weather to cooperate so we could’ve seen what this event could’ve really turned into, because there were still so many people out there for how bad the weather was. Hopefully, we can do it again, do a couple things better, and put on an even better race.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Atlanta 400 on Sunday, July 9 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The race begins at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Grant Park 220 | Sunday, July 2, 2023

Ford Finishing Results:

6th – Austin Cindric

7th – Michael McDowell

8th – Joey Logano

10th – Chris Buescher

12th – Aric Almirola

15th – Ryan Preece

19th – Todd Gilliland

20th – Chase Briscoe

21st – Jenson Button

24th – Brad Keselowski

26th – Andy Lally

29th – Kevin Harvick

30th – Harrison Burton

33rd – Ryan Blaney

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – CONSIDERING WHERE YOU STARTED THE DAY, IT SEEMED TO WORK OUT. “The entire 2 team started the day with very wet shoes and socks. I know everyone was kind of in that same boat, but these guys have been working their tails off since I hit the same wall twice yesterday. I’m just really proud of the team, not just the effort. I mean, Jeremy made a great strategy call and had great forethought with what was gonna happen with the weather and the timing and everything. We kept it off the wall and was able to have some speed at the end of the race to really contend inside of the top 10 and really earn a good finish. I’m just proud of everybody on this Discount Tire Ford Mustang. It’s not what I want. I want to win, but we’ve had a really tough stretch and this is a good step in the right direction.”

WHAT ABOUT HOW THIS EVENT PLAYED OUT AND THE ADVERSITY EVERYONE HAD TO OVERCOME? “I really hope we come back. The city of Chicago, everything that NASCAR has done to do this for the first time, I give it an A-plus by both parties. I think we all really enjoyed it and I think that we know it would have been bigger without the weather and with the concerts. I was watching the whole race and people started coming back. By the end of the race, we had people lining fences on both sides every corner, so it’s cool to see. We have a lot of momentum in the sport, but I hope we come back.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Chicago Pneumatic Compressors – WHAT WERE YOUR OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF RACING THIS TYPE OF COURSE? “Yeah, it was a wild race – starting in a decent amount of rain and then drying out. Even when it was dry though, there were wet spots which is pretty crazy. Unfortunately, with the race being shortened, our strategy wasn’t for that, right? So, we ended up restarting like 18th there. Happy to pass a lot of cars to get back there, but we just didn’t quite have enough to get to the front.”

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE RACES LIKE THIS ON THE SCHEDULE? “Yeah, I like it. I think that the weekend was such a great opportunity to put on a really good show, and hopefully we did. You know, I hate it for all the fans – missing all the concerts and all the extra activities. But, glad we got the race in. We all fought hard there.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang – WHAT WERE YOUR OVERALL IMPRESSIONS OF THE WEEKEND? “It was hard to race. I mean, there were some passes made. It’s not probably any harder than any other track that we go to. Overall, I’d say this was a success. I’d say more cautions than normal on a road course because of the walls, but hey, we got it in today. That was good.”

DO YOU THINK MOST DRIVERS WHO HADN’T EXPERIENCED THIS STYLE OF RACING CAME TO GRIPS QUICKLY TO IT? “Somewhat. It took longer than normal. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do.”

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE RACES LIKE THIS ON THE SCHEDULE? “It’s not up to me. I thought as far as an event, for NASCAR, I think it was a total success from that standpoint. I think the racing was probably pretty decent, too. I don’t even get to see a part of the race – I was inside the car. It was probably a better race than I think.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang – “What an awesome event. It’s almost dark out and the city’s lit up. Amazing event. My hat is off to NASCAR, the city of Chicago, everybody who thought about putting on this event. What an amazing event. I’m glad to have a good run, too – the start of the turnaround of our season, hopefully. It was pretty dicey there in the wet. I’m not going to lie. I was tiptoeing around just trying to not crash, trying to survive, and I’m so glad that it finally dried out and we got slicks on and got those rain tires off. I was way more competitive in those conditions. Just super proud of Drew and everybody on this Smithfield Ford Mustang team. We’re grinding. We’re fighting and hopefully this is the turn we need to go get us a win here in the next few races.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang – THAT WAS A WILD RACE. TAKE US THROUGH YOUR DAY. “It was pretty smooth for us in our Fastenal Mustang. I’m proud. We made some good changes after practice and had a fast race car there. We strategized to go to 100 laps and that call kind of mid-strategy really got us. I felt like then just trying to figure out all the cars getting spots back. I don’t understand. It felt like a lot of things didn’t make sense to me today, but the course was pretty decent. At the end of the day it was pretty decent. It put on some decent racing at certain times and in different spots. I think we had a better car than where we finished, I know we did, but we just got caught up in the way the race played out. I can’t believe we raced today, either. Congratulations to van Gisbergen. That’s pretty impressive to come to your first race and run that well and win the thing. He was really good yesterday, so that’s pretty impressive. Congrats to them. I’m proud of our team. That’s another top 10, but that should have been a better day and I don’t feel like we got any way to show it.”

YOU’VE HAD SPEED ALL YEAR. DOES THIS GIVE YOU MOMENTUM? “It certainly does. Our whole team has come so far in the last 18 months. We had some mulligans early last season and we’ve been rolling really well since. We’ve had a really strong year with lots of really good races for us. We’re working on the points part of it and working on working our way into the playoffs that way, but really just want to get a win. We’re in the hunt. We need a little bit more to be consistently hunting for that win, but these top 10s are stacking up and I’m really proud of our group for that and all the work that continues to go into it. I want a checkered flag.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang – WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE RACING TODAY ON THIS STYLE OF COURSE? “Truthfully, for a street course, I think it raced better than I thought it would. There are definitely parts that can be improved like widening the track and other certain things. But, all things considered, it surprised me compared to what I thought it was going to be. I thought there were a ton of fans here, and I thought the event was cool. I would have loved for the weather to cooperate, so we could have seen what this event could’ve really turned into. Because, there were still so many people out there for how bad the weather was. Hopefully, we can do it again, do a couple things better, and put on an even better race.”

DO YOU LIKE THE LEVEL OF VARIABILITY NASCAR HAS INCORPORATED INTO ITS SCHEDULE? “Yeah, I think so. We’re definitely the most diverse series there is with the amount of different things we run on. I do think that it opens up the playing field for guys to come in, and you don’t see the same guy winning week-in and week-out because it is so different week-in and week-out. I don’t know if we need more than one or two of them, but it was encouraging and really cool.”

JENSON BUTTON, No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang – HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THIS RACE? “I was enjoying it until I got turned around on the way into the pits. It was a real shame. I think we pitted at the right time. We went from wets to dries. It was a tricky choice. I couldn’t see out of the wind screen it was so dirty, but I think it was the right choice. When we got turned around we lost 15 place plus, so that made it very difficult, but it was fun out there. I had some good fights. I got overtaken by some, but I overtook a lot more, so it was enjoyable. There’s definitely a bit of work for us all to do to challenge the Toyotas especially.”

THE NEXT ONE IS THE INDY ROAD COURSE FOR YOU. THOUGHTS? “I feel that this one was more positive because it’s like a shorter track. I think it’s gonna be tricky in Indianapolis. I’m a little bit worried, but I’ll look forward to it and do the best that I can.”

GIBBS LEADS TOYOTA WITH NINTH-PLACE FINISH AT CHICAGO STREET RACE
Ties Career-Best Finish in Historic Street Race

CHICAGO (July 2, 2023) – Ty Gibbs led Toyota with a ninth-place finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course that was shortened to 75 laps due to darkness. Gibbs tied his career-best series finish with the ninth-place result on Sunday. Denny Hamlin won the pole for the first-ever NASCAR street race and joined Gibbs in the top-15 for Toyota. Christopher Bell led a race-high 37 laps (of 78) and went on to finish 18th.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Chicago Street Race
Race 18 of 36 – 220 miles, 100 laps (race shortened to 75 laps due to darkness)

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Shane Van Gisbergen*

2nd, Justin Haley*

3rd, Chase Elliott*

4th, Kyle Larson*

5th, Kyle Busch*

9th, TY GIBBS

11th, DENNY HAMLIN

18th, CHRISTOPHER BELL

28th, TYLER REDDICK

31st, BUBBA WALLACE

32nd, MARTIN TRUEX JR.

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

What was your experience like in the Chicago Street Race today?

“It was really good. I felt like we had a really fast Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry. I think we had a really good points day. We got in the fence there a little bit from the 22 (Joey Logano) and hurt the right rear a lot so I couldn’t really make a charge back up front. I feel like we could maybe have had a top-five day. It was good to finish ninth, so we’ll just keep going.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 11th

How was your race today?

“We had a really fast car. We were extremely fast, and we’ve made such huge strides on road courses, that was a lot of fun. I wish I didn’t give up the track position early in the wet. Once we got dry this thing was just so fast. Then, we got flipped (in the running order) because they changed the end of the race. There were 15 cars there that unfortunately ended up with a better strategy that was unplanned. I’m pretty happy with our Yahoo Camry and I’m looking forward to going to the Indy road course now.”

About Toyota

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