Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #91 Enhance Health Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, races to victory Sunday, July 2, 2023, during the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race, the Grant Park 220, through the streets of Chicago, Illinois. This is the first NASCAR CUP victory for the New Zealander in his first ever NASCAR Cup race. He is a three time Supercars champion. (Photo by Tom Copeland/HHP for Chevy Racing)
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Kyle Busch: Like many drivers, Busch slammed into the Turn 6 tire barrier and had to be helped out by a tow truck to continue. Busch recovered and charged to a finish of fifth, posting his sixth top-five of the year.
“Luckily,” Busch said, “I know exactly what to do in a situation like that. I can’t tell you how many times, one instance very recent, in which I’ve needed to be pulled out of a serious jam.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Chicago and survived an early spin to come home 11th in the Grant Park 220.
“It was tricky driving on a wet track,” Hamlin said. “You could say I ‘lost it,’ which is pretty much what I do in every episode of my podcast, ‘Actions Detrimental.’ Considering my spin, this week’s podcast will be subtitled ‘Traction’s Instrumental.'”
3. William Byron: Byron hit the tire barrier in Turn 11 on Lap 50 and caused a chain reaction, which blocked half the track, causing a massive logjam as cars tried to find a way through. Byron lost track position and ultimately finished 13th.
“I felt helpless,” Byron said. “Heck, all I could do was ‘sit there and watch,’ which made me remember that I’m happy to have Liberty University as a sponsor.”
4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex ran in the top five for the majority of the Grant Park 220, but his day was ruined when he spun exiting Turn 5 and fell to 35th. His day ended for good on Lap 67, when he slid deep into a tire barrier. He finished 32nd.
“I think NASCAR needs to add more street circuits,” Truex said. “I think it’s cool to drive a track and be able to look up and see skyscrapers, which is also the only vantage point in which fans can actually see the action.”
5. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 22nd at Chicago.
“I really wasn’t a factor at all in this race,” Chastain said. “When I am a factor in a race, I’m usually the winner or the reason someone doesn’t win.”
6. Christopher Bell: Bell won Stage 1 and 2 at Chicago and finished 18th after a lot of late-race drama.
“I just had a lot of bad luck,” Bell said. “First, I lost all my track position when William Byron caused a pileup on Lap 49, then I hit the tire barrier in Turn 1 in my haste to make up ground. It just goes to show that on a street circuit, anything can happen, including a driver winning in his very first Cup start, beating pretty much every full-time Cup driver. His name is Shane Van Ginsbergen. He just put New Zealand on the map. Most NASCAR fans couldn’t find New Zealand on a map.”
7. Kyle Larson: Larson started charging in Stage 2 and finished fourth in the Grant Park 220.
“Saturday’s Xfinity race was postponed halfway through due to inclement weather,” Larson said. “What’s worse, the Chainsmokers concert was totally canceled. Many fans remember the good old days of NASCAR, like in the 1970s, when if you mentioned the ‘chainsmokers,’ you were referring to every single NASCAR driver.”
8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 29th at Chicago.
“I’ve just got one suggestion,” Harvick said. “If you’re holding a race called the Grant Park 220 on a street circuit, why not just call in the ‘Grant Prix?'”
9. Joey Logano: Logano survived a trip into the Turn 6 tire barrier on Lap 22, and continued with little to no damage. He methodically made his way to the front and finished eighth.
“That Turn 6 tire barrier really had a busy day,” Logano said. “I think nearly every driver made contact with it. That tire barrier has subsequently been renamed ‘Ross Chastain.'”
10. Ryan Blaney: Blaney tagged the Turn 6 wall hard on Lap 18, the damage of which severely compromised his car. He finished 33rd.
“This city is known for its Chicago-style hot dog,” Blaney said. “It’s a little different from the Martinsville hot dog, in that it’s not lethal.”
Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 91 Enhance Health Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, celebrates his victory Sunday, July 2, 2023, after winning the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race, the Grant Park 220, through the streets of Chicago, Illinois. This is the first NASCAR CUP victory for the New Zealander in his first ever NASCAR Cup race. He is a three time Supercars champion. (Photo by Harold Hinson/HHP for Chevy Racing).
History was made in the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural running of the Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday, July 2, as Shane Van Gisbergen succeeded against the stars of NASCAR’s premier series by scoring his first NASCAR victory in his series debut.
Van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, led nine of 78 over-scheduled laps, including the final eight, in a weekend where he made his inaugural presence in NASCAR as he was serving as the second-ever competitor to pilot Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 entry. Qualifying in third place, he finished in the top five and scored stage points during both stage periods while remaining within sight of the front-runners in an event that was delayed by 90+ minutes due to heavy precipitation that ultimately shortened the event to 25 laps of its scheduled distance.
After keeping pace with the front-runners, Van Gisbergen, who nearly overtook Justin Haley for the lead with eight laps remaining amid a late caution period, fended off a late challenge from Haley during a restart with five laps remaining to assume the lead. He then appeared to be cruising to victory before the caution returned with two laps remaining for another on-track incident and the event was sent into overtime. During the event’s lone overtime period, however, Van Gisbergen was not to be denied as he rocketed away from the field and held off the competition through a two-lap shootout to win in his NASCAR debut.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, July 1, Denny Hamlin claimed his third Cup pole of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 89.557 mph in 88.435 seconds. Joining him on the front row was his 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 89.513 mph in 88.479 seconds.
Prior to the event, the following names that included Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. dropped to the rear of the field as all started the event in backup cars. William Byron, Austin Cindric, Todd Gilliland and Justin Haley also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.
Once the engines fired and the competitors rolled off of pit road amid a delay of more than 90 minutes due to heavy precipitation that nearly flooded the course, the competitors filed in a single file line under a cautious pace and behind the pace car for several laps, with the second lap featuring the competitors rolling through pit road.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced amid a single file start, Hamlin received an early challenge from Reddick entering the first left-hand turn. With Hamlin slipping the turn, Reddick would maintain his early challenge on Hamlin through E. Balbo Dr. and entering the second, right-hand turn. Both would duel for the top spot through Turns 3 to 5 until Reddick pulled ahead with the lead entering S. Columbus Dr. in between Turns 5 and 6. Reddick continued to maintain the top spot through Turn 6 while behind, Aric Almirola spun his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang just past Turn 5.
Then ahead of Almirola’s incident, more early trouble ignited in Turn 6 when Erik Jones made contact with Brad Keselowski while trying to brake his No. 43 Draiver Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 amid the slick circuit entering Turn 6 as both competitors along with rookie Noah Gragson made light contact against the tire barriers with little damage to their respective entries. Amid the chaos, the race remained under green as all competitors continued. With the leaders returning to the frontstretch, Reddick proceeded to lead the first lap in his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry ahead of Hamlin.
During the second lap and with the field still navigating its way through the 12-turn circuit under competitive, slick conditions, early trouble struck for the pole-sitter Hamlin, who slipped and made contact against the Turn 2 tire barriers. With Hamlin falling back to 14th and the race remaining under green, Reddick continued to lead by more than a second over Christopher Bell while third-place Shane Van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion who qualified an impressive third place in his NASCAR debut while piloting Trackhouse Racing’s No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, was in third. Behind, Daniel Suarez was in fourth ahead of Michael McDowell while Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Jenson Button and rookie Ty Gibbs were in the top 10.
Then on the third lap, the first caution of the event flew when Kyle Busch, who was running in 16th, went dead straight into the Turn 6 tire barriers amid the slick conditions as the front nose and windshield of Busch’s No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was wedged underneath the tire barriers. In spite of the incident, Busch received assistance from a wrecker to have his car towed out of the barriers as he proceeded under a cautious pace.
When the race restarted under green on the fifth lap, Reddick maintained the lead ahead of Bell, Van Gisbergen, Suarez and McDowell while the field behind remained in a long single file line before fanning out through the first five turns. With Reddick leading by more than a second over Bell, McDowell commenced his early charge to the front during the following lap by battling Suarez for fifth as Logano tried to close in to join the battle.
On the eighth lap, Reddick slipped through Turns 6 and 7, which allowed Bell to capitalize and cycle his No. 20 Craftsman Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. By then, Van Gisbergen maintained third while McDowell and Truex were running in the top five ahead of Suarez and Kyle Larson.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Bell was leading by more than two seconds over Reddick followed by Van Gisbergen, McDowell and Truex while Suarez, Larson, Jenson Button, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs were running in the top 10. Behind, Logano had fallen back to 11th ahead of Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Corey LaJoie and Alex Bowman while Chase Briscoe, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon and Josh Bilicki were running in the top 20. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney was back in 21st ahead of Ross Chastain, Andy Lally, William Byron and Chase Elliott while Ty Dillon, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton, Kevin Harvick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were mired in the top 30. By then, Brad Keselowski was strapped back in 35th and Kyle Busch was running in 37th, dead last.
Two laps later and amid a series of jostles and on-track battles ensuing around the 12-turn circuit, the second caution of the event flew when Noah Gragson wrecked his No. 42 Wendy’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 against the Turn 6 tire barriers as he smoked his rear tires while unsuccessfully trying to reverse his car out of the barriers. Like Busch’s incident, Gragson received assistance from the wrecker to have his car towed out from the barriers before he proceeded under caution.
During the second caution period, select names that included Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Harvick and Gragson pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.
During the following restart on Lap 15, Bell launched ahead with a strong start as he maintained the lead through the first turn with Reddick in pursuit. With the field maintaining a long single file line through the first five turns, Bell started to stretch his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Reddick and more than a second over Van Gisbergen while Truex was in fourth ahead of McDowell, Suarez and Larson. In the midst of the on-track battles, Bowman and LaJoie, both of whom bumped and battled fiercely on the track earlier, battled hard for 14th through Turns 8 to 12 while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece battled behind for 16th.
At the conclusion of the first stage period on Lap 20, Bell captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Reddick trailed in the runner-up spot by more than a second while Van Gisbergen, Truex, McDowell, Suarez, Larson, Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs and Jenson Button were scored in the top 10. Shortly after, select names that included Bowman, LaJoie and Briscoe pitted under green for slick tires. By then, Blaney, who slapped the Turn 6 concrete barriers, had plummeted to the bottom of the leaderboard as he continued without drawing a caution.
With the event proceeding under green to start the second stage on Lap 21, Bell continued to extend his advantage to more than two seconds over Reddick while third-place Van Gisbergen also trailed by more than two seconds. During the Lap 22 mark, Logano wrecked against the Turn 6 tire barriers, but he managed to reverse his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang and proceed without drawing a caution. Shortly after, more trouble ensued as Jenson Button, who was trying to turn right and enter pit road under green in Turn 12, came across the path of Buescher as he was hit and spun backward towards the pit road entrance. Then as Button tried to loop his No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang around, he was nearly hit by Logano, who was also trying to pit, but both proceeded under a cautious pace for service.
During the proceeding laps, a bevy of names that included McDowell, Buescher, Byron, Ty Dillon, Almirola, Todd Gilliland, Truex, Larson, Elliott, Andy Lally, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Hamlin, Cindric, Erik Jones and Kyle Busch pitted under green for slick tires. The leader Bell would then pit under green along with Reddick, Ross Chastain, Suarez and Stenhouse at the Lap 25 mark while Van Gisbergen cycled into the lead followed by Ty Gibbs and Preece. By then, Elliott, who had collided against the tire barriers in Turn 2 moments after pitting, proceeded without drawing a caution.
Once Van Gisbergen and Ty Gibbs pitted for slick tires through Laps 25 and 26, Bell cycled back into the lead. Van Gisbergen would manage to exit pit road and run in second ahead of Reddick, Truex and Suarez.
On Lap 29, the event’s third caution period flew when Gragson wrecked and got his car stuck against the Turn 6 tire barriers for a second time, with the Las Vegas native unable to reverse his car and proceed without assistance.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 33, Bell retained the lead while Reddick battled and overtook Van Gisbergen for second as Truex and Suarez battled for fourth. As the field made its way through the first five turns, Larson dive-bombed his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up to fourth over Truex and Suarez as Bell navigated his way through Turns 6 to 12 while extending his advantage to more than a second.
Two laps later and at the Lap 35 mark, Larson continued his charge to the front as he overtook Van Gisbergen for third. Suarez, Van Gisbergen’s teammate at Trackhouse Racing, would follow suit while Bell stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Reddick. Behind, Truex fell back to sixth while McDowell, Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs and Buescher were in the top 10.
By Lap 40, Bell was leading by more than three seconds over the new runner-up competitor, Larson, as Reddick fell back to third. By then, Suarez and Van Gisbergen remained in the top five ahead of McDowell and Ty Gibbs while Truex, who was battling for a top-five spot a few laps earlier, slipped back to eighth in front of Allmendinger and Buescher. Shortly after, the fourth caution period flew when Alex Bowman, who was running in 11th, was hit by Hamlin as he spun his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 11 and was mired with oncoming traffic while trying to straighten his car.
With the event restarting under green with two laps remaining in the second stage, Bell retained the lead ahead of a hard-charging Larson through the first two turns as the field fanned out and jostled for positions. With the field still battling as Bowman parked his car near S. Columbus Dr. between Turns 5 and 6 due to a mechanical issue, Bell maintained the lead by over half a second over Larson while Reddick maintained third ahead of Van Gisbergen, McDowell, Ty Gibbs and Suarez, who hit the wall in Turn 1. With Bowman’s car starting to smoke amid the terminal mechanical issue, which affected his hopes of vying for a spot in the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, the caution returned.
The caution period for Bowman’s issue was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 45 to finish under caution as Bell captured his second consecutive stage victory. Larson settled in second ahead of Reddick, Van Gisbergen and McDowell while Ty Gibbs, Suarez, Truex, Allmendinger and Chase Briscoe were scored in the top 10.
During the caution and stage break, a majority of the field led by Bell pitted while 11 competitors led by Justin Haley and Austin Dillon remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Bell exited first followed by Larson, Reddick, Ty Gibbs, McDowell, Suarez and Van Gisbergen. By then, NASCAR shortened its scheduled distance of the event from 100 to 75 due to the upcoming sunset and stemming from the early rain delay.
When the final stage commenced under green with 27 laps remaining, Haley maintained a steady advantage over Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott while Logano, who restarted fourth, slipped in Turn 1, which allowed Byron to move up to fourth. With Bell strapped back in 11th, Haley maintained the lead through the first six turns before entering Turns 7 to 11 through S. Michigan Ave.
Shortly after, the caution returned when Byron, who was running in the top five, collided into the Turn 11 tire barriers after overdriving his No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the corner. Byron’s incident ignited a massive stack-up as Harvick, who was trying to avoid hitting Byron, slipped sideways and spun his No. 4 Gearwrench Ford Mustang just past Turn 11 along with LaJoie, who got hit by Almirola as a host of competitors running within the top 15 towards the bottom of the leaderboard, had to jam on the brakes as the turn was blocked. Among the competitors stuck in the stack-up and the sideway competitors of Harvick and LaJoie included Bell, Larson and Truex while Reddick, Gibbs, Suarez, Van Gisbergen, Allmendinger and Buescher managed to escape the carnage.
During the proceeding restart with 23 laps remaining, Haley rocketed away from the field following a strong restart as Austin Dillon tried to keep pace with Haley. With Elliott trailing in third place and more than a second behind, Logano was in fourth followed by Kyle Busch and Cindric while Reddick was still scored in seventh ahead of Ty Gibbs. With Truex spinning in Turn 5, the race remained under green flag conditions as Haley retained the lead by nearly half a second. Soon after, Wallace missed the corner in Turn 11 as he had to loop his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry around to proceed and blend back onto the racetrack without drawing a caution.
With 20 laps remaining, Haley was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon, Elliott, Logano and Kyle Busch while Reddick, Cindric, Gibbs, Almirola and Larson were in the top 10. By then, Bell was mired back in 11th ahead of Byron, Van Gisbergen, McDowell and LaJoie while Harvick, Allmendinger, Buescher, Hamlin and Suarez were running in the top 20. Soon after, more on-track drama continued as Chastain and Gilliland made contact in Turn 1 while Gragson spun and hit the wall in Turn 6 again. Not long after, Bell’s run that started off on a strong note and soon went to bad became worse as he spun in Turn 1, though he managed to continue without drawing a caution.
Then with 18 laps remaining, the caution flew when Reddick, who was trying to charge his way back to the front and running in fourth, collided into the Turn 6 barriers, with the Californian unsuccessful in reversing his car out of the barriers as he smoked the rear tires off of his No. 45 Toyota.
Down to the final 15 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Haley maintained the lead over Austin Dillon and Elliott as the field remained in a long single-file line while jostling for late positions. Through the 12-turn circuit and back to the frontstretch, Haley would continue to lead in his No. 31 Benesch Law Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by half a second over Austin Dillon with Elliott’s No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in close pursuit.
Then during the following lap, Austin Dillon, who tried to set a move on Haley for the lead, bounced off the wall entering Turn 12, which caused his No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to shoot back across the track and wreck against the tire barriers. Despite sustaining significant right-front damage to his car, Dillon proceeded without drawing a caution and would wait for the entire field to overtake him before he reversed his car onto pit road and to his pit box. This allowed Elliott to move up to second followed by Kyle Busch, Logano and Cindric while Haley retained the lead.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Haley was leading by more than a second over Elliott followed by a hard-charging Van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch and Larson while Logano, Cindric, McDowell, Ty Gibbs and Almirola were in the top 10. By then, more on-track issues ignited as Truex slid into Harvick entering Turn 1 as both spun and wrecked with Harrison Burton also wrecking into the tire barriers while trying to avoid the carnage.
Two laps later, the caution flew when Truex wrecked again, this time against the tire barriers in Turn 1. At the time of caution, Haley was scored the leader by over Van Gisbergen, who had overtaken Elliott a few turns earlier and had nearly overtaken Haley for the lead in between Turns 6 and 7.
With the race restarting under green with five laps remaining, Haley maintained the lead entering the first turn ahead of Van Gisbergen. Then in Turn 2, Van Gisbergen made his move beneath Haley and overtook him for the lead. Haley, however, returned the favor through Turns 3 and 4 and briefly reassumed the top spot before Van Gisbergen crossed over in his No. 91 Enhance Health Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 over Haley’s Camaro and overtook him again in Turn 5 and through S. Columbus Dr. in between Turns 5 and 6. Van Gisbergen then began to extend his advantage to nearly a second over Haley as the field behind jostled for positions with four laps remaining.
With two laps remaining, Van Gisbergen was still leading by more than a second over Haley while third-place Elliott trailed by more than two seconds along with Larson and Kyle Busch. Then not long after and with Van Gisbergen having full control of the event, the caution flew and the event was sent into overtime when Bubba Wallace slid and sent Ricky Stenhouse Jr. into the Turn 1 barriers.
At the start of the first overtime attempt, Van Gisbergen muscled away from Haley, Elliott and the field through Turns 1 and 2 before making his way through Turns 3 to 5 in clean air. Van Gisbergen started to place a reasonable gap between himself and Haley through S. Columbus Dr. before making his way through Turns 6 to 12 with the top spot.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Van Gisbergen remained as the leader by less than four-tenths of a second over Haley. With both Haley and Elliott unable to mount a late charge nor close back towards Van Gisbergen, the New Zealander was able to execute a flawless final lap out in clean air and through the 12-turn circuit in Downtown Chicago before he cycled back to the frontstretch and win in his NASCAR debut by more than a second over Haley.
With the victory in the inaugural Chicago Street Course, Shane Van Gisbergen became the 204th different competitor to achieve a win in the NASCAR Cup Series and the first competitor in the modern era of NASCAR, seventh overall and the first since Johnny Rutherford won at Daytona in 1963 to win in a premier series debut.
In addition to recording the fifth overall victory for Trackhouse Racing and the second in recent weeks after the team won at Nashville Superspeedway with Ross Chastain last week, the 33-year-old Van Gisbergen, who has notched three Supercars titles and holds 78 victories in the division, also recorded the first win for Trackhouse’s Project No. 91 entry led by former championship-winning crew chief Darian Grubb, who notched his 24th career victory and first since winning with Carl Edwards at Darlington Raceway in September 2015. The win was also the first for the number 91 in the Cup Series since 1953 made by Tim Flock.
Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #91 Enhance Health Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, races to victory Sunday, July 2, 2023, during the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race, the Grant Park 220, through the streets of Chicago, Illinois. This is the first NASCAR CUP victory for the New Zealander in his first ever NASCAR Cup race. He is a three time Supercars champion. (Photo by Jim Fluharty/HHP for Chevy Racing).
“No, of course not, but you always dream of it,” Van Gisbergen, who was asked on the possibility of winning, said on NBC. “Thank you so much to the Trackhouse team and the Enhance Health Project 91 [team]. Man, what an experience and the crowd out here. This was so cool. It’s what you dream of. Hopefully, I can come and do more. The racing was really good. Everyone was respectful and it was tough, but a lot of fun.”
“Anything is possible,” Van Gisbergen, who evoked a message to his hometown fans in New Zealand, added. “The fans in Australia and New Zealand, the response and the support I’ve got from everyone, even over here, how welcoming everyone is, I can’t believe it. A dream come true. I’m doing one more year in [Australia] and then, I’d love to come over here [to NASCAR full time].”
Haley, who led 23 laps compared to Van Gisbergen’s nine, ended up in the runner-up spot for his fifth top-five career result in the Cup circuit while Elliott, Larson and Kyle Busch finished in the top five.
“It was tough,” Haley said. “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 [I’m] just really proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing. What an awesome event. [I] Can’t wait to come back next year…What is there to be disappointed about? We’ll go to Atlanta next week, try our best.”
Austin Cindric came home in sixth place while McDowell, Logano, Ty Gibbs and Buescher finished in the top 10. Notably, Hamlin ended up in 11th, Bell salvaged an 18th-place result after leading a race-high 37 laps, Jenson Button settled in 21st in his second NASCAR career start, Gragson finished 25th following numerous incidents in Turn 6, Suarez and Reddick fell back to 27th and 28th, respectively, Harvick ended up 29th and Truex settled in 32nd, a lap down.
There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The inaugural Cup Series event at the Chicago Street Course featured nine cautions for 21 laps. In total, 31 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.
With eight Cup regular-season events remaining on the schedule, Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead the regular-season standings by nine points over William Byron, 18 over Ross Chastain, 21 over Christopher Bell and 31 over Kyle Busch.
Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are currently guaranteed spots for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace and rookie Ty Gibbs currently occupy the remaining vacant spots in the Playoffs based on points, with Gibbs occupying the 16th and final vacant spot by six points over Daniel Suarez, 10 over Michael McDowell, 24 over AJ Allmendinger, 26 over Alex Bowman, 45 over both Justin Haley and Austin Cindric, 47 over Corey LaJoie and 55 over Chase Elliott.
Results.
1. Shane Van Gisbergen, nine laps led
2. Justin Haley, 23 laps led
3. Chase Elliot
4. Kyle Larson
5. Kyle Busch
6. Austin Cindric
7. Michael McDowell
8. Joey Logano
9. Ty Gibbs, one lap led
10. Chris Buescher
11. Denny Hamlin
12. Aric Almirola
13. William Byron
14. Corey LaJoie
15. Ryan Preece
16. Erik Jones
17. AJ Allmendinger
18. Christopher Bell, 37 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
19. Todd Gilliland
20. Chase Briscoe
21. Jenson Button
22. Ross Chastain
23. Josh Bilicki
24. Brad Keselowski
25. Noah Gragson
26. Andy Lally
27. Daniel Suarez
28. Tyler Reddick, eight laps led
29. Kevin Harvick
30. Harrison Burton
31. Bubba Wallace
32. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down
33. Ryan Blaney, one lap down
34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
35. Ty Dillon – OUT, Suspension
36. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident
37. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the second and final trip of the season to Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, July 9, at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 02: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #91 Enhance Health Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course on July 02, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service
New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen wins Chicago Street Race in NASCAR debut
CHICAGO—When the Grant Park 220 turned topsy-turvy at the 49-lap mark, the change didn’t slow New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, the first driver to win a race in his first NASCAR Cup Series start since Johnny Rutherford accomplished the feat 60 years ago.
Driving the No. 91 Chevrolet under the aegis of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 program, the three-time Supercars champion charged from eighth on a Lap 61 restart to the front of the field and won the series’ first-ever street race on the Chicago Street Course in overtime.
Asked whether he thought victory was possible in his NASCAR debut, Van Gisbergen chuckled.
“No, of course not, but you always dream of it,” he said. “Thank you so much to the Trackhouse team and (sponsor) 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 changed the tenor of the race dramatically was NASCAR’s decision near the midpoint of the event to shorten the race from the scheduled 100 laps to 75, putting a large group of cars that had pitted on Lap 43 inside their fuel window.
After the previously dominant cars of Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick pitted with others for tires and fuel on Lap 47—Van Gisbergen among them—Justin Haley, Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott led the field to green on a single-file restart on Lap 49. At the time Van Gisbergen was 18th, but not for long.
“Wow, when we had that back strategy back to 18th, I started to worry a bit, but the racing was really good,” said Van Gisbergen. “Everyone was respectful. It was tough, but a lot of fun.”
The Kiwi passed Haley for the lead on Lap 71 and beat him to the finish line by 1.259 seconds, after the sliding car of Bubba Wallace knocked Ricky Stenhouse’s Chevrolet into the Turn 1 tire barrier to cause the ninth caution on Lap 74 and force overtime.
The decision to shorten the race was a saving grace for Elliott, who had crashed his No. 9 Chevrolet during qualifying and started from the rear of the field in a backup car. Elliott held third after the final restart and finished ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch, who were fourth and fifth, respectively.
“Once they changed that race distance, we got pretty fortunate to end up being able to make it on gas,” Elliott said. “We kind of inadvertently flipped the strategy.”
Haley, who started 36th after crashing in practice on Saturday, said he was beaten by a world-class driver on 16-lap better tires.
“Yeah, it was tough,” Haley said. “I put it in the tire barrier yesterday and we stayed up all night. I stayed with the guys through the rain and rewrapped this thing, put a new body on it…
“Obviously congrats to Project91. It sucks, obviously, where we are right now we don’t have a… 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.”
Shortening the race wasn’t what Bell wanted or needed. He had overtaken Reddick for the lead on Lap 9 and won the first 20-lap stage by a comfortable margin. After a cycle of green-flag pit stops, Bell held an advantage of nearly nine seconds before Noah Gragson’s third adventure into the Turn 6 tire barrier caused the third caution on Lap 29.
By then, drivers had transitioned from wet tires at the start of the event to slicks as the racing line dried out.
Bell survived two subsequent cautions and won Stage 2 under yellow after Alex Bowman stopped on the track at the exit from Turn 5 because of engine issues. By then, Larson had worked his way into the second position and was hounding Bell before the caution.
After the field flipped, Bell finished 18th, thanks to a late spin into a tire barrier.
Delayed for nearly 75 minutes by rain, the historic race was eventful from the start. As soon as the green flag waved, Reddick pulled even with pole winner Denny Hamlin. The drivers raced side-by-side until Reddick cleared Hamlin through Turn 5.
Aric Almirola spun near Turn 6 on the opening lap. Erik Jones drove too deep into Turn 6 and collected Brad Keselowski and Gragson. All three drivers extricated themselves from the tire barrier and continued.
On Lap 2, Hamlin slid sideways into the tire barrier on the outside of Turn 2 and lost 11 positions. A lap later, Busch lost control while making a move off the racing line and plowed nose-first into the tire barrier, causing the race’s first caution.
After a safety crew pulled Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet from the barrier with a tether, Busch rejoined the field without losing a lap. On Lap 13, Gragson buried the nose of his No. 42 Chevy into the barrier in Turn 6, which proved an early trouble spot on the wet street course.
Hamlin never recovered from his accident and finished 11th. Busch, on the other hand, took advantage of his early pit stop to come home fifth.
Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.
NASCAR Cup Series Race – Grant Park 220 Chicago Street Race Chicago, Illinois Sunday, July 2, 2023 (3) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 78. (37) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 78. (26) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 78. (7) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 78. (18) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 78. (31) Austin Cindric, Ford, 78. (6) Michael McDowell, Ford, 78. (9) Joey Logano, Ford, 78. (12) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 78. (15) Chris Buescher, Ford, 78. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 78. (24) Aric Almirola, Ford, 78. (22) William Byron, Chevrolet, 78. (19) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 78. (28) Ryan Preece, Ford, 78. (21) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 78. (10) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 78. (4) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 78. (25) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 78. (16) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 78. (8) Jenson Button, Ford, 78. (34) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 78. (27) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 78. (20) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 78. (23) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 78. (30) Andy Lally, Ford, 78. (5) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 78. (2) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 78. (35) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 78. (32) Harrison Burton, Ford, 78. (14) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 78. (11) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 77. (17) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 77. (36) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 77. (33) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Suspension, 67. (29) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 62. (13) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 40.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 60.281 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 50 Mins, 48 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.259 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 21 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Hamlin 0;T. Reddick 1-8;C. Bell 9-24;S. Van Gisbergen 25;T. Gibbs # 26;C. Bell 27-47;J. Haley 48-70;S. Van Gisbergen 71-78.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Christopher Bell 2 times for 37 laps; Justin Haley 1 time for 23 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen 2 times for 9 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 8 laps; Ty Gibbs # 1 time for 1 lap.
Cole Custer declared winner of rain-shortened Chicago Xfinity race
CHICAGO—Drenching rain and standing water on the Chicago Street Course forced NASCAR to declare Cole Custer the winner of The Loop 121 NASCAR Xfinity Series race three laps short of halfway and five laps short of the completion of Stage 2.
Custer had led all 25 laps of NASCAR’s first-ever street course race before lightning strikes in the area on Saturday caused NASCAR to red flag the race and then to postpone completion until Sunday morning. But the rain persisted, forcing NASCAR’s hand.
“It’s been an awesome weekend overall,” said Custer, who drives the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. “The whole event, the whole thing that NASCAR’s put on here—the whole city—it’s been pretty unreal… The course is such a blast to drive.
“Today, we definitely wish we could have run all the laps. We don’t want to win it this way, but at the end of the day, we had a really fast car. I think everybody knew that.”
This marks the first time NASCAR has declared a winner short of the halfway point or the end of the second stage, the two benchmarks for an official event (with the second criterion in effect starting in 2020 after the advent of stage racing, which was introduced in 2017).
NASCAR issued a statement explaining the decision to curtail the race:
“With standing water and flooding a significant issue at the race track and throughout the city, there was no option to return to racing prior to shifting to NASCAR Cup Series race operations. Throughout the entire planning process for the Chicago Street Race, our relationship with the City of Chicago has been strong and among the most valuable assets in reaching this historic weekend.
“In the spirit of that partnership, returning on Monday for the completion of a NASCAR Xfinity Series event two laps short of halfway was an option we chose not to employ. Based on several unprecedented circumstances, NASCAR has made the decision to declare Cole Custer the winner of the race.”
The victory was Custer’s second of the season, the 12th of his career and his 10th straight top-10 finish this season.
John Hunter Nemechek finished second and leads the series standings by 16 points over Austin Hill, who was credited with a fifth-place result. Nemechek clearly was impressed with the spectacle of NASCAR’s first street race.
“Racing downtown on the streets of Chicago was pretty amazing,” he said. “The whole experience, the atmosphere and how many fans were here — I give a lot of props to everyone at NASCAR. Everyone involved with the Chicago Street Course did an amazing job. Riding around under caution yesterday, being able to see all of the fans lined up three or four rows deep along the fence with no open spots was incredible. Probably one of the best attendances we’ve had so far this year in the Xfinity Series.
“The race went OK for us. I ran P2 from the drop of the green flag until lap 25 when they called it (Saturday). We needed a good stop to be able to make an adjustment and have a shot to contend with Cole for the win and just never had that opportunity. We’ll take that second place, and we’ll move on from it.”
Justin Allgaier finished third and Brett Moffitt fourth. Sammy Smith, Daniel Hemric, Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman and Kaz Grala earned positions six through 10, respectively.
LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sunday, July 2, 2023) – Things could not be going better for Alex Palou, who at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course won his third consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES race to extend his championship lead to a staggering 110 points.
Palou’s victory in The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid helped him become only the second driver since the 2016 season to score a three-peat. That other driver was Scott Dixon, the six-time series champion who opened 2020 with such a streak.
And if Palou needed more confidence as the season moves to its second half, he should know that the last three times an INDYCAR SERIES driver won three races in succession – Dixon in 2013 and ’20, Simon Pagenaud in 2016 – the Astor Challenge Cup followed at year’s end.
Yes, Palou is on a major roll, having won four of the past five races. He even could be riding a five-race winning streak if not for contact on pit road midway through the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The incident with Rinus VeeKay dropped the pole sitter to 27th place, and he stormed back to finish fourth.
Palou is humble, but he conceded this stretch of success is “the best moment of my career so far.”
Palou won this race by 5.0242 seconds over Dixon, but it was another Chip Ganassi Racing teammate that helped the series lead swell so large. Marcus Ericsson, who had been second in the standings, ran over the Arrow McLaren car of fellow Swedish driver Felix Rosenqvist on the opening lap, effectively ending his race.
Ericsson’s crew was able to make repairs to the front suspension of the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz, but it was too much too late. Ericsson finished last in the 27-car field, losing 48 points to the series lead, and he fell to fourth in the standings.
The incident also ended Ericsson’s streak of eight consecutive top-10 finishes to start the season. Guess who is the only driver with a streak that long: Yes, it’s Palou. Considering he won last year’s season-ending race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the 26-year-old Spaniard has compiled 10 straight top-eight finishes with nine of them record in the top five.
And it could continue. Palou finished third in last year’s Honda Indy Toronto, the next race on the schedule (July 16).
“I know we can have some good couple of races coming up now, and we’ll still try and maximize (points), do the best we can and win when we can,” the driver of the No. 10 The American Legion Honda said. “So, yeah, try and get (the car) on top.”
Palou trailed NTT P1 Award winner and Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda) and fellow front-row starter Graham Rahal (No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) through the first segment of the race, but he swiped the top position during the first pit exchange. Herta went to pit road first, on Lap 28, and while Rahal waited a lap to make his stop, Palou conserved fuel behind him.
Herta and Rahal came out of the pits with new primary tires, but Palou switched to the faster alternative compound, allowing him to rocket past them to the lead.
Palou had the field covered the rest of the way. His only difficulty came during a sequence when he took several laps to overhaul the No. 55 AJ Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet of series rookie Benjamin Pedersen. In that stretch, Palou’s 8-second lead was cut in half, but he quickly regained all of that advantage once clearing Pedersen on Lap 55.
After Palou made his second and final pit stop on Lap 54, Herta and Rahal came to pit road on consecutive laps, and both had trouble. Herta’s car nearly got away from him at pit entrance, and the errant momentum caused him to exceed the speed limit, drawing a drive-through penalty. Rahal arrived at his pit box without concern, but trouble mounting the left rear tire led to a slow stop. As a result of those bobbles, the fastest two cars in qualifying dropped to the eighth (Rahal) and 12th (Herta) positions.
Rahal finished seventh, Herta 11th as Palou continued on without incident.
“I had a good car and good strategy, honestly,” Palou said. “We’ve got a really fast car, (but) we knew we needed to try something different to the guys starting up front – that’s why we started on primary (tires). Everything went well. The strategy, the pit stops and our pace was pretty good.”
Honda won its sixth race of the year in nine tries.
Dixon did everything he could to remain in contention for a championship that would tie A.J. Foyt’s al-time record. With Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) finishing eighth after a difficult three-stop charge from the 25th starting position, Dixon jumped to second in the standings. Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet) and Ericsson are 116 and 122 points out of the lead with eight races remain. O’Ward is fifth, 127 points in arrears.
Palou’s competitors will need a lot to happen to catch him.
“Anything’s possible,” Dixon said of overcoming the deficit. “Like we’ve always seen, you’re never out of it until you’re out of it. So, we’ll keep trying as hard as possible.
“I know we tied (in points) with (Juan Pablo) Montoya in 2015, and we thought we were possibly out of it (entering the final race). That’s what’s funny about the INDYCAR SERIES and all of the competition, but you’ve got to give them credit, they’re doing a hell of a job.”
Dixon has won six of these Mid-Ohio races, but this was his first second-place finish. The result also was his best of the season as he seeks to extend his series records for seasons with at least one win (currently 20) and consecutive seasons with a win (18).
Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) has similar streaks in play – 18 and 16 years, respectively — and he earned his third podium finish of the season in third place.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard (No. 45 Vivid Clear Rx Honda) and last year’s Mid-Ohio winner, Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet), finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with David Malukas (No. 18 HMD Truck Honda of Dale Coyne Racing with HMD) sixth.
The 27 cars ran a mostly clean race with the exception of Ericsson’s contact with Rosenqvist, which drew a penalty for avoidable contact. Andretti Autosport’s Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 DHL Honda) tried to challenge Palou in Turn 4 on Lap 19 and lost six positions. He finished 17th.
Conor Daly finished 20th while driving the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda as Meyer Shank Racing asked him to stand in for Simon Pagenaud, who endured a wild ride without injury in an accident in Saturday morning’s practice. Pagenaud will be re-evaluated in advance of the Honda Indy Toronto.
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid Race Results
(4) Alex Palou, Honda, 80, Running
(6) Scott Dixon, Honda, 80, Running
(7) Will Power, Chevrolet, 80, Running
(5) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 80, Running
(8) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 80, Running
(12) David Malukas, Honda, 80, Running
(2) Graham Rahal, Honda, 80, Running
(25) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 80, Running
(18) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 80, Running
(13) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 80, Running
(1) Colton Herta, Honda, 80, Running
(15) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 80, Running
(14) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 80, Running
(24) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 80, Running
(16) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 80, Running
(20) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 80, Running
(3) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 80, Running
(11) Jack Harvey, Honda, 80, Running
(17) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 80, Running
(27) Conor Daly, Honda, 80, Running
(19) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 79, Running
(22) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 79, Running
(21) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 79, Running
(26) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 79, Running
(10) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 79, Running
(23) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, 79, Running
(9) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 5, Contact
Race Statistics Winners average speed: 111.125 Time of Race: 01:37:31.9887 Margin of victory: 5.0242 Cautions: 1 Lead changes: 7
Lap Leaders: Herta, Colton 1 – 26 Rahal, Graham 27 Palou, Alex 28 Dixon, Scott 29 – 30 Palou, Alex 31 – 53 Power, Will 54 Rahal, Graham 55 – 56 Palou, Alex 57 – 80
CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO LEXINGTON, OHIO TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP JULY 2, 2023
WILL POWER AND TEAM PENSKE PUT CHEVROLET ON THE PODIUM AT MID-OHIO
Starting seventh, Will Power finished third to earn Chevrolet their 14th podium of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR Series season.
Additionally, Power’s third-place finish gives Team Chevy their 298th podium since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era.
Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet, earned a top-five finish, with Pato O’Ward (eighth) and Alexander Rossi (10th) rounding out the top-10 for the Bowtie brand.
Both Rossi and O’Ward also represented Chevrolet in Sunday morning’s warm up top-10, with fastest lap times at 1:09.1161 (Rossi, seventh) and 1:09.2125 (O’Ward, eighth) respectively.
LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 2, 2023) – Under threatening, overcast and humid skies at the green flag, the rain held off at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course just as Chevrolet raced to a podium finish with Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet taking the checkered flag third. Additionally, Power’s Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet, represented the Bowtie brand in the top-five.
Reflecting on the race, Power said, “Yeah, very solid day. I had no clue where I finished, actually. I saw P3, but thought, ‘Oh wow, third!’ I thought I was like eight or something. There’s no mistakes all day. We drove really hard. Got the fuel when we needed it and had a fast car. Maybe I was a bit slow on my out laps. So, I’ll take a podium any day in this series.”
“Pretty solid day,” noted McLaughlin. “I think we were capable of a podium today. The car was really strong. Just picked our way through the fight. Got held up on our last exchange there, but, annoyingly, but I think we’re in a good spot. I think we’re only 30 points out of second in the championship. [Alex] Palou’s doing a really good job at the moment. It’s up to us and Chevy and everyone else to work hard and catch up to everyone. Really proud of the hard work, but we just need a little more and we’ll be right there. Good day.”
Additionally, Chevrolet was represented in the top-10 by Arrow McLaren INDYCAR teammates Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi, finishing eighth and 10th respectively.
“I was comfortable and happy in the car today, a great job by the entire team to fight from 25th to eighth,” reflected O’Ward. “We didn’t have help from anybody today. No yellows, no lappers, no nothing. I’m happy with our result considering that we truly had to fight for every single position. We passed nearly every single car on the track, so there wasn’t one lap that went through that we weren’t pushing to the absolute maximum, so I’m pleased with that and congratulations to Alex Palou.”
The 10th round of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR Series season takes Team Chevy next to the streets of Toronto for the Honda Indy Toronto Sunday, July 16. With 85 laps, or 151.81 miles determining the victor on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street circuit, the race broadcast airs live Sunday starting at 1:30 pm ET on Peacock. Additional radio coverage is available from INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 160.
TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 RACE RESULTS:
Pos. Driver
3rd Will Power
5th Scott McLaughlin
8th Pato O’Ward
10th Alexander Rossi
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet at Team Penske:
“It was just a tough day. Not what we wanted on the No. 2 car. Great fight for everybody. Great hustle all weekend trying to figure out what this track and road course package needs to be. Proud of our effort for working through it this weekend, but we just didn’t quite get there. Had a tough Saturday, which led a little bit into a tough race. But for us, it’s just keeping going, and trying to work on it one race at a time. Proud of everyone at Team Chevy and PPG, and we’ll go to the next one and try to be better.”
Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:
On the heat and humidity as well as being at a physical racetrack…
“Even though it was hot, I never seem to suffer physically these days. I think it’s because I’m just so attuned to it because I’ve been racing for so many years. It’s just, I rarely feel pain in the car. I probably feel it, but just tune it out.”
Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“It was a frustrating race for us. We got taken out on Lap One by Ericsson. I gave him a lot of room, but I think he misjudged a corner. He came up to say sorry, and he took on the responsibility, but it doesn’t help, you know. We tried to get it back. We tried to run long every stint, hoping for a yellow so we could get a lap back, but it just didn’t work out. We had really good pace in the car, but it just wasn’t our day.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“The race was probably our best session of the weekend, which just goes to show how much of a struggle it was. The team did a good job overnight with a lot of changes to get the car more in the window. It’s disappointing to only have a 10th-place finish, but we’ll move on to Toronto.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 20. Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:
“We had a really good start, we were up three positions in the first few corners. We pitted early on reds on the first stop and that just handcuffed us to fuel strategy the rest of the day. I’m not really sure what happened on the pit sequences, I didn’t get passed on track once but we got leapfrogged all day and ended up falling back a bit. We will go back and look at it, learn from it, grow from it and be better in Toronto.”
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:
“It was a tough race, a lot of work. We were not fast enough. It is tough to pass here and track position is so important. We finished around where we qualified and I think it was that way for the majority of the field. We maximized what we had, but it was a day full of a lot of work with a pretty hard fuel save at the end. I am pretty happy with my execution, but not the result. We have to start doing better.”
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:
“Long day in the office. I thought we obviously had found a better race car than it looked, also wrong strategy trying to run the three (pit stops) instead of the two, but at the end of the day we took a gamble hoping for a later yellow and it just never came. So either way, we need to go and understand why we were so quick at Road America and not so quick here at Mid-Ohio and bring that into Portland and Laguna.”
Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:
“When you look at the weekend as a whole, we as a team with both cars struggled quite a lot actually most of the weekend with our actual pace and we actually made the car feel a lot better throughout the weekend but we’re just struggling as a team to get pace out of the car here. Gave it everything I had in the race to fight for position for the team and yeah, just gave it everything I could. We’re working really hard to figure out how we can get more pace at tracks like this and understand why we happen to have on the other hand why we have very strong pace at places like Road America and other places like that. All in all, we’re working really hard to get better.”
Callum Ilott, No. 77 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:
“P16 overall. Probably could’ve got a little bit more out of that. I had a tough time after the first pit stop, and it wasn’t easy to maintain track position. But after that, once we were going, pace was good, and I was able to move forward a little bit. It’s P16. But, on to the next one. We’ve got Toronto coming up. Last year we were strong there. We have to take these points when we can get them and learn what we can.”
Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:
“We finished our race in Mid-Ohio. Unfortunately, it’s not the race we wanted. Anyway, we finished the race, and now we will focus on the next.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Post-Race Press Conference:
THE MODERATOR: Also joining us finishing third today, Will Power, driving the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet. Third podium of the season for Will. Of course, the defending INDYCAR SERIES champion. 97th podium of his career. He is one shy now of the late great Al Unser for fifth great all-time in that category.
Will, you said on the TV broadcast you looked up and heard at the very end you finished third. A little surprised by it?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I didn’t know where I was the whole race because the last I knew at the start I was P9 and then obviously the whole sequences went on.
Yeah, real fast. Solid day. No mistakes. I think if I got a bit better start, I could have been — it’s hard to say. Obviously Palou is very quick.
Yeah, not much more we could have got out of the day. That was kind of what we had.
THE MODERATOR: Feel good about it? Did you guys need this, need a podium?
WILL POWER: Yeah, obviously everyone needs to beat Palou, but I don’t think — that’s going to be a very tough challenge to beat him in a championship this year. He is so on point in every respect, in every respect.
He is not missing a thing, which is very difficult in this series to be extremely fast, which there are a lot of guys that are, but then being able to do all the disciplines as well plus the intricacies of fuel save, tire conservation, in-and-out laps, the qualifying.
It’s bloody hard to have that all nailed, and he is doing it.
Q. For both of you, the last time a driver won three in a row was you in 2020. You started the season with three victories in a row, and you have had some pretty good seasons. The last year you won with consistency. When you look at a situation where a driver is not only winning the most races, but he is also the most consistent, isn’t that almost an unbeatable combination?
SCOTT DIXON: Definitely. Yeah, it does make it tough. As Will commented, and it’s not just Alex, but Julian, the whole 10 car group are just doing a phenomenal job. Even with Barry as well.
It’s never a single person. The effort is big I think on all the cars in Chip Ganassi right now, but they’re firing on all cylinders.
It’s hard. I think we had a pretty good race today, but obviously we still didn’t have enough to overcome that. I think had a few things changed, same as with Will, same as anybody out there, could have been a bit more racier.
Yeah, it’s going to be tough to beat.
WILL POWER: Yeah, like Scott said, he has a — just from a strategy standpoint as well, which I know it’s the first time he won a championship. That group on that car is very smart. Like, they’re putting it all together. Yeah, it’s an absolute team effort, but he is also nailing it.
I think Ganassi in general seems to have a very good package right now all-around. So they’re a tough group, tough group. All good drivers. Obviously a very strong team. I think we all have a little bit of work to do.
Q. If both of you could talk about the peace of the race, other than the first lap incident between the two drivers from Sweden. It was fast, and it was green all the way until the end. What’s it like out there from the driver’s standpoint to where you’re just out there running all the way to the checkered flag without stopping?
SCOTT DIXON: It was still really tough. I think to get your laps right for me actually and I think talking to Alex, we got pretty loose towards the end of the race, which is a little bit unusual, but lap traffic was pretty tough.
Some of the people seemed tougher than some of the others, but I actually had a couple of pretty good runs on most of them, and it wasn’t too much of an issue.
I know Alex got held up pretty heavily there by the 55. I think we closed about a 10-second gap with him there on that situation.
Yeah, trust me, it’s not easy, man. You’re flat out trying to get as much as you can every lap, and it’s hard work, hard work.
WILL POWER: Yeah, I think that the blue flag rule, it’s crazy. You use push-to-pass up and have to race somebody that’s going to be a lap down like you’re racing for position.
The series is so tight and competitive, and everyone is so good now that I think we could have a blue flag rule. It’s not like we have yellows constantly, and you’re going to get your lap back.
Maybe they do it in the second half of the race, but it’s ridiculous when a leader gives up 10 seconds. I mean, I think you were five seconds down the road, closed it right up. Probably would have overtaken you if I didn’t get held up on going a couple of laps longer.
Yeah, there should be — we should have a talk about it, I think. I don’t know what you think.
SCOTT DIXON: We do every year.
WILL POWER: We tell them every year. They’re, like, yeah, yeah, no, we hear you. Crickets.
THE MODERATOR: It’s better than not hearing it at least.
Q. What is the simple solution there because the car you’re talking about held up quite a few guys today as you are alluding. Is there a solution in the sense of if you’re doing it to everybody, maybe it’s time to move? How do you go about that, Will?
WILL POWER: I think that’s actually the problem is it takes a lot of people to police that because if there’s a blue flag rule and the first guy passes and then you’ve got to have a command blue for everyone, but I think if everyone just understood, if you get the blue flag, you have to let the driver go within the lap.
That I think is their issue is the amount of people in race control that would have to police that. It becomes — I think that’s the thing. It becomes a bit difficult, but we’re at the stage where this competition is so tough maybe we have to add some people to do that.
SCOTT DIXON: I think disabling the OT would be the first kind of…
WILL POWER: The disabling of the OT, and that was the one they say, well, how do we police? Do we disable it for everyone after that? It sounded like that was a big problem, but not like a ton of people go a lap down anymore anyway.
Yeah, disabling the push-to-pass would be a big step if you are going to be a lap down, yeah.
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.
● Cole Custer (3rd with 594 points, 44 out of first)
● Riley Herbst (11th with 429 points, 209 out of first)
Victory Notes:
● Cole Custer’s victory at Chicago marked SHR’s 20th Xfinity Series victory, its second of the season, and its first at Chicago.
● This was SHR’s 99th overall NASCAR victory.
● This was Ford’s first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Chicago.
● This was Custer’s 12th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and his 11th with SHR.
● SHR has won at three of the inaugural Xfinity Series races in the past four seasons. Chase Briscoe won the inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in July 2020, and Aric Almirola won the inaugural Xfinity Series race on June 10 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
SHR Notes:
● Custer earned his second victory of the season and his first victory in one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Chicago.
● This was Custer’s 10th straight top-10. He finished fifth April 1 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, third April 15 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, fourth April 22 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, seventh April 29 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, third May 13 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, third May 29 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, won June 3 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, sixth June 10 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, and ninth last Saturday at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
● Custer won the first two stages to collect 20 bonus points and two playoff points.
● Custer led all of the 25 laps run in this inaugural event at Chicago.
● Herbst earned his 12th top-25 of the season and his first top-25 in one career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Chicago.
Race Notes:
● Cole Custer won The Loop 121 under caution to score his 12th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Chicago.
● There were three caution periods for a total of nine laps.
● Thirty-six of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● John Hunter Nemechek remains the championship leader after Chicago with a 16-point advantage over second-place Austin Hill.
Sound Bites:
“This is pretty awesome. To win at the inaugural NASCAR street course race means a lot. We put on such a cool event here – probably one of the coolest things we’ve done in NASCAR. Obviously, you want to win by running all of the laps, but sometimes it is what it is and a win is a win. We’ll take it as racers. I’m pumped for this No. 00 Haas Automation team. They are crushing it right now, and I can’t thank them enough. We just have to keep it rolling.” – Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang
“I mean you hate to see it end under caution for rain, but sometimes that happens. We had a fast No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang but had to pit to fix damage in the first stage. I had fun driving this course though. We could’ve gotten back up there to the front if the race had continued green, but we’ll take it and move on to Atlanta.” – Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Alsco Uniforms 250 on Saturday, July 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race begins at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Cole Custer was declared the winner of this weekend’s rain-shortened inaugural Loop 121 on the streets of Chicago.
Custer started on the pole and led all of the laps that were completed before rain eventually forced NASCAR to call the race.
The win is Custer’s second of the year and 12th of his NXS career.
It also continues a Ford hot streak that has seen the Blue Oval win three of the last four NXS races overall.
Custer is in a three-way tie for seventh on the all-time Ford NXS win list with Joey Logano and Austin Cindric with 12 victories.
WINNER’S PRESS CONFERENCE
COLE CUSTER, No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang – WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE COURSE YESTERDAY AND TODAY’S CIRCUMSTANCES? “It’s been an awesome weekend overall, just the whole event. The whole thing that NASCAR has put on here and the whole city has been pretty unreal. I think everybody was a little bit skeptical going in and all the drivers, but the course is such a blast to drive. There’s definitely passing zones out there, but it’s such a risk versus reward as a driver. You can push it out there and run fast laps, but you’re gonna be on the edge or wrecking, so it’s definitely a blast to drive and puts it in the driver’s hands a little bit. Today, we definitely wish we could have run all the laps. We don’t want to win it this way, but at the end of the day we had a really fast car and I think everybody knew that. I think this team can compete with anybody out there and we’re really hitting our stride, and I’m really proud of JT and all the guys at the shop who have worked so hard to put us in this situation.”
DID YOU GET TO SEE ANY AREAS OF THE TRACK. ANY CHANCE OF GETTING OUT THERE? “I didn’t even see it, honestly. I was sitting in the car most of the time and I just heard there was a lot of standing water through seven through 11 or so. I’m sure all the Cup guys are praying the rain goes away because they do not probably want to deal with that. It’s wild enough just being by yourself out there in the dry. I can’t imagine it with 40 guys out there in the wet. We’ll see what they’re all made of today if they have to do that.”
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THE FANS WHO WANTED TO EXPERIENCE THIS WEEKEND? “Honestly, it was pretty surreal. On the pace laps we rolled off pit road and you could hear them cheering from the stands between one and two. I’ve never experienced that, I don’t think, anywhere at any other racetrack. They were just screaming and yelling and you could hear them. It was pretty awesome and the stands for an Xfinity race was packed yesterday, so it was definitely a really cool event.”
YOU HAVE YOUR FIRST WIN IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS AFTER GETTING YOUR FIRST POLE IN THE STATE. “Yeah. It’s awesome. We’ve got to do the Stone Cold thing and I think we’re gonna do that after this, but they said it’s a felony to jump in the fountain, so we’re probably not gonna do that, I guess. We wanted to, and we could, you’d just have to get me from jail I guess.”
WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSION OF THE TRACK? “Definitely treacherous. For us, with how the Xfinity cars are with the solid rear axle we wheel hop a lot, so going into turn six, turn four, turn seven, all of them that had bumps going in there were definitely treacherous. One mistake and you wheel hop too much and you’re gonna be in the fence, so it was definitely edge in the Xfinity cars and I’m sure it is in the Cup cars, too. But it’s just finding the limit because the second you step past that limit, you’re in big trouble. It’s definitely nerve-racking for sure.”
HOW AWKWARD IS IT TO BE CELEBRATING 24 HOURS AFTER STARTING? “It is definitely probably the most awkward win I’ve been a part of, just because you’re so disconnected from the race. We raced 24 hours ago, so it’s definitely one of the weirdest wins I’ve ever been a part of, for sure, but we’ll take it. We’re racers and you take it as it comes. We’re proud of it. We’ll take the playoff points and keep it going.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THE FIRST RACE WINNER ON A STREET COURSE? “It’s huge. Being a part of that you’ll take that to the day you die saying that you were the first winner on the Chicago Street Course and the whole event that they’ve put on here. It means a lot and hopefully we can keep it rolling through the season.”
WHAT WAS THE COMMUNICATION LIKE WITH NASCAR TODAY? “I don’t know if anybody knew, really. You go to your car, you get in and it’s like, ‘Oh, there’s standing water,’ and then we’ve got to wait, and then there’s a lightning delay. There were just so many things that happened in the last 24 hours that I think led to this point, so I think it was just so many unforeseen things because this is the first time we’ve ever done this and throwing rain into the equation really throws a curveball at it. It was a lot of confusion, but it is what it is. We can’t control the weather.”
DID YOU FEEL LIKE A GUINEA PIG ON THE TRACK AT ALL? “It actually worked out great for me because I just kind of let the other guys go and they did like the first five minutes and I just watched on TV. Then I rolled out and pulled out right behind Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer, I think, so I just watched them and what they did and kind of caught on because they were the Guinea Pigs the first five laps, then I just followed them.”
IS THERE ANYTHING THE CAN DO TO THE COURSE TO MAYBE MAKE IT BETTER NEXT YEAR? “Maybe a couple of walls. Kevin’s wreck, it was kind of like there’s a double point in that wall that you can’t really see until you hit it, so that could maybe be a little bit better, but, overall, they did such a great job with this. I think, overall, we were really skeptics going here, but seeing the track when we showed up and driving around it we were impressed. I think all of us were impressed of how driveable it was and how racy it was, so I think everybody can hang their hats high on this one. They did a great job. It’s a shame that the rain really threw a big curveball at it. I’m sure in the future they’ll get that better and better, but it was a great weekend that NASCAR and the city did.”
WHAT WERE YOU DOING WHEN YOU WERE DECLARED THE WINNER? “We were just on the pit box and we’re all just waiting around and don’t really know what’s going on. JT actually got the word on the radio that they called i and we were the winners and it’s like such an awkward moment, too, because we’ve just been waiting around. It’s like how excited can you be because it didn’t feel like we did anything today, but it’s still a really cool feeling that we came out on top of it. It’s definitely one of the weirdest ones, for sure.”
YOU’VE WON TWO OF THE LAST THREE ROAD COURSES. HOW MUCH WORK HAVE YOU DONE ON THESE TYPE OF TRACKS? “Honestly, road course racing in general has always been a strong suit of mine, I feel like. I’ve always loved it and I feel I’ve always been in contention and had speed at road course races, it’s just never worked out until this year, so we’re finally really getting things to work out right. Sometimes that’s just luck, but I think overall we’ve been fast on the road courses and we’re just putting it all together.”
HAS IT SUNK IN THAT YOU WON THIS RACE? “Yes and no, I guess. I think after a week it will probably set in a little bit more, but it’s definitely weird. I don’t know how many times I’ve said it, but it’s just the weirdest race I’ve ever won because it’s a day removed from when we were actually on the track and just all the things that have happened in the last 24 hours, but we’ll take it as they come.”
ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO COMING BACK NEXT YEAR AND MORE COURSES LIKE THIS? “Yeah, I’m pumped about it. We have a really fast setup for this place and it was a great weekend for our team, so I’m pumped about coming back here and I think the whole city did a great job with it. It’s a cool event, so I think everybody is very excited to come back.”
WHAT DID YOU SAY TO THE TEAM ABOUT POSSIBLE RAIN AND ARE THERE ANY LESSONS TO TAKE FROM THIS? “There are just so many things that we do when it comes to raining, like just even having a wiper on the inside of the car to try and get the fog out of the windshield. There are a lot of different things there that help us a little bit for the future, just little things, but, overall, we had a good plan and we were ready for it. The thing about this place is you really don’t know how it’s gonna race in the rain because we’ve never, there’s not really a set lane in the track yet because there’s not a ton of rubber down, so do you have to run a rain line or do you not? And how all of the paint is gonna affect you on the racetrack, so I guess there’s a lot of unknowns when it comes to rain racing here, but we were lucky enough that we didn’t really have to deal with that.”
ANY ADDED CONCERN AMONG DRIVERS TO BE RACING ON THIS KIND OF CIRCUIT? “I don’t think the circuit in particular, it’s mainly just the visibility and the standing water. If we get it to where you can’t see a car length in front of you, it can be pretty dangerous if somebody stopped in the middle of the racetrack and you can’t see them, and then also the standing water. If you’re just hydroplaning and wrecking all the time, there’s no room for error around here. That was the thing that I think we were a little bit worried about, but, overall, I think if it’s just a little damp I think there’s no reason why you can’t race here in the rain.”
NEMECHEK FINISHES SECOND IN HISTORIC CHICAGO STREET RACE Inclement weather halts NASCAR Xfinity Series race after 25 laps
CHICAGO (July 2, 2023) – John Hunter Nemechek finished second in the first-ever NASCAR Chicago Street Race after the Xfinity Series event was shortened due to inclement weather.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series Chicago Street Race Race 16 of 33 – 121 miles, 55 laps (race called after 25 laps due to inclement weather)
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, Cole Custer* 2nd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK 3rd, Justin Allgaier* 4th, Brett Moffitt* 5th, Austin Hill* 6th, SAMMY SMITH 10th, KAZ GRALA 16th, PARKER CHASE 21st, ALEX LABBE 35th, CONNOR MOSACK *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 20 Yahoo Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What was your experience like racing on the streets of Chicago?
“Racing downtown on the streets of Chicago was pretty amazing. The whole experience, the atmosphere and how many fans were here — I give a lot of props to everyone at NASCAR. Everyone involved with the Chicago Street Course did an amazing job. Riding around under caution yesterday, being able to see all of the fans lined up three or four rows deep along the fence with no open spots was incredible. Probably one of the best attendances we’ve had so far this year in the Xfinity Series. The race went okay for us. I ran P2 from the drop of the green flag until lap 25 when they called it yesterday. We needed a good stop to be able to make an adjustment and have a shot to contend with Cole (Custer) for the win and just never had that opportunity. We’ll take that second place, and we’ll move on from it. It was a good points day. We gained some more on second place, which was good, giving ourselves a little bit more gap. We’ll go to Atlanta and try to win.”
SAMMY SMITH, No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
What were your impressions of the Chicago Street Race?
“It was a fun day yesterday. I really enjoyed running under dry conditions yesterday. Hopefully, we can do more street courses in the future.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 22 electrified options.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sunday, July 2, 2023) – The pass for the lead was bold and risky amid a track getting wetter by the lap, but INDY NXT by Firestone rookie Louis Foster knew he had to make it.
Foster locked up his right front tire in the bid to overtake race leader Christian Rasmussen approaching Turn 4 late in the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, and he made it stick. Foster then had to hold off a couple of challenges in the four-lap shootout that followed to win his first series race.
Driving the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship entry of Andretti Autosport, Foster became the sixth driver in the season’s first seven races to reach victory lane.
“It’s been a long time coming, for sure,” Foster said of his first series win. “I’m so thankful to get it finally.”
Of the pass on Rasmussen, the 19-year-old English driver said the increased dampness was a factor.
“I think it was starting to rain a little bit or something,” he said. “It was slicker in the back (part of the track). That made Christian make a mistake and then (the hard braking approaching Turn 4) destroyed my front right (tire). Going down the straights and (the car) was shaking.”
Kyffin Simpson finished second with Rasmussen third as HMD Motorsports took the other steps on the podium. Simpson’s No. 21 program is backed by Chip Ganassi Racing, Rasmussen’s No. 6 car is connected to Dale Coyne Racing.
Rasmussen started on the pole and led the first 26 laps of the 35-lap race, but falling to third cost him a chance to draw even closer to Nolan Siegel for the series lead as the season reached its halfway point. Siegel, the winner of the past two races, was running fifth with eight laps to go when he couldn’t keep his No. 39 HMD Motorsports entry on the track in Turn 10. After a long slide through the wet grass, Siegel’s car was stuck and the necessary extraction cost him a lap to the field. He finished 15th of the 17 competitors.
The result of the late incidents helped Rasmussen close to within 17 points of Siegel. Hunter McElrea (No. 26 Smart Motors) finished fourth, and he is now only 39 points out of the series lead. Foster’s victory allowed him to jump to the fourth position in the standings, 42 points behind Siegel.
Jamie Chadwick finished 10th in the No. 28 DHL entry of Andretti Autosport to become the first female driver in INDY NXT to finish in the top 10 since Pippa Mann finished fifth in the final race of the 2010 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Rasmussen, who won at Barber Motorsports Park in the season’s second race, couldn’t help but think he should be even closer to the series lead.
“Obviously, not the (finish) that we wanted today,” he said. “It was tricky with the conditions – it was dry and then there was rain and then there was dry. When the rain first came it felt like the car never really came back to me. We were sitting pretty good (prior to that) with a good gap and then the rain came.”
The race started amid dry conditions, but there was contact in Turn 4 just past the backstretch starting line. Contact between the cars of James Roe (No. 29 Topcon of Andretti Autosport) and Danial Frost sent Frost’s No. 68 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing machine into a full spin. Frost was able to resume without assistance.
On Lap 6, Christian Bogle spun into the gravel trap at the exit of Turn 2. With the No. 7 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing entry beached, a full-course caution period was necessitated. No such stoppage was needed when Matteo Nannini, who won the series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May in the No. 75 Juncos Hollinger Racing machine, pulled off the track at the exit of Turn 5 on Lap 17. The other incident involved Jagger Jones going off course in Turn 10 in the No. 98 Lead Sled car of Cape Motorsports. Jones was able to return to the track without assistance.
The series’ next race, the eighth of 14 this season, is the INDY NXT by Firestone at Iowa Speedway on July 22 (11 a.m. ET, Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE, INDYCAR Radio Network).
INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Race Results
(2) Louis Foster, 35, Running
(3) Kyffin Simpson, 35, Running
(1) Christian Rasmussen, 35, Running
(4) Hunter McElrea, 35, Running
(5) Reece Gold, 35, Running
(7) Jacob Abel, 35, Running
(8) Rasmus Lindh, 35, Running
(11) Enaam Ahmed, 35, Running
(13) Josh Pierson, 35, Running
(12) Jamie Chadwick, 35, Running
(17) Danial Frost, 35, Running
(14) James Roe, 35, Running
(15) Ernie Francis Jr., 35, Running
(9) Jagger Jones, 35, Running
(6) Nolan Siegel, 34, Running
(10) Christian Bogle, 19, Mechanical
(16) Matteo Nannini, 15, Off Course
Race Statistics Winners average speed: 99.515 Time of Race: 00:47:38.9456 Margin of victory: 0.4385 Cautions: 2 Lead changes: 1
Lap Leaders: Rasmussen, Christian 1 – 26 Foster, Louis 27 – 35
