The Xfinity Series have had their chance at the track and now it is the Cup Series’ turn to drive the 12 turn 2.2 mile course for the Grant Park 220.

In the 75 year history of NASCAR there has never been a street course race…until now and NASCAR returns to the site of the very first auto race in 1895 – Chicago.

As with many road course races, NBC is calling the race “radio style” with Mike Bagley, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jeff Burton scattered around the track with Steve Letarte and Rick Allen in the broadcast booth.

There are a total of 37 cars for the race including Jenson Button and Shane van Gisbergen.  Jimmie Johnson was originally scheduled to run in the race but has withdrawn after a family tragedy earlier this week.

When drivers choose pit stalls, they choose the spot that is most advantageous for getting on and off pit road the quickest; but this weekend the crews have something else to consider when choosing their pit stalls…shade trees.  Pit boxes closer to pit entry have shade trees with pit road stretching two city blocks along the city streets.

Three time Super Car champion Shane van Gisbergen is making his first entry into NASCAR.  A New Zealander, Gisbergen is used to shifting his car on the left side, instead of the right side for American drivers.

William Byron gets into the wall and has some damage to his car.

Up until today, the only experience the drivers have had in relation to the race course is the simulators.  Now on the actual track, the drivers are discovering that the course has more grip than the simulators indicated.

Austin Cindric gets into the wall and brings out the caution flag.

Justin Haley gets into the tire barriers and Ricky Stenhouse Jr gets into the wall hard on the driver’s side.  Both drivers have damage to their cars.  Stenhouse reports suspension damage to the car and will not be able to qualify the car due to that damage as the crew works to make repairs.

Formula One driver Jenson Button rated many of the F1 tracks at a level eight for difficulty; he rates the new Chicago street course at a nine!

Shane van Gisbergen may have never driven a Cup Series car until today; but a street race veteran put his number 91 car at the top of the list in practice.

The drivers are divided into two groups for a 15 minute group qualifying session, the top five from each group will move on to a second round of 10 minute qualifying to set the pole.

Justin Haley will not make a qualifying run after damage to the car during practice when he got into the tire barrier.

The top five drivers in Group A all have times below 90 seconds around the course.

With less than one minute remaining in Group A qualifying, Daniel Suarez posted a time of 1:28.755 to put his number 99 car at the top and the only driver to break the minute 29 second mark.

The top five drivers from Group A are Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Jenson Button, and AJ Allmendinger.

Group B qualifying wasn’t even half way through when Denny Hamlin laid down a lap of 1:28.369.

Chase Elliott gets into the wall in turn eight making a qualifying run.  He moved the concrete wall with his hit and caused major damage to the front left of his car.  Elliott will have to make the mandatory trip to the infield care center.

Shane van Gisbergen was making his qualifying run at the time the caution for Chase Elliott came out.  Gisbergen will have to make another run to qualify for the race.

Kevin Harvick gets into the wall with a head on crash and causes some significant damage to the right front of his car.
 
Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, and Shane van Gisbergen will all move on to round tow of qualifying.

Denny Hamlin posted a time of 88.435 seconds to put his number eleven car on the pole.

The starting lineup for the Grant Park 220:
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Shane van Gisbergen
Christopher Bell
Daniel Suarez
Michael McDowell
Kyle Larson
Jenson Button
Joey Logano
AJ Allmendinger
Martin Truex Jr
Ty Gibb
Alex Bowman
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Chase Briscoe
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Corey LaJoie
Brad Keselowski
Wrik Jones
William Byron
Noah Gragson
Aric Almirola
Todd Gilliland
Chase Elliott
Josh Bilicki
Ryan Preece
Austin Dillon
Andy Lally
Austin Cindric
Harrison Burton
Ty Dillon
Ross Chastain
Kevin Harvick
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Justin Haley

There has been a great deal of rain in Chicago and the crews have been working hard all day to mop up some of the standing water on the course.  After lightning postponed the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, NASCAR had intended to finish the race on Sunday morning but was unable to do so even after hours of trying to clean up some of the water.  With luck, the crews were successful in clearing up the racing course for the Cup Series drivers to run the course with wet weather gear.

Stages one is 20 laps, stage two is 25 laps and, stage three lasting 55 laps for a total of 100 laps around the 2.2 mile course.

At the scheduled race start, the cars are covered and the drivers are headed for drier spots to wait out the rain.  The previous record for rain in a single day at Chicago is two inches; it has rained way beyond that and continues to rain.

At 5:56pm NASCAR has called the drivers to their cars!

NASCAR has deemed the course “wet”; the drivers will have red running lights, defoggers, water flaps to aid in visibility, a windshield wiper, and wet weather tires.  NASCAR also has the option of a single file start instead of the normal double file start.

Delivering the command is Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

At 6:20pm the cars are moving.

Austin Cindric, William Byron, Justin Haley, and Todd Gilliland will all have to start the race from the back of the field after crews made unapproved adjustments to the cars.  Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr will start the race from the back of the field in a backup car after crashes during practice and qualifying.

NASCAR has called for a single file start.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag restart at 6:37pm – one hour past the original start time – and starts the first ever street race in Chicago.  Tyler Reddick comes up to battle Denny Hamlin for the lead.  Reddick gets out in front for the lead.

Dale Earnhardt Jr is having some audio issues and has not joined the broadcast as of yet.

Aric Almirola gets turns around but gets moving again.

Noah Gragson, brad Keselowski, and Erik Jones get into the tire barrier but eventually get their cars moving again.

Tyler Reddick has a lead of over a second on Denny Hamlin.

Lap two, Denny Hamlin makes contact with the tire barrier but gets moving again.

Tyler Reddick has a lead of over a second and a half in Christopher Bell; Shane van Gisbergen, Daniel Suarez, and Michael McDowell round out  the top five.

Lap three, Ty Dillon makes an unscheduled trip down pit road.

Kyle Busch brings out the first caution flag of the race when he not only gets into the tire barrier but is buried un it up to his windshield.  He believes that he can still drive the car once he gets out of the barrier.  Busch is pulled clear.  He has a little bit of damage to the right front of his car but he is back in the race.

And Jr finally has his issues cleared up and has joined the broadcast.

Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag single file restart on lap six and stays out in front for the lead.

The course is lined with fans, some place several deep to witness the first ever NASCAR race on the streets of Chicago.

Lap six, Tyler Reddick has a  one second lead on Christopher Bell; Shane van Gisbergen, Daniel Suarez, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.

Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez battle for fourth.

Lap seven, Joey Logano challenges Daniel Suarez for fifth.

lap eight, tyler Reddick has a lead of over a second on Christopher Bell; Shane van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Christopher Bell has caught up to leader Tyler Reddick and is beginning to challenge for the lead.

Christopher Bell is running the fastest laps on the course with Tyler Reddick still in the lead.

Lap nine, Tyler Reddick’s lead is now less than a second on Christopher Bell.  Bell comes up and causes Reddick to slip and takes the lead.

Todd Gilliland gets off the course in turn four but gets the car moving again.

The skies are clearing.

Lap 12, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a lead of two and a half seconds on Tyler Reddick who is being challenged by Shane van Gisbergen; Michael McDowell and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.

Noah Gragson brings out the second caution flag of the race after getting into the tire barrier and will need some help getting the car out.  Gragson put on a smoke show trying to use a burn out to get the car loose.  The tow truck pull Gragson out and he drives away.

Some of the drivers come down pit road for adjustments and repairs.

Noah Gragson was penalized for pitting before pit road was open.  He will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag single file restart on lap 16.  Bell pulls out to hold on to the lead with Tyler Reddick in second.

Martin Truex Jr has gotten around Michael McDowell for fourth.

Alex Bowman and Corey LaJoie continues to battle back and forth.

Lap 17, Christopher Bell has a lead of over half a second on Tyler Reddick.  Teammates Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece are also in a back and forth battle for position.

The top five are Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Shane van Gisbergen, Martin Truex Jr, and Michael McDowell.

Noah Gragson is the only driver not on the lead lap – one lap down.

With three laps remaining in stage one, Dale Earnhardt Jr reports that the course is starting to dry out.

Lap 18, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick.

Christopher Bell wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
Shane van Gisbergen
Martin Truex Jr
Michael McDowell
Daniel Suarez
Kyle Larson
AJ Allmendinger
Ty Gibbs
Jenson Button

Some of the drivers come down pit road for service with many of them changing from wet weather tires to the racing slicks.  There are parts of the course that is still very wet.

Joey Logano gets into the tire barrier but gets the car moving again and the track stays green. 

Jenson Burron spins out coming to pit road after some on track contact from Chris Buescher.  Joey Logano barely missed Button coming on to pit road.

Green flag pit stops continue.

Todd Gilliland spins out on racing slicks but gets the car moving again and the course stays green.

Lap 25, Martin Truex Jr is the first of the top five drivers to come down pit road.

After getting into the tire wall, Ryan Blaney cleared the “crash clock” and is back on the track.

Chase Elliott gets into the tire wall on cold sticker tires.

Lap 26, leader Christopher Bell makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Shane van Gisbergen.  Tyler Reddick also made his pit stop.

Shane van Gisbergen brings his car down pit road for his green flag pit stop.  Josh Bilicki is the new leader.

Lap 29, pit tops have cycled through and Christopher Bell has retaken the lead with Shane van Gisbergen in second; Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.

Noah Gragson again gets into the tire barrier and brings out the caution flag on lap 30.  He will need help getting unstuck. 

AJ Allmendinger reports that the brakes are horrible and the car won’t turn.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 34 in the single file restart.  Tyler Reddick passes Shane van Gisbergen for second.

Daniel Suarez passes Martin Truex Jr for fourth.

Kyle Larson passes Martin Truex Jr for fifth.

Christopher Bell has jumped out to a lead of over a second and a half on Tyler Reddick.

Noah Gragson and Ryan Blaney are the only drivers not on the lead lap – two laps down.

Lap 35, Tyler Reddick has closed the gap on leader Christopher Bell to under a second and a half; Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Lap 36, Christopher Bell has increased his lead on Tyler Reddick to nearly two seconds; Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Lap 37, Christopher Bell’s lead is now over two seconds on Tyler Reddick.

Martin Truex Jr passes Shane van Gisbergen but gets loose and van Gisbergen retakes the spot.

Shane van Gisbergen’s radio is stuck in the open position.  He cannot hear his crew chief or spotter.

The caution flag comes out on lap 39 when Alex Bowman gets into the tire barrier after contact from Denny Hamlin and nearly wrecks the field trying to get the car moving again.

It is still over an hour until darkness but the course is not lit well enough to run at night.  NASCAR may shorten the race due to darkness.  With that in mind, some of the drivers are making pit stops for fuel anticipating a short race.

Alex Bowman is on pit road with the hood up with a possible electronics issue.

Christopher Bell brings the field down for the single file green flag restart on lap 43.  Daniel Suarez bounces off the barrier but the track stays green.

Christopher Bell has a half second lead on Kyle Larson; Tyler Reddick, Shane van Gisbergen, and Michael McDowell round out the top five.

Alex Bowman is stopped off the course with a blown engine and brings out the caution flag.

Stage two ends under caution with Christopher Bell earning the stage sweep.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Shane van Gisbergen
Michael McDowell
Ty Gibbs
Daniel Suarez
Martin Truex Jr
AJ Allmendinger
Chase Briscoe

NASCAR has announced that due to sunset the race will end at lap 75.

Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell wining the race off of pit road.

After staying out on the track, Justin Haley brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 48 in a single file restart.  Haley holds on to the lead with Austin Dillon in second; Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

The top eleven drivers stayed out on the track.

The caution flag comes out on lap 49 for a pile up in turn eleven causing a traffic jam when William Byron misses the turn and gets turned around.  Corey LaJoie, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Ty Dillon, and Michael McDowell.

Tyler Reddick reports that the toe is knocked out but not bad enough to come down pit road.

Justin Haley brings the field down for the single file restart on lap 53 with Austin Dillon in second.  Haley jumps out to a big lead but Austin Dillon comes up to close the gap; Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Martin Truex Jr is stopped on the track backwards after spinning out, but the course stays green.

Bubba Wallace gets off the course but gets moving again and the course stays green.

Lap 54, Justin Haley has a lead of nearly a second on Austin Dillon; Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Noah Gragson gets into the tire barrier in turn six for the fourth time; the course stay green.  This time he backs into the tire barrier.  Ross Chastain and Todd Gilliland made contact spinning Gilliland around.

Lap 55, Austin Dillon has closed the gap on leader Justin Haley to just over half a second; Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Christopher Bell gets into the tire barrier but gets moving again and the course stays green.

Just 18 laps remaining in the race with Justin Haley leading the way and Austin Dillon in second.

Tyler Reddick gets buried in the tire wall and brings out the seventh caution flag of the race.  He will need some help getting out of the tires.

Justin Haley brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 15 laps remaining in the race.  Haley has the lead but Austin Dillon is on his bumper challenging for the lead.

The top five are Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano.

With 14 laps to go less than two seconds separate the top four drivers.

Austin Dillon hits the inside wall at the edge of the tire barrier.  He is slowed on the track with some damage to his car.  The car will not turn and he has hit another wall.  He is backing his car on to pit road and the course stays green.

Justin Haley has a lead of over a second and a half on Chase Elliott; Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Just 10 laps remain in the race with Justin Haley leading the way; Chase Elliott, Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Martin Truex Jr gets into the wall barrier but the course stays green after Truex gets moving again.

Harrison Burton gets into the tire barrier.

Shane van Gisbergen is running the fastest laps on the course.  He is over a second faster than the leader.  He notes that he is learning every lap.

Just nine laps remain in the race; Justin Haley has a lead of under half a second in front of Chase Elliott with Shan van Gisbergen on Elliott’s bumper.

Shane van Gisbergen passes Chase Elliott for second with eight to go and is on Justin Haley’s bumper.

Martin Truex Jr gets into the tire barrier and is stuck.  He brings out the caution flag.

Justin Haley brings the field down for the green flag single file restart with just five laps remaining in the race and holds on to the lead with Shane van Gisbergen on his bumper.  Van Gisbergen takes the lead and begins to pull away.

The top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Justin Haley, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch.

Going into turn eleven, Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of nearly a second on Justin Haley.

Four to go, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Justin Haley; Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Three to go, Shane van Gisbergen now has a lead of a second and a half on Justin Haley.

Ty Dillon takes his car to the garage with a mechanical issue.

Two to go, Shane van Gisbergen has a lead of over a second and a half on Justin Haley.

Bubba Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr make contact sending Stenhouse into the tire barrier.  Wallace spun out when Stenhouse gets hit.  The race goes into overtime.

Under overtime rules the drivers will run a green/white/checker two lap shootout.  If the leader takes the white flag, the race is over no matter if the caution flag comes out; however, if the caution flag comes out before the white flag, another overtime shootout will take place.  Under normal circumstances there are no limits on the number of overtime starts.

Justin Haley and Chase Elliott are very close on fuel; it has been 45 laps since they came down pit road.

Shane van Gisbergen brings the field down for the overtime shootout for the win and holds on to the lead as he pulls away. 

With a lead of nearly a second, Shane van Gisbergen takes the white flag.

With a lead of a second on Justin Haley, Shane van Gisbergen wins his first NASCAR race!  It has been 60 years since a driver has won a NASCAR race in their debut appearance.  The three time Super Car champion has 80 race wins but this is his first win in NASCAR.  He was driving the Trackhouse Racing Project 91 car that brings stars from other racing series to NASCAR.

When asked if he thought that he could win the race, Shane said no but he could dream about it.  He called the win a dream come true.  When asked about driving more races in NASCAR, he said that he would be driving one more year in Australia (Super Car) and then he would love to come drive in NASCAR.

The unofficial results of the Grant Park 220:
Shane van Gisbergen
Justin Haley
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch
Austin Cindric
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Ty Gibbs
Chris Buescher
Denny Hamlin
Aric Almirola
William Byron
Corey LaJoie
Ryan Preece
Erik Jones
AJ Allmendinger
Christopher Bell
Todd Gilliland
Chase Briscoe
Jenson Button
Ross Chastain
Josh Bilicki
Brad Keselowski
Noah Gragson
Andy Lally
Daniel Suarez
Tyler Reddick
Kevin Harvick
Harrison Burton
Bubba Wallace
Martin Truex Jr
Ryan Blaney
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Dillon
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman