KALWASINSKI: King van Gisbergen; Was It The Last Chicago Street Race?

CHICAGO — Crown him “King van Gisbergen” – royal leader of NASCAR Chicago!

New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen came home the winner of both NASCAR races on the streets of Chicago this past weekend.

The 36-year-old speedster, a three-time SuperCars Championship titlist in Australia and New Zealand, won both NASCAR Chicago races, claiming the Loop 110 Xfinity Series contest on Saturday and then coming back and winning the Grant Park 165 Cup Series headliner on Sunday.

Sunday’s win gave van Gisbergen four NASCAR victories over the last three years on the “Windy City” 2.2-mile, 12-turn street course. Van Gisbergen won the Cup race in Chicago during the inaugural street race weekend in 2023 and also claimed top honors in the Xfinity race a year ago.

“This joint, it’s changed my life,” said van Gisbergen. “I didn’t have any plans to do more NASCAR races when I first came over here, and I never thought I’d be in NASCAR full time. Epic weekend for us. I’m a lucky guy.”

Saturday saw van Gisbergen wheel the JR Motorsports, WeatherTech/Red Bull Chevrolet No. 9 to his Xfinity win with the “King of Chicago” guiding his Trackhouse Racing, WeatherTech Chevrolet No. 88 to the checkered flag on Sunday. WeatherTech’s headquarters is in nearby Bolingbrook, a western suburb of Chicago.

Cup Race

Ty Gibbs finished second in the 75-lap chase on Sunday after starting ninth in the 40-car field, while Tyler Reddick came home third.

Missing Saturday’s practice because of a blown engine, Denny Hamlin marched to a fourth-place finish after starting on the tail end of grid. Last year’s race winner Alex Bowman ended up eighth after battling with Bubba Wallace, who ended up 28th, in the closing laps.

The race was not without yellow and red flag incidents as the checkered and yellow flags flew to end the day at the 75-lap mark. The red flag flew on lap three when Carson Hocevar hit the wall, causing a multi-car pileup that took out Hocevar, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland and Will Brown.

Michael McDowell, who started on the front row alongside fastest qualifier van Gisbergen, rushed by van Gisbergen and led the first 31 laps of the race before throttle issues ended his competitive run.

McDowell’s Spire Motorsports Chevrolet carried the local sponsorship of DePaul University — DePaul Blue Demons/DePaul.edu.

Katherine Legge became the first female competitor to race in the Chicago Cup event, finishing 19th and becoming the first woman to finish in the “top 20” in a Cup Series race since Danica Patrick did it at Texas Motor Speedway in November of 2017.

Cory Heim was the only driver who failed to qualify.

Xfinity Race

Rookie Connor Zilisch finished second in Saturday’s 50-lap race after looking like a winner before a late-race yellow caution flag flew, allowing van Gisbergen, the race’s fastest qualifier, to close the gap and get by Zilisch on the restart for the final two laps. Sheldon Creed finished third.

Series point leader Illinois’ Justin Allgaier did not have the race he wanted and finished 23rd after starting sixth.

Former Chicago area stock car racer and winner Bobby Dotter and his SS GreenLight Racing team had two entries in the Xfinity contest. Alex Labbe finished 12th in his Priority Tire Chevrolet while Connor Mosack ended up 26th in his Invision Capital Chevy.

No Rain!

Mother Nature held off the rain until the Cup Series race ended on Sunday with changing weather conditions bringing in a rather mystical-looking, building-covering, fog into downtown Chicago.

A lot of fans, part of big crowds both days, brought assorted rain gear – ponchos, umbrellas, etc. on Sunday. The two previous NASCAR Chicago weekends had been plagued by rain.

End Of NASCAR In Chicago?

With temporary grandstands being taken down, cement barriers and catch fencing being removed and street closures being reopened – is this the end of NASCAR racing on the streets of Chicago?

Many feel this way as this year’s weekend was the final one held under a three-year contract between the city of Chicago and NASCAR.

The administration of former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot set the agreement with NASCAR with the announcement coming in July of 2022 that racing would take place on familiar streets like DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Ave., Roosevelt Road, Columbus Drive, Jackson and Balboa.

NASCAR racing featuring the backdrop of Chicago’s skyline and the famous Buckingham Fountain – it would truly be something special.

Others thought differently as locals were not too pleased with the street closures and weeks of building and tearing down the course. Some even insisted that the penguins at the nearby Shedd Aquarium would suffer anxiety.

Will the new administration of current mayor Brandon Johnson and NASCAR come to some agreement? Some insiders say it needs to be done by October. Will NASCAR return to the 1.5-mile, tri-oval, Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet? Some think so.

The speedway saw its last NASCAR race held in 2019 after hosting NASCAR competition beginning in 2001.

Race fans and Chicago stay tuned!