The Cup Series will celebrate the 4th of July weekend with some road course racing on the streets in Chicago. This will be the third time the Cup Series has celebrated our nation’s birthday in Grant Park. The first two races tested the driver’s skills because the teams were forced to put on the wet-weather tires because of rain during the race. There is another chance of rain Sunday, so this race may be just like the first two street course races in Chicago. The Grant Park 165 can be seen Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on TNT.
PRACTICE SPEEDS FOR CHICAGO
NASCAR split the teams up into two groups based on the metrics from the race last week in Atlanta. Each group was given 25-minutes to shake down their cars for the Grant Park 165. The teams then lined up from group qualifying to set the field for Sunday’s race. The cars were impounded after qualifying, so any changes to the cars will force the drivers to start in the back Sunday.
Here are the speeds from Saturday’s practice on the Chicago Street Course…
STRATEGY FOR CHICAGO
There are only eight races left in the Fantasy Live regular season. Three of the races are on road courses (Chicago, Sonoma and Watkins Glen) and the final race is on a Superspeedway. I thought this would be a good time to take another look at my strategy for the rest of the season. I mapped out my drivers for the races at Dover, Indianapolis, Iowa and Richmond. I want my top drivers in these races because they are easier to predict than the road courses or the race on the Superspeedway track. I then filled in the three road course races with my top drivers left over. Daytona is the most unpredictable race left on the schedule, so I simply filled in that race with the best driver I had left. I was surprised to see how it all came together. I noticed I could use some of my top drivers this week and still be OK for the rest of regular season.
Here are the picks for the Grant Park 165…
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN (8): This is the easiest pick in the field. SVG is clearly the best road course racer in the Cup Series. He won the first race in Chicago and he was on his way to the front of the field last year when Chase Briscoe lost control of his car and took out SVG. The No. 88 car posted the fastest speed in his group in practice and SVG won the pole for the Grant Park 165. He is going to be tough to beat Sunday.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL (9): McDowell has been one of the best drivers on the streets of Chicago and one of the most consistent drivers on the road courses in the Cup Series. McDowell has finished both races in Chicago in the top-to and he has an average finishing position of 7th in his last six road course races. The No. 71 car should be a safe pick for another top-10 finish Sunday.
TYLER REDDICK (2): Reddick is one of the best road course racers in the Cup Series and he has been really good in Chicago. He was racing Shane van Gisbergen for the win in 2023 when Reddick lost control of his car on the wet track. He came back last year and finished 2nd. The No. 45 car looks fast again this weekend. Reddick posted the 9th fasted speed in practice and the No. 45 car qualified 4th for the race. I only have two allocations left with Reddick, but there is only one other race I need him at.
TY GIBBS (5): Gibbs got off to a slow start in 2025, but he is starting to heat up. Joe Gibbs Racing moved Chris Gabehart (Denny Hamlin’s old crew chief) to serve as an adviser to the No. 54 team. The race in Chicago is 30% skill, 30% speed, 30% strategy and 10% luck. Gibbs led the most laps in Chicago last year and that proved he has the skill and the speed to win Sunday. Adding Gabehart to the pit box should add to their strategy. I like Gibbs’ chances of finishing up front on the street course in Grant Park.
KYLE BUSCH (6): Busch took the field to school when he led 42 of the 95 laps at COTA earlier this year. Busch has also had a lot of success on the streets in Chicago. The No. 8 car started 18th and finished 5th in 2023 and Busch started 19th and finished 9th last year. The No. 8 car looked fast in practice, so I will take a chance with Busch in Chicago.
CHRIS BUESCHER (6): Buescher is always one of the safest picks in DFS when the Cup Series races on the road courses. He likely will not lead many laps or win the race, but Buescher is one of the best at staying out of trouble and stacking top-10 finishes on the road courses. Buescher has finished 16 of the 18 road course races in the Gen-7 car in the top-11. I thought about using Christopher Bell in the Gargae, but I only have three allocations left with the No. 20 car, so I will pivot to Buescher.
(GARAGE PICK) CHRISTOPHER BELL (3): I wanted to get through this race without using an allocation with Bell, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. I originally had Kyle Busch in my starting lineup, but he will drop to the rear of the field today. I will have Bell in the Garage and still hope I can save him for another race. I really need him for Iowa and Richmond, but the other races are a coin flip. So, make sure you make the changes with Bell in the garage.
* Some people are saying the JAYSKI.COM report of Busch going to the back is wrong. I was second-guessing using Busch anyways, so I will play it safe and use Bell even if Busch keeps his starting position.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.