The NASCAR Cup Series will join the Xfinity Series on the streets of Chicago this 4th of July weekend. The Truck Series is off until the end of July. Will this be the weekend when NASCAR gets the full race in at Grant Park in Chicago without any interruptions from Mother Nature? The first two races saw the teams switch to rain tires and it had an impact on the races. Hopefully the weather cooperates and we get to see what these drivers can do on this tight track.
Here is the schedule for the on-track activity in Chicago at Grant Park….
CHICAGO PREVIEW
The Chicago Street Course is a 2.14-mile race around Grant Park in Chicago. Chase Elliott said the course races like two Martinsville tracks bolted together with a few right hand turns to shake things up. The Chicago Street Course is different from other road course tracks because there are no run-off areas if a driver makes a mistake. This leads to a lot more wrecks and a lot more cautions in the race. We can expect a lot of traffic jams in the streets of Chicago Sunday.
The first two races were dominated by Shane van Gisbergen and Christopher Bell. SVG won the first race and he was making a run to the front of the field last year until he was taken out by Chase Briscoe. Bell led 37 laps and won both Stages in 2023. He led 14 laps last year and his race was ended when he was taken out by Carson Hocevar. The only drivers who finished both races in the top-10 are Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Michael McDowell. It would be a good idea to consider these three drivers, SVG and Bell for your fantasy lineups this week.
Here are the highlights from the race last year in Chicago:2024 Grant Park 165 Race Rewind
FANTASY STATS FOR CHICAGO
So, how do we handicap the Grant Park 165? The stats for the first two races in the streets of Chicago were skewed because of the rain and darkness shortening one of the races. I am still going to look at the Driver Ratings from those two races to help predict who will run up front Sunday. The Chicago Street Course is much tighter than other road courses, but I will still use the data from the two road course races this year (COTA, Mexico). The drivers who ran well in the two races in Chicago and the two races on the road courses this year should be the best drivers for your Fantasy NASCAR lineups Sunday.
Here are the stats from two races on the Chicago Street Course and the two road course races in 2025, sorted by Driver Rating…
EARLY WEEK PICKS FOR CHICAGO
ONE & DONE PICK: SHANE VAN GISBERGEN
FANTASY LIVE PICKS
FANTRAX PICKS
SPEEDWAY COLLECTIVE
EARLY WEEK BEST BETS FOR CHICAGO
Here are my Early-Week, Best Bets for the Grant Park 165…
CHRISTOPHER BELL (+750): Shane van Gisbergen gets all of the hype on the road courses, but you can easily make an argument that Bell is the best road course races in the Cup Series. Bell finishing 2nd at the Charlotte Roval, won the race this year at COTA and finished 2nd in Mexico. That is an average finishing position of 1.6 in his last three road course races. Bell also led 37 laps at Chicago in 2023 and he had one of the best cars last year until Carson Hocevar took him out. Bell is a good bet at +750 Sunday.
TYLER REDDICK (+1200): Reddick has become one of the best road course racers in the Cup Series. He has wins at Road America and the Indy Road Course and second-place finishes at the Charlotte Roval and the Chicago Street Course last year. Reddick finished 3rd this year at COTA and the Chicago Street Course is a better track for him. I will take a chance with Reddick at double-digit odds this weekend.
TY GIBBS (+1200): 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. Gibbs won his first race in the Xfinity Series on a road course. I will bet he can win his first race in the Cup Series on a road course too.
CHASE ELLIOTT (+1400): Elliott was the best driver on the road course in the old car. The switch to the Gen-7 car slowed him down, but he is starting to find his groove again. Elliott finished 3rd (Mexico), 4th (COTA) and 5th (Roval) in his last three road course races. Hendrick Motorsports won the race in Chicago last year with Alex Bowman. I would not be surprised to see the No. 9 car doing burnouts in front of Fan Plaza Sunday.
KYLE BUSCH (+2800): Busch is likely going to need a win in order to secure a spot in the playoffs. He has the talent and the team can use the strategy to get Busch to Victory Lane in Grant Park. Busch is one of only three drivers to finish both races on the Chicago Street Course in the top-10 (Ty Gibbs and Michael McDowell). That includes a 5th-place finish at Chicago in 2023. Busch completely dominated the field this year at COTA. +2800 for a car with that speed on the road courses is too good to pass up this week.
* I will update these picks this weekend.
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