The Cup Series will once again celebrate the 4th of July weekend in the Windy City. Instead of another road course, the Cup Series will travel back to Chicagoland Speedway. The Cup Series has not competed at this track since 2019 and that was a shame. Chicagoland Speedway provides multiple grooves to race and the Goodyear tires wear out quickly. We can expect fireworks in this 1.5-mile, D-shaped, Tri-oval track. The eero 400 can be seen Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on TNT.
STRATEGY FOR CHICAGOLAND
The road course portion of the schedule is complete, so you can put Shane van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger and Connor Zilisch in the closet. It is time to dust off our top drivers (Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson) and get them into our lineups. There are only eight races left in the regular season and two of them are on Superspeedway tracks (Atlanta and Daytona). We can find other tracks to save allocations with our top drivers.
Here are the picks for the race at Chicagoland Speedway…
DENNY HAMLIN (3): Hamlin has been a beast on the 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks this year. He won at Las Vegas, finished 4th at Kansas, 2nd at Texas and 3rd in Charlotte. He also led the most laps (361) and has the best Driver Rating (120). The No. 11 car tested at Chicagoland Speedway in May, so it was no surprise to see Hamlin unload with some speed this week. The new Cup Series Points Leader has a good chance to add another win to his 2026 resume after the race Sunday night.
KYLE LARSON (2): Larson was the best driver at Chicagoland Speedway and I doubt a seven year break is going to change anything. Drivers must search the track for grip as it wears out throughout the race. No driver in the field is as good as Larson at this type of driving. The No. 5 car tested at Chicagoland Speedway in May, so Larson should know exactly how this track will change throughout the night. It has been over a year since Larson went to Victory Lane. Do not be surprised to see “Yung Money” holding the checkered flag after the race Sunday night.
CHRIS BUESCHER (6): Buescher has been one of the more consistent plays on the 1.5-mile, intermediate tracks this year. He finished 6th at Las Vegas, 10th at Kansas and 5th in Texas. Buescher posted the eighth-fastest long-run speed in practice and the No. 17 car qualified 3rd for the race. Buescher should score well for your Fantasy Live lineup Sunday night.
BRAD KESELOWSKI (8): Chicagoland Speedway is going to wear out the Goodyear tires quickly. Tire management is going to be important. That is something that Keselowski is very good at. The No. 6 car posted the 12th-fastest speed in practice and Keselowski qualified 4th for the race. He is almost a lock to run well any time he qualifies up front, so I will take a chance with the No. 6 car this weekend.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (4): It has been four weeks since Bell broke his wrist. He has the cast removed and now he will be driving with a splint. Bell told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the wrist is no longer an issue. Bell is very good at searching the track for grip and he is really good on 1.5-mile, D-Shaped, Tri-Oval tracks like Chicagoland Speedway. Bell should bounce back to form this week in Chicago.
(GARAGE PICK) BUBBA WALLACE (7): Wallace has been at his best on the large, intermediate tracks this year. He finished 9th in Las Vegas and 5th at Kansas (the two most similar tracks to Chicagoland Speedway). I am sure the information that Denny Hamlin received from the tire test at Chicagoland Speedway will be passed on to Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace. I expect another top-10 finish from the No. 23 car in Chicago.
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.