Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at the Chicago Street Course in downtown Chicago, Illinois, going into the Grant Park 165 this Sunday, J

Chicago Street Course – Stats & Tidbits
TRACK DATA
Season Race #: 20 of 36 (06-07-24)
Race Purse: $7,978,831
Track Size: 2.20-miles
Number of Turns: 12
Track Type: Asphalt Street Course
Race Length: 75 laps (165-miles)
Stage 1 Length: 20 laps
Stage 2 Length: 25 laps (Ends on Lap 45)
Final Stage Length: 50 laps (Ends on Laps 75)

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QUALIFYING & RACE RECORDS

Track Qualifying Record:
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 89.557 MPH, 88.435 seconds, July, 1 2023

Track Race Record:
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, 60.281 MPH, (2:50:48), July 2, 2023

HISTORY

  • The first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street course race was held on Sunday, July 2, 2023, and the event was surrounded by music and entertainment options for all ages, truly making it one of the signature sporting and entertainment events of the year.
  • Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, Columbus Drive and select surrounding thoroughfares are transformed into a 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course, with the start/finish line and pit road located along South Columbus Drive directly in front of Buckingham Fountain.
  • The course passes through the famed Grant Park, as well as approach the northern edge of Soldier Field, one of the most notable and recognizable sports venues in the country – and the site of the only other Cup Series race to take place in Downtown Chicago, in 1956.
  • The first NASCAR national series race held at the Chicago Street Course was the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on July 1, 2023. The inaugural Xfinity Series event at the track was rain-shortened from its scheduled 55 laps to 25 laps and was won by Cole Custer driving a Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. He led all 25 laps from the pole enroute to the win (Time: 01:02:40; Average Speed: 52. 660 MPH).
  • The first NASCAR Cup Series race held at the Chicago Street Course was July 2, 2023 and the event was won by New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen in his very first series start. Van Gisbergen was driving a Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet and only led nine of the 78 laps of the event. It was the first time Johnny Rutherford won at Daytona in 1963 had a driver won in their first Cup Series appearance.
  • Shane van Gisbergen became the sixth different driver not from the United States to win in the NASCAR Cup Series with his Chicago victory; joining Marcos Ambros (Australia), Mario Andretti (Italy), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Earl Ross (Canada) and Daniel Suarez (Mexico).

STARTS

  • A total of 37 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race at the Chicago Street Course.
  • Driver Shane van Gisbergen made his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at the Chicago Street Race on July 2, 2023. He started from third and won the race, becoming the first driver to win in their series debut since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 at Daytona.

POLES

  • One driver has won the NASCAR Cup Series pole at the Chicago Street Course – Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, 89.557 MPH, 88.435 seconds, July, 1 2023
  • No Cup drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series pole at the Chicago Street Course.
  • Youngest Cup pole winner at the Chicago Street Course: Denny Hamlin (July 2, 2023 – 42 years, 7 months and 14 days).
  • Oldest Cup pole winner at the Chicago Street Course: Denny Hamlin (July 2, 2023 – 42 years, 7 months and 14 days).
  • One organization has won a pole at the Chicago Street Course in the NASCAR Cup Series – Joe Gibbs Racing (Denny Hamlin, 2023).
  • Toyota leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at the Chicago Street Course with one pole (2023).

WINS

  • One driver has won a NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course – Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, 60.281 MPH, (2:50:48), July 2, 2023 – started from the third position.
  • Youngest Cup race winner at the Chicago Street Course: Shane van Gisbergen (July 2, 2023 – 34 years, 1 month and 23 days).
  • Oldest Cup race winner at the Chicago Street Course: Shane van Gisbergen (July 2, 2023 – 34 years, 1 month and 23 days).
  • One driver has won his first NASCAR Cup Series career race at the Chicago Street Course – Shane van Gisbergen (July 2, 2023)
  • One position on the starting grid has led to a win in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Course – third-place starting position (2023).
  • One organization has won in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Course – Trackhouse Racing (Shane van Gisbergen, 2023).
  • One manufacturer has won in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Course – Chevrolet in 2023.

ADDITIONAL FINISHING POSITIONS

Runner-Up Finishes:

  • Justin Haley finished runner-up in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race the Chicago Street Race in 2023. It is the only runner-up finish in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

Top-Five Finishes:

  • A total of five different drivers have finished in the top-five in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course – 1. Shane van Gisbergen, 2. Justin Haley, 3. Chase Elliott, 4. Kyle Larson, 5. Kyle Busch.

Top-10 Finishes:

  • A total of 10 different drivers have finished in the top-10 in the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course – 1. Shane van Gisbergen, 2. Justin Haley, 3. Chase Elliott, 4. Kyle Larson, 5. Kyle Busch. 6. Austin Cindric, 7. Michael McDowell, 8. Joey Logano, 9. Ty Gibbs, 10. Chris Buescher.

LAP LEADERS

  • A total of five different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have led at least one lap at the Chicago Street Course.

All-Time Lap Leaders at Chicago Street Course

Lap LeadersLedCompleted% Led
Christopher Bell377847%
Justin Haley237829%
Shane Van Gisbergen97812%
Tyler Reddick87810%
Ty Gibbs1781%

  • Chistopher Bell leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at the Chicago Street Course with 37 laps led (47% of his laps completed).
  • The most laps led by the race winner in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course was nine laps led by Shane Van Gisbergen on July 2, 2023.
  • The fewest laps led by the race winner in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course was nine laps led by Shane Van Gisbergen on July 2, 2023.
  • The most laps led in a single NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course by a driver that did not win the race was 37 laps of the scheduled 78 by Christopher Bell – he started fourth and ultimately finished 18th in the race.

TRACK / EVENT STATS

  • The closest Margin of Victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Course is 1.259-seconds – set by Shane van Gisbergen in the July 2, 2023 race over second-place Justin Haley.
  • The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course was not shortened due to weather.
  • Qualifying has never been cancelled in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Course.
  • The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course produced seven lead changes.
  • The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course produced five different leaders.
  • The final lead change of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course took place with eight laps to go – Shane van Gisbergen passed Justin Haley for the lead and ultimately the win.

NASCAR IN ILLINOIS

  • There have been 102 NASCAR national series races among six tracks in the state of Illinois.

NASCAR Tracks in IllinoisCityCupXfinityTruckCombinedFirst Year
Chicagoland SpeedwayJoliet192411542001
World Wide Technology RacewayMadison31524421997
Chicago Street CourseChicago11022023
Chicago Motor SpeedwayCicero00222000
Santa Fe SpeedwayWillow Springs10011954
Soldier FieldChicago10011956
Totals 254037102
  • The first NASCAR national series race held in the state of Illinois was a NASCAR Cup Series race at Santa Fe Speedway in Willow Springs, Illinois. The event was held on July 10, 1954 and it was won by Dick Rathman (Hudson).

ILLINOIS IN NASCAR

  • A total of 83 different drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Illinois.
  • The driver from Illinois with the most NASCAR Cup Series starts is Danica Patrick from Roscoe, Illinois with 191 Cup career starts.
  • A total of five different drivers from Illinois have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series for a total of 55 wins.
  • NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen leads all Illinois drivers with 26 combined NASCAR national series wins.

Winners from Illinois:

NASCAR Winners From IllinoisCupXfinityTruckCombined
Fred Lorenzen260026
Tom Pistone2002
Justin Allgaier024024
Bobby Dotter0101
Erik Darnell0022
Totals2825255

— NASCAR —

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