NASCAR returns to Chicago to race in the streets of the Windy City for the second year in a row.
Unlike last year, which saw significant rain, the forecast is much better for Sunday’s race on NBC and Peacock.
Here are the drivers to watch at Chicago.
FRONTRUNNERS
Shane van Gisbergen
Points position: NA
Best finish this season: 20th (Circuit of the Americas)
2024 stats: No wins, no top fives and no top 10s in three Cup starts this season. He’s running full-time in the Xfinity Series. He has two wins, three top fives and four top 10s in Xfinity. Has led 65 laps and has an average finish of 15.8 in Xfinity.
Going into the weekend: He’s the defending winner of the Cup race on the streets of Chicago. In the three Xfinity races on road courses this year, van Gisbergen has started on the front row each time. Sunday’s race marks just his sixth Cup start.
Christopher Bell
Points position: 6th
Best finish this season: 1st (Phoenix I, Coca-Cola 600, New Hampshire)
2024 stats: Three wins, six top fives and 11 top 10s. Has led 582 laps and has an average finish of 15.3.
Going into the weekend: Bell has led nearly 30% of the laps run in the last six races. He’s had two wins and five top 10s during that stretch. Bell won both stages and led a race-high 37 of 78 laps in last year’s Chicago race.
Tyler Reddick
Points position: 4th
Best finish this season: 1st (Talladega I)
2024 stats: One win, seven top fives and 12 top 10s. Has led 409 laps and has an average finish of 12.5.
Going into the weekend: Reddick has finished in the top 10 in five of the last six races. He has 10 top 10s in the last 12 road course races. He placed in the top three in both stages in last year’s Chicago race before finishing 28th after getting into the tire barriers.
Kyle Larson
Points position: 1st
Best finish this season: 1st (Las Vegas I, Kansas I, Sonoma)
2024 stats: Three wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s. Has led a series-high 755 laps and has an average finish of 12.3.
Going into the weekend: Larson won at Sonoma last month in the most recent road course race. He has two wins and six top 10s in his last eight starts.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Bubba Wallace
Points position: 15th
Best finish this season: 4th (Martinsville I)
2024 stats: No wins, three top fives and six top 10s. Has led 35 laps and has an average finish of 17.4.
Going into the weekend: Wallace has two top 10s in 29 career starts on road courses. His average finish is 23.8 on road courses. He enters this weekend 51 points below the playoff cutline. Wallace has one top 10 in the last six races.
Alex Bowman
Points position: 13th
Best finish this season: 2nd (Daytona 500)
2024 stats: No wins, four top fives and 10 top 10s. Has led 6 laps and has an average finish of 14.5.
Going into the weekend: Bowman holds the final playoff spot with seven races left in the regular season. He has one top 10 in the last five races.
Michael McDowell
Points position: 23rd
Best finish this season: 2nd (Sonoma)
2024 stats: No wins, one top five and five top 10s. Has led 150 laps and has an average finish of 21.6.
Going into the weekend: McDowell is known for his road racing skills. What makes him a driver with questions to answer is that he’s so far back from the playoff cutline that he needs to win a race. This is the final road course in the regular season. McDowell has other chances to win in the regular season, including Daytona, but it’s win or bust time McDowell.
Kyle Busch
Points position: 17th
Best finish this season: 3rd (Atlanta I)
2024 stats: No wins, two top fives and five top 10s. Has led 130 laps and has an average finish of 19.3.
Going into the weekend: The two-time Cup champion has fallen to 104 points below the playoff cutline. He must win to make the playoffs. He is in a career-long 40-race winless streak. Also, Busch’s last road course victory in Cup came in 2015. He has not had a top 10 in the last seven points races. Busch has placed 27th or worse in five of those last seven races.
