NASCAR Cup Series eero 400
Chicagoland Speedway Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
Sunday, July 5 6 p.m. ET TV: TNT, 5 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267) The Purse: $11,233,037
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Cuervo 300
Chicagoland Speedway Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
Saturday, July 4 5:30 p.m. ET TV: CW, 4:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 300 miles (200 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200) The Purse: $1,661,806
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Liuna 150 at Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock Park Track Length: 1.478 Mile Asphalt Road Course
Saturday, July 11 1 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 147.8 miles (100 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 100) The Purse: $789,700
ARCA Menards Series Ashley Furniture 150
Chicagoland Speedway Track Length: 1.5 Mile Asphalt Oval
Friday, July 3 The Time: 8 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET
Distance: 150 miles (100 Laps)
Chicagoland
- In 1997 a partnership called Motorsports Alliance was formed by International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) with the goal of finding a suitable site for building a track in the Chicago market. In late 1998, Motorsports Alliance would buy the Dale Coyne-owned Route 66 Raceway.
- On May 6, 1999, the closing for a 1.5-mile track with seating for 75,000 was completed for the 930-acre complex in Joliet, Illinois.
- A new company was formed to own and operate the facility. Raceway Associates was 75% owned by Motorsports Alliance and 25% by Route 66 Raceway.
- Groundbreaking for what is now known as Chicagoland Speedway was on September 29, 1999, with a grand opening scheduled for 2001.
- In 2007, International Speedway Corporation (now NASCAR) bought out Motorsports Alliance for a reported $69 million. Subsequently it purchased the 25% owned by Route 66 Raceway.
- In 2008, Chicagoland became the 10th Cup track with lighting and the first NASCAR weekend races at Chicagoland were held at night in 2008
- Did You Know? Chicago hosted the nation’s first ever auto race on Thanksgiving Day, 1895, the Chicago Times-Herald Race. Only 6 cars out of an expected 80 entrants ended up starting the race, which consisted of a 54-mile course between Chicago and Evanston, with the start-finish near where the Museum of Science and Industry now lies. J. Frank Duryea was the eventual
winner and one of only two entrants to finish the race, clocking an average speed of 7 miles per hour. Both the Chicago Street Course and the original course for the Chicago Time-Herald Race share the same portion of Michigan Ave between Balbo and Jackson. - Did You Also Know? Chicago is one of eleven U.S. cities to have teams from the five major American professional team sports: baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and soccer.
NASCAR Cup Series
It’s been 2,562 days since the last Cup race at Chicagoland on June 30, 2019, won by Alex Bowman (the only first time winner at Chicagoland)
This will be the 20th Cup race at Chicagoland; the track annually hosted one race per year between 2001–2019
Stage lengths at Chicagoland are 80, 85 and 102
Four of the last nine winners on 1.5-mile tracks led a total of 10 laps or less
The pass for the win came in the final seven laps in nine of the last 13 1.5-mile races, including three last-lap passes
Toyota led 773 laps on 1.5-mile tracks in 2026 (65%) and has 12 top-5s (60%)
Chase Elliott is the only stage winner in the last seven races on 1.5-mile tracks to win (Texas – Stage 2)
Since the last Cup race at Chicagoland
10 other new tracks have hosted a Cup race
14 drivers that are currently full-time had not yet won their first race
Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott had not yet won a Championship and Joey Logano was a one-time Champion
Kaulig Racing, 23XI Racing, and Trackhouse Racing were not yet in the Cup series
Seven drivers that were full time have retired
ONES TO WATCH
HOT
Denny Hamlin
Six consecutive top-5 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks, including two wins
Led in the last 10 races on 1.5-mile tracks
Scored stage points in the last 18 stages on 1.5-mile tracks
Five top-10s in his last six races at Chicagoland
HOT
Kyle Larson
Five top-5s in the last six races of 2026
Six top-5s, nine top-10s in the last 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks
Scored stage points in 19 of the last 24 stages on 1.5-mile tracks
Led in 12 of the last 13 races on 1.5-mile tracks
HOT
Tyler Reddick
Four top-5s, five top-10s in the last six races on 1.5-mile tracks
Average running position of 5.16 on 1.5- mile tracks in 2026 ranks 2nd to Denny Hamlin
Scored stage points in eight of nine stages on 1.5-mile tracks this year
COLD
Joey Logano
Average finish of 22.5 on 1.5-mile tracks in 2026 ranks 24th
Two finishes of 30th or worse in the last three races on 1.5-mile tracks
Average finish of 20.8 in 2026 is his worst through 18 races since his rookie season (2009)
COLD
Ross Chastain
Has three consecutive top-15 finishes in 2026, but….
Finished 17th or worse in the last five races on 1.5-mile tracks
His Charlotte win in 2025 is his only top10 in the last eight races on 1.5-mile tracks
SLEEPER
Brad Keselowski
Finished Top 10 in the last nine Chicagoland races
Worst finish in the last seven 1.5 mile races is 15th
Fourteen 1.5 mile wins, last was in 2020
SLEEPER
Ryan Blaney
Seven top-10s in the last eight races, including six straight
Two top-10s in four Chicagoland Cup starts Average finish of 9.8 at Chicagoland is his best among all 1.5-mile tracks
Eight races remain before the Chase
This is the second weekend of the five week In-Season Tournament
The final green flag stretch was four laps or less in six of the last 11 races this year
A Toyota driver led the most laps in 11 of the 18 races this season
The pass for the win came in the final eight laps in seven of the last 10 races
Ford is winless in the last 14 races, their longest winless drought since 2015
Only four of the 14 drivers with wins in 2025 have won in 2026
Eight of the 18 races in 2026 were won by the driver starting first
Including starting in the rear, seven of the 18 races in 2026 were won by drivers with an in-race infraction
There have been three first-time winners in 2026 (Ty Gibbs – Bristol, Carson Hocevar – Talladega, Corey Heim – San Diego);
there were a total of three first-time winners in 2023, 2024 and 2025 combined
All three first-time winners in 2026 were 23 years old, the first time in Cup history three or more drivers that young won their first Cup race
444 lead changes in 2026 are the fourth most all-time through 18 races
DENNY HAMLIN TAKES THE POINTS LEAD
Hamlin leads the point standings by one point over Reddick, the first time this season Reddick was not the point leader
Gained 130 points on Tyler Reddick in the last six races, moving from 129 points back following Watkins Glen to 1 point ahead following Sonoma
Scored more points than Reddick in each of the last six races
After Watkins Glen, Denny Hamlin’s regular season champion probability was 11%; it is now 63%
DENNY HAMLIN’S DOMINANCE IN 2026
Led 824 laps this season, the most of all drivers and his most through 18 races in a season
Won 10 times in 2026, four as a driver and six as an owner
Won eight times since Kyle Larson’s last win
2026 POINTS STANDINGS & CHASE BUBBLE WATCH
The point gap from second to third is greater than the point gap from third to seventh (first in points gets 2100 after the reset,
second gets 2075, third gets 2065 with a five point drop for each seed after)
Positions 15 through 21 in points are separated by only 33 points
Drivers on the Move Up
Shane van Gisbergen returned to a Chase position with his win at Sonoma, gaining 41 points to the cut (from -5 to cut in 17th to +36 in 14th)
This is the furthest above the cutline (points-wise) that SVG has been all season
Shane van Gisbergen’s chase probability jumped from 20% to 34% with his win at Sonoma; it was 67% before his DNF at San Diego
Chase Briscoe moved from 17th to 11th in points in the last six races
Erik Jones moved from 25th to 17th in points in the last six races
Jones made his move in the points at the high speed tracks (Charlotte, Nashville, Michigan, Pocono) but is projected to only
be the 24th best points scorer at the 4 remaining short intermediates, giving him just a 31% chase probability
AJ Allmendinger moved from 22nd to 19th in points in the last four races
Ross Chastain moved from 26th to 22nd in points in the last four races
Ryan Preece moved from 19th to 15th in points in the last two races
If Ryan Preece had the additional 25 points that he lost due to being penalized for intentionally wrecking Ty Gibbs at Texas, his chase probability would jump from 41% to 66%
CARSON HOCEVAR’S 100TH CUP START
Has four top-5s this season; he had only three in his career prior
Has been involved in 26 on-track incidents this year, the most of all drivers, involving 30 other drivers in the field
Will make his 100th Cup start this weekend; five drivers won in their 100th Cup start, most recently Erik Jones at Darlington in September 2019
DRIVER & TEAM SEASON PERFORMANCE TRENDS
Christopher Bell led 416 laps in 2026; he led 282 laps in all of 2025
Brad Keselowski, who was in a Chase position after the season’s first 15 races, ranks 33rd in average finish over the last nine races since Talladega (27.1)
Bubba Wallace’s two top-3 finishes this season both came in the last four races
William Byron’s 3rd place finish at Pocono is his only top-5 in the last 11 races
Spire Motorsports has as many wins in 2026 as Hendrick Motorsports (two)
Ross Chastain has three consecutive top-15 finishes after having a total of two top-15s in the season’s first 15 races
Chase Elliott has one top-10 finish in the last seven races of 2026; he had seven top-10s, including two wins, in the first 11
Ty Dillon is making his 300th Cup start this weekend at Chicagoland
Team Penske hasn’t had a top-five finish in the last 10 races, their longest drought since 2008
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
CHICAGOLAND’S RETURN: TRACK CONTEXT & RACE HISTORY
This is the 25th NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Chicagoland Speedway since the inaugural race in 2001
This will be the first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Chicagoland since 2019 – 2,562 days between
No NASCAR series ran at Chicagoland between 2020-2025
Justin Allgaier (two), Chase Elliott and Cole Custer are the only past Chicagoland winners in the field
No previous Chicagoland pole winner is in the field
The driver leading the most laps went on to win 11 of the 24 Chicagoland races
Two of six stage winners at Chicagoland went on to win the race
Only two of the 24 Chicagoland races went to overtime
Active teams with Chicagoland wins
Team Wins
Joe Gibbs Racing 7
Richard Childress Racing 4
JR Motorsports 3
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams that still existed the last time Chicagoland hosted a race Team 2019 finishes
Stewart-Haas Racing 1st – Cole Custer, 15th – Chase Briscoe
Team Penske 2nd – Joey Logano, 5th – Austin Cindric
Kaulig Racing 7th – Justin Haley, 8th – Ross Chastain
GMS Racing 11th – John Hunter Nemechek
JD Motorsports 19th – Landon Cassill, 21st – Stephen Leicht, 23rd – BJ McLeod, 25th – Garrett Smithley
Brandonbilt Motorsports 22nd – Brandon Brown
Jimmy Means Racing 36th – David Starr
POINTS STANDINGS STORYLINES
Page 5 of 23 2026 ©
Justin Allgaier clinched a Chase spot at Pocono; with a 386-point lead to the cutoff, there aren’t enough points available for 12 drivers to pass him
Justin Allgaier’s point lead over second of 207 points is greater than the gap from second to 15th
Positions 11th-14th in points are separated by 27 points
SEASON NOTES & TRENDS
Four races this season ended with a last-lap pass for the win – Sheldon Creed at Atlanta, Corey Day at Talladega, Connor Zilisch at Watkins Glen and Austin Hill at San Diego
Four of the last 21 races were won by first-time winners: Taylor Gray – Martinsville (10/2025), Sheldon Creed – Atlanta
(02/2026), William Sawalich – Rockingham (04/2026) and Corey Day – Talladega (04/2026)
The last five races were won by drivers over the age of 30, only one of the prior six was won by a driver over the age of 30
The stage 1 winner has an average finish of 6.5 with three wins this season, while the stage 2 winner has an average finish of 6.6 with 4 wins
Stage 1 was won by a different driver in each of the last nine races
The last five times a driver swept the stages, they failed to win the race
There has not been an overtime finish in the first 19 races of the season, the longest stretch to open a season without an overtime in series history
Seven of the last 11 races had a caution within the first three laps
Qualifying was rained out five times this season, the most through 19 races in a season all-time
Thirteen different drivers won the Fastest Lap Award this season
Joe Gibbs Racing has had 4 of the 5 fastest four-tire stops of the season with 2 different crews
Kyle Larson leads all drivers with 477 laps led in just five starts
Sixteen different teams earned at least one Top 10 finish this season
Weather affected races in 2026 Track Note
Martinsville Qualifying canceled due to weather after six cars had taken laps
Rockingham Practice interrupted twice by rain
Kansas Practice and qualifying canceled due to rain
Watkins Glen Qualifying canceled due to rain, practice held using rain tires
Charlotte Practice/qualifying canceled due to rain
4+ hour rain delay during the race, race ended after 2 stages due to rain
Nashville Practice shortened by lightning, qualifying canceled due to rain
JR MOTORSPORTS DOMINANCE
JR Motorsports had at least one car finish in the Top 10 in 76 consecutive races, the second-longest streak all-time
Through 18 races, JR Motorsports is ahead of their 2025 pace in wins, Top 5s, Top 10s, stage wins, laps led and average finish
JR Motorsports won with four of their five cars and five of their ten drivers this season
CHASE ELLIOTT RETURNS IN JRM #88
Chase Elliott is making his first start of the season in JR Motorsports #88
Also scheduled to run Indianapolis
10 straight Top 10s in last 10 starts, including 6 straight Top 5s
1 win, 3 Top 10s in 5 career starts at Chicagoland, never finished worse than 14th
Won O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in 07/2014
3 wins, 268 laps led on 1.5-mile tracks are his most on any track type
CHEVROLET DOMINANCE & MANUFACTURER STANDINGS
Chevrolet won 17 of the 19 races, 31 of 38 stages and led all but 548 laps this season
Chevrolet drivers won the last nine races of 2026
NASCAR
http://www.nascar.com/
Photos & Graphics Courtesy of NASCAR