Last year, the inaugural race on the streets of Chicago was marred by rain and darkness that forced the cancellation of concerts and other festive events.  This year, for the Grant Park 165, the skies are clear and the fans have returned.

Since last year’s race, NASCAR has made a few tweaks to the race with the choose rule and moving the restart zone back a bit to before the front stretch.  There are also three designated spotter points to ensure a driver has spotters to cover the whole track.

A full field of 40 drivers will start the race, including last year’s surprise winner Shane van Gisbergen.

Not surprising, the top two drivers in Group A practice are Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen.  Both drivers started on the front row of the Xfinity Series race.

Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin top the leaderboard in Group B practice.

The drivers are in two groups for 15 group qualifying sessions.  The top five from each group will move on to a second round of qualifying to set the pole.

Michael McDowell has set a new course record in qualifying at 88.203 seconds around the 2.2 mile course.

And Shane van Gisbergen shatters the record with a time of 87.864 seconds!

Corey LaJoie gets into the wall hard and has significant damage to the left rear of his car.

Brad Keselowski also breaks the 88 second mark with a time of 87.927 seconds.

Josh Berry has some damage to the rear of his car.

Chris Buescher gets into the wall and breaks the tow link on the car.

Kyle Larson breaks the track record once again with a time of 87,518 seconds.

The top five drivers from Group A are Kyle Larson, Shane van Gisbergen, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell, and Daniel Suarez.

Ty Gibbs is the first driver from Group B to break the 88 second mark with a time of 87.958 seconds.

William Byron is reporting that his power steering is locking up.

Josh Bilicki did not make a qualifying run.

Ty Gibbs makes another run around the course and posts a time of 87.932 seconds.

Harrison Burton gets into the tire wall coming to a stop with the driver’s side against the tires.

Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman will all move on from Group B to round two of qualifying.

The top 10 drivers have 10 minutes to make their best run for the pole.

William Byron’s crew chief reports that they will have to replace the entire steering mechanism.  Byron will start the race from the back of the field.

Brad Keselowski gets into the wall on his qualifying run and has some damage to his car.

With time expired, Kyle Larson posts a time of 87.836 to put his number five car on the pole.

The starting lineup for the Grant Park 165:
Kyle Larson
Ty Gibbs
Michael McDowell
Tyler Reddick
Shane van Gisbergen
Bubba Wallace
Christopher Bell
Alex Bowman
Daniel Suarez
Brad Keselowski
Denny Hamlin
John Hunter Nemechek
Carson Hocevar
Ross Chastain
Austin Dillon
Chris Buescher
Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott
Kyle Busch
Corey LaJoie
Austin Cindric
Chase Briscoe
Justin Haley
Martin Truex Jr
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
William Byron
Noah Gragson
Ryan Preece
Zane Smith
Harrison Burton
Joey Logano
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Austin Hill
Daniel Hemric
Josh Berry
AJ Allmendinger
Joey Hand
Josh Bilicki
Kaz Grala

A total of nine drivers will have to start the race from the back of the field.  Josh Bilicki’s number 66 car failed the inspection process three times and will also have to serve a pass through penalty once the green flag drops.  Josh Berry, Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie, Chris Buescher, and Harrison Burton all had crashes during practice and qualifying that resulted in repairs and the unapproved adjustments tag.  William Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports crew had to change the steering system on the number 24 car.  Erik Jones’ Legacy Motor Club crew had to make repairs to the clutch in the number 43 car.

NBC is using what they call “radio style” for the broadcast with Mike Bagley, Dillon Welch, and Jeff Burton at various spots on the course with Rick Allen and Steve Letarte in the booth.

Last year’s race was a rain drenched event; this year there may be some rain but nothing heavy is expected.  The west weather tires are at the track when needed.

Even before the race can begin, crews are covering the cars due to rain.

NASCAR is giving the teams an option of changing tires to wet weather tires before the start of the race or to make an “inspection” lap and come down to change tires without losing their starting spot.

It is a mixed decision with some of the crews putting on the wet weather tires; while others stick with the racing slicks.

At 5:05pm (4:05 local time) the drivers are moving for the initial pace laps.

Some of the drivers are having the crews make a tire change.  Jeff Burton reports that just as some of the crews are putting on the racing slicks, the rain begins again.

Stage one is 20 laps, stage two is 25 laps, and stage three is 30 laps for a total of 75 laps around the 2.2 mile track

Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with light rain coming down with Ty Gibbs alongside.  Drivers spread out three wide into turn one with Ty Gibbs taking the lead with Tyler Reddick in second.

Lap two, Ty Gibbs leads the race by half a second on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Lap two, Shane van Gisbergen has passed Kyle Larson for third.

Lap four, ty Gibbs has pulled out to a one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

The rain has stopped…for now… and the track is beginning to dry out.

Jeff Burton reports that the rain has begun again.

Michael McDowell comes down pit road to change to the wet weather tires.

Lap five, Ty Gibbs now has a second and a half lead on Tyler Reddick; Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.

Bubba Wallace passes Alex Bowman for fifth.

Lap six, Tyler Reddick has closed the gap on leader Ty Gibbs to under a second.

Lap seven, Ty Gibbs holds on to the lead but is now just a half second back from Tyler Reddick; Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap nine, drivers are beginning to come down pit road for a tire change.

Lap 10, ty Gibbs has led every lap so far and is one second in front of the field with Shane van Gisbergen a half second back.  Gibbs has put Harrison Burton one lap down.

The top five are Ty Gibbs, Shane van Gisbergen, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Chase Briscoe.

Lap eleven, Shane van Gisbergen has caught leader Ty Gibbs and is beginning to challenge to the lead.

Lap 12, leaders have encountered slower traffic.

Lap 12, Shane van Gisbergen battles with Ty Gibbs for the lead and gets out in front as they begin lapping cars.

Ricky Stenhouse spins out  but gets moving again and the track stays green.  Baby watch is over, the Stenhouse family has a Fourth of July baby!

Lap 13, Shane van Gisbergen has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Ty Gibbs; Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five with lapped cars intermingled.

Chase Briscoe passes Kyle Larson for fourth.

Lap 16, Shane van Gisbergen has the lead but Christopher Bell is on his bumper; ty Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Lap 17 Corey LaJoie spins out and gets into the  wall to bring out the first caution flag of the race.

NASCAR has announced that they will not open pit road unless they could go back to green before the end of the stage.  As a result, stage one will end under caution with Shane van Gisbergen winning stage one for his first Cup Series stage win.

The top 10 drivers at the end of stage one:
Shane van Gisbergen
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Larson
Alex Bowman
Bubba Wallace
Todd Gilliland
Tyler Reddick
Daniel Suarez

And it has begun raining harder…and looks to be around for a while…

NASCAR has announced that the race will end at 8:20pm local time (9:20 on the east coast).

Drivers come down pit road for service with Christophr Bell winning the race off of pit road.  There’s a bottleneck coming off of pit road and caused a traffic jam.  Lapped cars still on the track and the jet dryers on the track were the cause of the congestion.

Zane Smith stayed out on the track; having already changed to wet weather tires.

Zane Smith brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 25 with Christopher Bell alongside.  Zane Smith takes the lead but Ty Gibbs comes up on the inside to pass for the lead.   There is a great deal of spray on the course.

Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suares spin out after contacxt form Alex Bowman.

Chase Briscoe gets into the tire barrier hard to bring out the caution flag.  He gets the car moving again.

Shane van Gisbergen gets hit from behind by Chase Briscoe and causes significant damage to the car.  Van Gisbergen is out of the car…and out of the race.

Lap 26, NASCAR red flags the race so that the air titans can blow the excess water off the course.

After an hour and 15 minute red flag, NASCAR calls the drivers to their cars to restart the race.  NASCAR calls off the restart and the drivers return to pit road for a further delay of 28 minutes.

Some of the drivers come down pot road for a fresh set of wet weather tires.

Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 30 in a single file restart.  Drivers quickly get two and three wide in a battle for position with only about an hour left before the end of the race.

Lap 31, ty Gibbs leads the race but Christopher Bell comes up to battle for the lead.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Denny Hamlin make contact  after Hamlin locks the brakes and both drivers get into the tire barrier but the track stays green.

Lap 32, the top five are Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Todd Gilliland.

Denny Hamlin finally gets rolling – he was blocking the course before he got the car moving again.

Lap 32, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a lead of over a second in Ty Gibbs; Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Todd Gilliland.

Erik Jones is the only driver on the track who is not on the lead lap.

Lap 33, Christoopher Bell has a lead of over a second and a half on ty Gibbs.

Lap 34, Christopher Bell has increased his lead to over two seconds on Ty Gibbs.  Kyle Larson slams into the tire barrier – up to his windshield – to bring out the caution flag on lap 34.  Larson is stuck and cannot get out of the tires.  He was attempting to avoid hitting Ty Gibbs whom he was battling for second.  Track workers pull Larson out of the tires.  He has significant damage to the front of the car.  Larson reports that the steering is very tight.  Kyle Larson becomes the second driver out of the race.

In a single file restart, Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 38 with Bell holding on to the lead.

The top five are Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Todd Gilliland, and John Hunter Nemechek.

Josh Berry gets hard into the tire barrier.  Chase Briscoe also gets off the course but the track stays green.

Lap 39, Christopher Bell has a near one second lead on Ty Gibbs; Tyler Reddick, Todd Gilliland, and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.

Out of the infield care center, Kyle Larson said that he is fine and glad no one else got into it.

Lap 40, Ryan Preece gets into the tire barrier but gets moving again and the track stays green.

Lap 42, Christopher Bell has a one second lead on Ty Gibbs; Todd Gilliland, John Hunter Nemechek, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 43, drivers are coming down pit road to change to racing slicks.

Lap 44, leader Christopher Bell comes down pit road to put on his racing slicks and much of the field follows him.

Austin Dillon locks the tires and gets into the tire barrier but gets the car moving again and the track stays green.

Staying out on the track, Joey Hand is the new leader.

Josh Berry gets off the course again.

Joey Hand wins stage two for his first stage win.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Joey Hand
Alex Bowman
Brad Keselowski
Carson Hocevar
Martin Truex Jr
Noah Gragson
Daniel Hemric
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Harrison Burton
Denny Hamlin

Joey Hand brings the field down for a single file start of stage three on lap 49.  Leaders are still on wet weather tires.

AJ Allmendinger gets into the tire barrier but the track stays green.

An experienced road course racer, Joey Hand leads the race with Alex Bowman on his bumper; Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Lap 51, Alex Bowman begins to battle with Joey Hand for the lead.  Alex Bowman is the new leader.

Lap 51, Josh Berry gets into the tires barrier again; this time bringing out the caution flag.

Alex Bowman brings the field down for a single file restart on lap 54 with just 4:30 minutes remaining on the race clock to the 8:20pm time limit.  When the clock reaches zero, the next lap will be the white flag lap.  Bowman holds on to the lead and begins to pull away.

Chase Briscoe gets into the tires again in turn one.  John Hunter Nemechek also gets into the tire barrier but gets moving again.

Alex Bowman has a half second lead on Joey Hand; Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr round out the top five. 

Joey Hand and Christopher Bell make contact; Carson Hocevar, Martin Truex Jr, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr were also involved.

Lap 55, Alex Bowman has a lead of nearly two seconds on Joey Hand; Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Denny Hamlin and Austin Hill get into the tires.

Lap 56, the clock is at zero; the next lap will be the white flag lap.

Alex Bowman takes the white flag.

Tyler Reddick slaps the wall and falls back to over three seconds behind leader Alex Bowman.

Breaking an 80 race win drought, Alex Bowman wins the race.  This is his first road course win.  He becomes the 12th race winner this season and is in the playoffs.

After the race, Bubba Wallace intentionally hits Alex Bowman in retaliation for an incident during the race.

Alex Bowman apologized to the 23 team for hitting them; saying that he messed up.

The unofficial results of the Grant Park 165:
Alex Bowman
Tyler Reddick
Ty Gibbs
Joey Hand
Michael McDowell
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Todd Gilliland
William Byron
Kyle Busch
Ryan Blaney
Daniel Suarez
Daniel Hemric
Bubba Wallace
Noah Gragson
Austin Cindric
Justin Haley
Zane Smith
Brad Keselowski
Austin Dillon
Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott
Ross Chastain
Joey Logano
Carson Hocevar
Harrison Burton
Kaz Grala
Corey LaJoie
Josh Bilicki
Erik Jones
Denny Hamlin
Austin Hill
Chase Briscoe
Martin Truex Jr
Ryan Preece
John Hunter Nemechek
Josh Berry
Christopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Kyle Larson
Shane van Gisbergen