The 2024 Grant Park 165 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 7, 2024, at the Chicago Street Course in Chicago, Illinois. Originally scheduled for 75 laps, the race was shortened to 58 laps due to darkness, on the street course, it was the 20th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Alex Bowman won the race, his 8th career win, breaking an 80 race win drought. Tyler Reddick finished 2nd, and Ty Gibbs finished 3rd. Joey Hand and Michael McDowell rounded out the top five, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Todd Gilliland, William Byron, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top ten.
Report
Background
The Chicago Street Course is a street circuit located in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The track was initially a conceptual track on iRacing made for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series in 2021.
The track for the race ended up being the exact same layout as the version used in 2021 for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The start/finish line is located on South Columbus Drive in front of Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. The cars will go south and then turn left onto East Balbo Drive and then right onto South Lake Shore Drive (also part of U.S. Route 41), which is alongside Lake Michigan. The cars will then turn right onto East Roosevelt Road and then make another right, which gets them back onto South Columbus Drive where they are going north. They will then reach the intersection of South Columbus Drive and East Balbo Drive again and will make a left turn. When they are back on East Balbo Drive, they will cross a bridge over the Metra Electric District tracks. Next, the cars will turn right onto South Michigan Avenue and go north, go onto East Congress Plaza Drive and back onto South Michigan Ave. Lastly, they will make a right turn onto East Jackson Drive, go back across the Metra Electric tracks, and right back onto South Columbus Drive to the start/finish line.
On October 20, 2023, NASCAR announced that the 2024 Cup Series Chicago Street Race would be shortened from 220 miles (354.056 km) and 100 laps to 165 miles (265.542) and 75 laps.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Kaz Grala (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 33 Austin Hill (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Joey Hand RFK Racing Ford 66 Josh Bilicki (i) Power Source Ford 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Kyle Larson was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 1:28.443 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:28.443 89.549 2 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:28.556 89.435 3 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:28.586 89.405Official practice results
Qualifying Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:27.836 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:27.518 1:27.836 2 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:27.932 1:27.846 3 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:27.999 1:27.862 4 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 1:28.074 1:28.075 5 16 Shane van Gisbergen (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:27.864 1:28.183 6 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 1:28.195 1:28.320 7 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:27.964 1:28.366 8 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:28.476 1:28.759 9 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 1:28.159 1:28.874 10 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 1:27.927 1:44.877 11 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:28.550 — 12 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 1:28.365 — 13 77 Carson Hocevar (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 1:28.600 — 14 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 1:28.402 — 15 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:28.955 — 16 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 1:28.478 — 17 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 1:29.010 — 18 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:28.481 — 19 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:29.071 — 20 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 1:28.531 — 21 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 1:29.073 — 22 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1:28.580 — 23 51 Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Ford 1:29.197 — 24 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:28.629 — 25 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 1:29.228 — 26 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:28.815 — 27 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:29.230 — 28 10 Noah Gragson Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1:28.920 — 29 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1:29.264 — 30 71 Zane Smith (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 1:28.963 — 31 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1:29.387 — 32 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1:29.159 — 33 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1:29.593 — 34 33 Austin Hill (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:29.167 — 35 31 Daniel Hemric Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:29.608 — 36 4 Josh Berry (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1:29.384 — 37 13 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:30.236 — 38 60 Joey Hand RFK Racing Ford 1:29.496 — 39 66 Josh Bilicki (i) Power Source Ford 0.000 — 40 15 Kaz Grala (R) Rick Ware Racing Ford 1:29.514 —Official qualifying results
Race As it rained after the five-minute signal before engines started, NASCAR delayed the start as is required since it was sunny during practice and qualifying. As a result, on Lap 15, at 4:58 p.m. CDT, NASCAR sent a bulletin to teams announcing the time-certain finish rule was set for 8:20 p.m. CDT, meaning 75 laps or two laps after the set time. This rule is similar to most motorsport series that have time-certain finishes.Official statement Under the new curfew rule, there would be no overtime, and once the leader crosses the finish line upon the expiration of time, two laps remaining .
On Lap 17, Corey LaJoie impacts the wall at East Jackson Boulevard (Turn 11). Pit lane remains closed because of rain as the stage ends on Lap 20, the first of two points-paying laps for the top ten. Shane van Gisbergen wins Stage One, and pits open on Lap 21. All cars not on rain tires change to wets. On the ensuing restart on Lap 25, Chase Briscoe contacts van Gisbergen at Columbus Drive where cars turn left to East Balbo Avenue (Turn 6), causing the defending champions' car to slam the right-side wall, ending his day and causing a safety car. With visibility and standing water an issue (common with street circuits), NASCAR red flags the race for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Drivers are sent to the cars, but another rain shower in Turn 11 creates an issue with more standing water, leading to another 28 minute delay to remove the standing water, for a total of 1 hour, 43 minutes. Teams are told all restarts will be single-file, with the restart on Lap 30, with one hour remaining.
On the Lap 30 restart, Christopher Bell passes Ty Gibbs on the run from Columbus Drive to East Balbo. Shortly after, Denny Hamlin and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. collide in that turn. Both recover. On Lap 33, Kyle Larson is trying to overtake Ty Gibbs for second when he locks up his tires and buries his Saudi Aramco-sponsored Chevrolet into the tyre barriers, causing a safety car. Bell and Gibbs are leading the field on the Lap 38 restart, with eight laps remaining in the stage and about 40 minutes remaining in the race.
On Lap 42, with a dry line potentially forming with pit closure coming for the end of the second stage, a group of cars led by Austin Dillon, Austin Hill, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron pitted to switch to slicks. This causes leaders Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Todd Gilliland, John Hunter Nemechek, and Tyler Reddick among the leaders (primarily Toyotas) to pit for slicks on Lap 43. Once the leader starts Lap 44, pit lane is closed with two laps remaining in Stage 2, with 30 minutes remaining in the race.
New leaders Joey Hand and Alex Bowman stay out on rain tires, and finish first and second at the end of Lap 45, the second points-paying lap. The leaders stay on rain tires for the Lap 49 restart, hoping the delta for rain and slick tire performance is sufficient. Bell, who led before pit stops, restarts 13th on Lap 49, with approximately fifteen minutes remaining. On Lap 51, with 14 minutes remaining in the race, Bowman passes Hand on Lake Shore Drive where it joins East Roosevelt Road (Turn 4), and with 12 minutes remaining, Josh Berry crashes into the tire barriers on Lake Shore Drive to bring out the safety car. The delta between rain and slick tires has changed in favour of the slicks, and the Bell team asks that double-file restarts be used, which NASCAR declines. The restart occurs on Lap 54, with 4:30 remaining, or about four laps left. The Toyotas on slicks were faster, but with a minute and a half remaining, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. collides with Martin Truex, Jr. (both on rain tires), making contact with Christopher Bell on Balbo Drive.
Working Lap 55, time expires at 8:20 p.m., and leader Alex Bowman crosses the finish line second later to start Lap 56, the penultimate lap. Tyler Reddick is now third, best among the cars with slicks. Reddick and Ty Gibbs easily pass Joey Hand, who is still on rain tires at Turn 6, with the gap between Reddick and Bowman fast closing. At 8:21 p.m., Bowman takes the signal for the final lap, with Reddick fast closing. Only the optimum line is dry.
Reddick puts right-side tires on wet sections of at Roosevelt Road (Turn 4), making contact with the inside barrier, and then left side tires on wet sections in Turn 5 on the exit of Columbus Drive, making contact with the outside barriers, ending his efforts to catch Bowman.
Bowman successfully stays on the rain tires and ended an 80-race losing streak (last win in March 2022 at Las Vegas) in the process.
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 20