TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE Chicagoland SpeedwayJuly 4-5, 2026 |
| MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| NASCAR will pay a visit to the “Windy City” once again for the traditional Fourth of July holiday weekend, but this time, the sport will trade the streets of downtown Chicago for the outskirts of the city for the long-awaited return of Chicagoland Speedway. Situated in the suburb city of Joliet, Chicagoland Speedway was one of two Midwest-based intermediate ovals introduced to NASCAR during the 2001 season. Prior to making its departure from the tour following the 2019 season, Chevrolet set the pace in the wins category for both of NASCAR’s top-two divisions – heading into the weekend with nine Cup Series wins and 10 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wins. |
 BOWMAN’S “WINDY CITY” HISTORYComing off a strong top-10 finish on the west coast, Alex Bowman will head to a city that’s played a memorable role in his NASCAR Cup Series career. Two years ago, it was the streets of downtown Chicago that broke Bowman’s winless streak and delivered his eighth, and most recent, Cup Series victory. But it was a visit to Chicagoland Speedway in June 2019 where the Arizona native really put his name on the map by taking the checkered flag at NASCAR’s highest level for the first time in his career. Not only will Bowman enter the highly anticipated weekend as Chicagoland’s defending winner, but he’s also earned a spot on a very short list of just three past winners at the track entered in Sunday’s event. In his three Chicagoland starts under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, he has yet to finish outside of the top-10, with his victory accompanied by a pair of 10th-place results in 2016 and 2018. |
 LARSON’S CONSISTENCY CONTINUESFor Kyle Larson, a trip to his home state of California only further proved that the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team are setting themselves up to be a threat for a title-defending run in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase. Running most of the day in the top-five, the Elk Grove, California, native ultimately came home with a fourth-place finish at Sonoma Raceway – delivering the team its fifth top-five finish in the past six races, including an active streak of four-straight. With his history at Chicagoland Speedway, the weekend looks to be another opportunity to keep that momentum going. He’s finished no worse than seventh in five of his six career Cup Series starts at the track, including a pair of runner-up results in the past two events (2018-2019), to earn a series-leading average finish of 6.2. Larson has also found success in the second-level series at the track with a trip to victory lane alongside Chip Ganassi Racing in the June 2018 event. |
 VAN GISBERGEN VAULTS BACK UP THE STANDINGSWith yet another statement road course performance, Shane van Gisbergen made his return to victory lane at Sonoma Raceway – becoming the second multi-time winner of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. With the series’ regular season continuing to wind down, capitalizing on his forte was just what Van Gisbergen needed to do to get back into the Chase picture. The victory, along with a 63-point day, saw the New Zealand native jump three positions in the standings to 14th with a 36-point advantage over the cutline. While the series will only see left-hand turns for the remainder of the season, Van Gisbergen has been progressively finding his footing on the circuit’s traditional ovals – accumulating six top-15 results on tracks measuring between .5-1.5 miles in length. Among those includes his career-best oval finish of fifth, which came at Nashville Superspeedway just one month ago. |
| IN-SEASON CHALLENGE: ROUND TWO Chevrolet closed out the opening round of the In-Season Challenge with the highest representation moving on as seven Team Chevy drivers remain in the hunt for the one-million-dollar grand prize. Arguably the biggest upset of the opening round came when the No. 32 seed, Alex Bowman, eliminated the No. 1 seed, Tyler Reddick, following his top-10 effort at Sonoma Raceway. Now matched with No. 16 seed, Austin Cindric, the opportunity for yet another upset is on the horizon for the Arizona native as he heads to a track where he’s the series’ most recent winner. Joining Bowman in round two includes his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and William Byron; Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell; and last week’s winner Shane van Gisbergen. |
| JR MOTORSPORTS STACKING STATSLast season, JR Motorsports put together a record-setting season that saw 17 trips to victory lane in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series – marking not only the organization’s winningest season in its history, but also the most wins by a single organization in the series since the 2016 season. Their 2026 campaign is already shaping up with the potential to top that success. With 19 races complete, the organization has already reached 12 victories with five different drivers behind the wheel of their Chevrolet-powered machines. Among those includes the series veteran, Justin Allgaier, with five wins and a substantial points lead that has already secured his spot in the Chase and a shot at a second championship title. In addition, with Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch’s top-two sweep at Sonoma, the organization has placed at least one car in the top-10 for the past 76-straight races. |
 KVAPIL CONTINUES TO IMPRESS Carson Kvapil has made yet another quiet climb up the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Part Series points standings – departing the California swing with a pair of top-six results to find the sixth position in the rankings heading into the upcoming race weekend. What makes his sophomore campaign even more impressive is that he’s competing a split schedule between three different car and crew chief pairings including a pair of JR Motorsports entries with the Rodney Childers-led No. 1 team and the Phillip Bell-led No. 9 team, as well the No. 91 entry for DGM Racing. Kvapil has been able to post at least one top-six result in each ride, with his five top-five results coming within the JR Motorsports stable. |
| BOWTIE BULLETS:· Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup or O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Chicagoland Speedway: NASCAR Cup SeriesAlex Bowman – one win (June2019) NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts SeriesJustin Allgiar – two wins (June 2011 & Sept. 2017)Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – one win (Sept. 2012) Chase Elliott – one win (July 2014)Kyle Larson – one win (June 2018)Cole Custer – one win (June 2019) · At Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet tallied six top-10 finishes, marking the second time this season a manufacturer has placed six cars in the top-10 of a Cup Series event. The Bowtie brand took it one step further by achieving the highest representation of different organizations within those results with five Chevrolet organizations placing drivers in the top-10. · With seven-straight victories to start the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Chevrolet set the record for the longest season-opening streak by a single manufacturer in the division’s history. · In 161 points-paying races in the NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 73 victories – a winning percentage of 45.3%. · Chevrolet is coming off its 29th all-time sweep of the NASCAR Cup Series championship titles – capturing its 34th driver championship and 44th, and fifth consecutive, manufacturer championship in 2025. · With its 44 NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer championships, 34 NASCAR Cup Series driver championships, and 887 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history. |
| TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup Serieseero 400Sunday, July 5, at 6 p.m. ETTNT Sports, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts SeriesCuervo 300Saturday, July 4, at 5:30 p.m. ETCW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 |
| QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletWhat do you expect the Chicagoland surface and racing to be like this weekend?“We haven’t had a race there since 2019 and with the very harsh winters and weather in general, I expect it to be a very rough surface and for all of the bumps to be even more pronounced than they were a few years ago. I think it’ll feel like a completely different track from what we were used to when we went there every year. Tire management is going to be key since the surface is going to be so abrasive. But those kinds of things make the race exciting and very technical for both the drivers and the crew chiefs.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWhat are your thoughts on returning to Chicagoland Speedway now that its back on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule? “I can’t wait to get to Chicagoland Speedway. It’s been a solid mile-and-a-half track for us. I love the character the place has. It reminds me of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It reminds me of a big fast mile-and-a-half. I’m sure the asphalt is going to be worn a little differently, so looking forward to that practice session on Friday and trying to get through the bump in Turns 3 and 4. Last time, we did sit on the pole in 2019, so I’d love to be able to do that again this year.” Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletYour last race at Chicagoland was seven years ago. What do you remember most about racing there and what do you think will be the biggest key to success when you return?“I’m excited to get back to Chicagoland. It’s a track where you have to stay patient because the race can change quickly over the course of a long run. Tire management is important, and you have to be willing to move around the racetrack to find grip as the conditions evolve. I feel like our team has done a good job this season of making our cars better throughout the race, and that’s something that can really pay off at a place like Chicagoland. The goal is to execute all day, avoid mistakes, and put ourselves in position to fight for a strong finish.” Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing ChevroletWhat are your thoughts on recent races?“We’re disappointed in the finishes but optimistic about the speed we have shown. We were tenth on Sunday and I thought we were going to get a great finish but that went away at the end of the race with power steering problems. We know we can build fast cars and that’s what you have to take out of Sonoma and carry it to Chicagoland. We have the speed, now we need the finishes.” What are your thoughts on NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway?“Chicagoland, I felt like the last time I ran there, it was one of my favorite tracks and they took it off the schedule, of course. I had some good experiences there, so I’m looking forward to going back.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletWhat are your thoughts returning to Chicagoland Speedway?“Chicagoland is going to be bumpy, slick and hot, so it’ll present a unique challenge. Hopefully, we can keep making our mile-and-a-half program a little better. There’s really not much you can carry over from other tracks based on what we’ve learned. It might be somewhat similar to Charlotte, but we haven’t raced at Chicagoland in so long that it’s hard to know what to expect. There are a lot of unknowns for everybody. We’ll get to the track on Friday, see how we unload for practice and hopefully be close to where we need to be.” Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWhat impact will 50 minutes of practice have? “50 minutes of practice in both series is going to be huge. We can make changes to the car, more than we traditionally can on standard weekends. It will be nice to go make a run, come in, and if you need to change a rear spring or front-end stuff, you have the option to open up your playbook. I think it will especially help on the Cup side with our zone x 7-Eleven Chevrolet, because we can try things to see if it works for my driving style. Right now, we are in a little box of going to the track each week with what the team already knows. We don’t want to go down a rabbit hole of trying something and then we’re stuck with it all weekend and run 30th.” Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet“It’s exciting to have NASCAR heading back to Chicagoland for the first time since 2019. Chicago is always a fun race weekend and it’s cool to get back racing in front of those fans again. We’ve had some solid speed lately and I’m looking forward to having Pylon Aviation back on the car this weekend. Hopefully we can keep building momentum, stay out of trouble and put ourselves in position for a strong finish.” Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet“I’m excited to get back to Chicagoland; it’s obviously a special race for me getting my first Cup win there back in 2019. It feels like it was so long ago. The track has aged so much and will race differently than it did before. I think it’ll be a tricky place in the Next Gen car with how rough the surface is; with the old car, you could slide around a lot. Now, you can’t really do that without crashing. I’m looking forward to the challenge and ready to put together another solid weekend with our Ally 48 Chevrolet team.” Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ChevroletWhat is your experience at Chicagoland? “I raced there back when it was still the Nationwide Series in 2014, so I have one race to my name at Chicagoland. I can at least say that I’ve been there. Obviously, it’s not going to correlate much to the Gen 7 car, but we’ve gotten lots of sim time in preparation for Chicagoland. It’s definitely a difficult and bumpy mile-and-a-half oval.” How do you use the sim to get up to speed at Chicagoland?“Learning where the bumps are, every little input and angle of your steering, your arc on corner entry, how aggressively you’re tipping in and picking up your throttle, all those things matter. You might know the layout, but when it comes to understanding the nuances of the track – how much yaw you can have in the car, figuring out how free you can have the car, and then the overall balance of the car – that’s where the sim comes in. Sim time on ovals is more about making sure you’re precise and as perfect as you can be with repetition and precision, because that’s the only way you can make speed.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletChicagoland is back on the schedule. What are you expecting to see?“I have a lot of experience at Chicagoland. I did a good bit of testing there for other teams before I earned my first full-time season. I am fairly comfortable on track and it always puts on a great show. It will be really cool to see how this NextGen car handles on the track. We got some laps on the simulator to test a few things, but you never really know until you’re there. Our No. 71 team has started to build some momentum over the last few weeks. We’ve started to close the gap on The Chase cutline. We have to maximize our day as best as possible to keep this momentum rolling.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWhat are your thoughts heading into NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway?“I’m excited to get out there. I haven’t gotten the opportunity to race at Chicagoland yet. The last time there was racing there, I was still a few weeks from my Truck Series debut. I have flown over the track so many times and was able to walk around inside last year after a Zeigler Auto Group event. Here we are just over a year later and we are loading up to race at Chicagoland. We tend to run well on the mile-and-a-half tracks and have had super-fast cars this year. I’m looking forward to the weekend. It should be fun.” Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletIn the last two races you have led laps and scored a top-10 finish. How big of a boost of confidence does that give you entering this weekend at Chicagoland?“I think running well over in the last two races is big for us. We put together a solid run from start to finish at Sonoma and came away with a seventh-place finish. At San Diego we led laps in the Red Bull Chevrolet but didn’t get the finish we deserved. Hopefully we can keep up the positive momentum at Chicagoland and start finishing well consistently.” You have 50 minutes of Cup practice on Friday afternoon. How important is that considering this is your first trip to Chicagoland?“I think it’s very important because we didn’t have a chance to test there. It’s really good to have the extra track time to make a few runs and work on the setup and find out what works and what doesn’t. Fortunately, I’m also running the O’Reilly Series race this weekend which means more track time which is huge this weekend at a track that I’ve never seen before.” Do you expect the surface at Chicagoland to be abrasive? If so, does that make running the O’Reilly race on Saturday even more beneficial? “I certainly think it’s aged over the past few years, and I think it’s going to be worse than the last time NASCAR raced there, and it was already abrasive. I’m expecting all the bumps and the characteristics of the track to be different than 2019 and I think that running the O’Reilly race is going to be beneficial for me to feel those things before I get on track in the Cup car.” Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletGetting that eighth road course win this past weekend at Sonoma, you are now tied with Tony Stewart for most road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. How does that feel?“It’s really cool! Obviously, the road courses are a very different part of the sport but really cool to have the privilege to win with Trackhouse and winning these races has been awesome. I’m not really a stats or numbers person but I did see that New Zealand became the second winningest country in the Cup Series (laughs), so that’s awesome. It’s so cool to be competing in this series and have a stat like that but also be so welcomed. I’m proud to be a part of this sport. I know when I finish racing, those numbers will mean something to me.” With the playoff cutline getting closer, how much attention are you paying to the points standings, and what do you feel you need to improve over the next several races to put yourself in a stronger position?“Every week we are looking at the points. I just need to execute. I need to go to these next eight races and do the best I can on the ovals, stop making little mistakes. I had some painful days at Pocono, I put myself in a bad spot and cost us quite a few points. I need to stop doing things like that. We need to continue getting better and get to the point where we can score stage points on an oval, regularly and run in that top 10, top five. We can do it when we get it right. For me, it’s not going to come while forcing it. We just need to prepare every week, do the best we can, and it will come naturally. I’m still improving a lot, and I know I have a lot to learn.” What are your expectations for racing at Chicagoland Speedway for the first time?“It’s going to be good, I think. It looks really challenging, really bumpy. There is a bit of footage going around from the tire test that I’ve been watching. It looks awesome, really rough in these next gen cars. In all the testing footage, they are wrapped around the bottom in one lane, but I’ve gone back and watched the 2019 race there, and they are all over the track. It looks like a really cool racetrack. I’m looking forward to going somewhere new and having a long practice as well, it will definitely help me.” |
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCEChicagoland SpeedwayJuly 4-5, 2026 |
| MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| NASCAR will pay a visit to the “Windy City” once again for the traditional Fourth of July holiday weekend, but this time, the sport will trade the streets of downtown Chicago for the outskirts of the city for the long-awaited return of Chicagoland Speedway. Situated in the suburb city of Joliet, Chicagoland Speedway was one of two Midwest-based intermediate ovals introduced to NASCAR during the 2001 season. Prior to making its departure from the tour following the 2019 season, Chevrolet set the pace in the wins category for both of NASCAR’s top-two divisions – heading into the weekend with nine Cup Series wins and 10 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wins. |
| BOWMAN’S “WINDY CITY” HISTORYComing off a strong top-10 finish on the west coast, Alex Bowman will head to a city that’s played a memorable role in his NASCAR Cup Series career. Two years ago, it was the streets of downtown Chicago that broke Bowman’s winless streak and delivered his eighth, and most recent, Cup Series victory. But it was a visit to Chicagoland Speedway in June 2019 where the Arizona native really put his name on the map by taking the checkered flag at NASCAR’s highest level for the first time in his career. Not only will Bowman enter the highly anticipated weekend as Chicagoland’s defending winner, but he’s also earned a spot on a very short list of just three past winners at the track entered in Sunday’s event. In his three Chicagoland starts under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, he has yet to finish outside of the top-10, with his victory accompanied by a pair of 10th-place results in 2016 and 2018. |
| LARSON’S CONSISTENCY CONTINUESFor Kyle Larson, a trip to his home state of California only further proved that the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team are setting themselves up to be a threat for a title-defending run in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase. Running most of the day in the top-five, the Elk Grove, California, native ultimately came home with a fourth-place finish at Sonoma Raceway – delivering the team its fifth top-five finish in the past six races, including an active streak of four-straight. With his history at Chicagoland Speedway, the weekend looks to be another opportunity to keep that momentum going. He’s finished no worse than seventh in five of his six career Cup Series starts at the track, including a pair of runner-up results in the past two events (2018-2019), to earn a series-leading average finish of 6.2. Larson has also found success in the second-level series at the track with a trip to victory lane alongside Chip Ganassi Racing in the June 2018 event. |
| VAN GISBERGEN VAULTS BACK UP THE STANDINGSWith yet another statement road course performance, Shane van Gisbergen made his return to victory lane at Sonoma Raceway – becoming the second multi-time winner of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. With the series’ regular season continuing to wind down, capitalizing on his forte was just what Van Gisbergen needed to do to get back into the Chase picture. The victory, along with a 63-point day, saw the New Zealand native jump three positions in the standings to 14th with a 36-point advantage over the cutline. While the series will only see left-hand turns for the remainder of the season, Van Gisbergen has been progressively finding his footing on the circuit’s traditional ovals – accumulating six top-15 results on tracks measuring between .5-1.5 miles in length. Among those includes his career-best oval finish of fifth, which came at Nashville Superspeedway just one month ago. |
| IN-SEASON CHALLENGE: ROUND TWO Chevrolet closed out the opening round of the In-Season Challenge with the highest representation moving on as seven Team Chevy drivers remain in the hunt for the one-million-dollar grand prize. Arguably the biggest upset of the opening round came when the No. 32 seed, Alex Bowman, eliminated the No. 1 seed, Tyler Reddick, following his top-10 effort at Sonoma Raceway. Now matched with No. 16 seed, Austin Cindric, the opportunity for yet another upset is on the horizon for the Arizona native as he heads to a track where he’s the series’ most recent winner. Joining Bowman in round two includes his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and William Byron; Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell; and last week’s winner Shane van Gisbergen. |
| JR MOTORSPORTS STACKING STATSLast season, JR Motorsports put together a record-setting season that saw 17 trips to victory lane in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series – marking not only the organization’s winningest season in its history, but also the most wins by a single organization in the series since the 2016 season. Their 2026 campaign is already shaping up with the potential to top that success. With 19 races complete, the organization has already reached 12 victories with five different drivers behind the wheel of their Chevrolet-powered machines. Among those includes the series veteran, Justin Allgaier, with five wins and a substantial points lead that has already secured his spot in the Chase and a shot at a second championship title. In addition, with Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch’s top-two sweep at Sonoma, the organization has placed at least one car in the top-10 for the past 76-straight races. |
| KVAPIL CONTINUES TO IMPRESS Carson Kvapil has made yet another quiet climb up the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Part Series points standings – departing the California swing with a pair of top-six results to find the sixth position in the rankings heading into the upcoming race weekend. What makes his sophomore campaign even more impressive is that he’s competing a split schedule between three different car and crew chief pairings including a pair of JR Motorsports entries with the Rodney Childers-led No. 1 team and the Phillip Bell-led No. 9 team, as well the No. 91 entry for DGM Racing. Kvapil has been able to post at least one top-six result in each ride, with his five top-five results coming within the JR Motorsports stable. |
| BOWTIE BULLETS:· Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup or O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Chicagoland Speedway: NASCAR Cup SeriesAlex Bowman – one win (June2019) NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts SeriesJustin Allgiar – two wins (June 2011 & Sept. 2017)Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – one win (Sept. 2012) Chase Elliott – one win (July 2014)Kyle Larson – one win (June 2018)Cole Custer – one win (June 2019) · At Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet tallied six top-10 finishes, marking the second time this season a manufacturer has placed six cars in the top-10 of a Cup Series event. The Bowtie brand took it one step further by achieving the highest representation of different organizations within those results with five Chevrolet organizations placing drivers in the top-10. · With seven-straight victories to start the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Chevrolet set the record for the longest season-opening streak by a single manufacturer in the division’s history. · In 161 points-paying races in the NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 73 victories – a winning percentage of 45.3%. · Chevrolet is coming off its 29th all-time sweep of the NASCAR Cup Series championship titles – capturing its 34th driver championship and 44th, and fifth consecutive, manufacturer championship in 2025. · With its 44 NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer championships, 34 NASCAR Cup Series driver championships, and 887 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history. |
| TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup Serieseero 400Sunday, July 5, at 6 p.m. ETTNT Sports, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts SeriesCuervo 300Saturday, July 4, at 5:30 p.m. ETCW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 |
| QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletWhat do you expect the Chicagoland surface and racing to be like this weekend?“We haven’t had a race there since 2019 and with the very harsh winters and weather in general, I expect it to be a very rough surface and for all of the bumps to be even more pronounced than they were a few years ago. I think it’ll feel like a completely different track from what we were used to when we went there every year. Tire management is going to be key since the surface is going to be so abrasive. But those kinds of things make the race exciting and very technical for both the drivers and the crew chiefs.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWhat are your thoughts on returning to Chicagoland Speedway now that its back on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule? “I can’t wait to get to Chicagoland Speedway. It’s been a solid mile-and-a-half track for us. I love the character the place has. It reminds me of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It reminds me of a big fast mile-and-a-half. I’m sure the asphalt is going to be worn a little differently, so looking forward to that practice session on Friday and trying to get through the bump in Turns 3 and 4. Last time, we did sit on the pole in 2019, so I’d love to be able to do that again this year.” Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletYour last race at Chicagoland was seven years ago. What do you remember most about racing there and what do you think will be the biggest key to success when you return?“I’m excited to get back to Chicagoland. It’s a track where you have to stay patient because the race can change quickly over the course of a long run. Tire management is important, and you have to be willing to move around the racetrack to find grip as the conditions evolve. I feel like our team has done a good job this season of making our cars better throughout the race, and that’s something that can really pay off at a place like Chicagoland. The goal is to execute all day, avoid mistakes, and put ourselves in position to fight for a strong finish.” Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing ChevroletWhat are your thoughts on recent races?“We’re disappointed in the finishes but optimistic about the speed we have shown. We were tenth on Sunday and I thought we were going to get a great finish but that went away at the end of the race with power steering problems. We know we can build fast cars and that’s what you have to take out of Sonoma and carry it to Chicagoland. We have the speed, now we need the finishes.” What are your thoughts on NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway?“Chicagoland, I felt like the last time I ran there, it was one of my favorite tracks and they took it off the schedule, of course. I had some good experiences there, so I’m looking forward to going back.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletWhat are your thoughts returning to Chicagoland Speedway?“Chicagoland is going to be bumpy, slick and hot, so it’ll present a unique challenge. Hopefully, we can keep making our mile-and-a-half program a little better. There’s really not much you can carry over from other tracks based on what we’ve learned. It might be somewhat similar to Charlotte, but we haven’t raced at Chicagoland in so long that it’s hard to know what to expect. There are a lot of unknowns for everybody. We’ll get to the track on Friday, see how we unload for practice and hopefully be close to where we need to be.” Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWhat impact will 50 minutes of practice have? “50 minutes of practice in both series is going to be huge. We can make changes to the car, more than we traditionally can on standard weekends. It will be nice to go make a run, come in, and if you need to change a rear spring or front-end stuff, you have the option to open up your playbook. I think it will especially help on the Cup side with our zone x 7-Eleven Chevrolet, because we can try things to see if it works for my driving style. Right now, we are in a little box of going to the track each week with what the team already knows. We don’t want to go down a rabbit hole of trying something and then we’re stuck with it all weekend and run 30th.” Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet“It’s exciting to have NASCAR heading back to Chicagoland for the first time since 2019. Chicago is always a fun race weekend and it’s cool to get back racing in front of those fans again. We’ve had some solid speed lately and I’m looking forward to having Pylon Aviation back on the car this weekend. Hopefully we can keep building momentum, stay out of trouble and put ourselves in position for a strong finish.” Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet“I’m excited to get back to Chicagoland; it’s obviously a special race for me getting my first Cup win there back in 2019. It feels like it was so long ago. The track has aged so much and will race differently than it did before. I think it’ll be a tricky place in the Next Gen car with how rough the surface is; with the old car, you could slide around a lot. Now, you can’t really do that without crashing. I’m looking forward to the challenge and ready to put together another solid weekend with our Ally 48 Chevrolet team.” Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing ChevroletWhat is your experience at Chicagoland? “I raced there back when it was still the Nationwide Series in 2014, so I have one race to my name at Chicagoland. I can at least say that I’ve been there. Obviously, it’s not going to correlate much to the Gen 7 car, but we’ve gotten lots of sim time in preparation for Chicagoland. It’s definitely a difficult and bumpy mile-and-a-half oval.” How do you use the sim to get up to speed at Chicagoland?“Learning where the bumps are, every little input and angle of your steering, your arc on corner entry, how aggressively you’re tipping in and picking up your throttle, all those things matter. You might know the layout, but when it comes to understanding the nuances of the track – how much yaw you can have in the car, figuring out how free you can have the car, and then the overall balance of the car – that’s where the sim comes in. Sim time on ovals is more about making sure you’re precise and as perfect as you can be with repetition and precision, because that’s the only way you can make speed.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletChicagoland is back on the schedule. What are you expecting to see?“I have a lot of experience at Chicagoland. I did a good bit of testing there for other teams before I earned my first full-time season. I am fairly comfortable on track and it always puts on a great show. It will be really cool to see how this NextGen car handles on the track. We got some laps on the simulator to test a few things, but you never really know until you’re there. Our No. 71 team has started to build some momentum over the last few weeks. We’ve started to close the gap on The Chase cutline. We have to maximize our day as best as possible to keep this momentum rolling.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWhat are your thoughts heading into NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway?“I’m excited to get out there. I haven’t gotten the opportunity to race at Chicagoland yet. The last time there was racing there, I was still a few weeks from my Truck Series debut. I have flown over the track so many times and was able to walk around inside last year after a Zeigler Auto Group event. Here we are just over a year later and we are loading up to race at Chicagoland. We tend to run well on the mile-and-a-half tracks and have had super-fast cars this year. I’m looking forward to the weekend. It should be fun.” Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletIn the last two races you have led laps and scored a top-10 finish. How big of a boost of confidence does that give you entering this weekend at Chicagoland?“I think running well over in the last two races is big for us. We put together a solid run from start to finish at Sonoma and came away with a seventh-place finish. At San Diego we led laps in the Red Bull Chevrolet but didn’t get the finish we deserved. Hopefully we can keep up the positive momentum at Chicagoland and start finishing well consistently.” You have 50 minutes of Cup practice on Friday afternoon. How important is that considering this is your first trip to Chicagoland?“I think it’s very important because we didn’t have a chance to test there. It’s really good to have the extra track time to make a few runs and work on the setup and find out what works and what doesn’t. Fortunately, I’m also running the O’Reilly Series race this weekend which means more track time which is huge this weekend at a track that I’ve never seen before.” Do you expect the surface at Chicagoland to be abrasive? If so, does that make running the O’Reilly race on Saturday even more beneficial? “I certainly think it’s aged over the past few years, and I think it’s going to be worse than the last time NASCAR raced there, and it was already abrasive. I’m expecting all the bumps and the characteristics of the track to be different than 2019 and I think that running the O’Reilly race is going to be beneficial for me to feel those things before I get on track in the Cup car.” Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletGetting that eighth road course win this past weekend at Sonoma, you are now tied with Tony Stewart for most road course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. How does that feel?“It’s really cool! Obviously, the road courses are a very different part of the sport but really cool to have the privilege to win with Trackhouse and winning these races has been awesome. I’m not really a stats or numbers person but I did see that New Zealand became the second winningest country in the Cup Series (laughs), so that’s awesome. It’s so cool to be competing in this series and have a stat like that but also be so welcomed. I’m proud to be a part of this sport. I know when I finish racing, those numbers will mean something to me.” With the playoff cutline getting closer, how much attention are you paying to the points standings, and what do you feel you need to improve over the next several races to put yourself in a stronger position?“Every week we are looking at the points. I just need to execute. I need to go to these next eight races and do the best I can on the ovals, stop making little mistakes. I had some painful days at Pocono, I put myself in a bad spot and cost us quite a few points. I need to stop doing things like that. We need to continue getting better and get to the point where we can score stage points on an oval, regularly and run in that top 10, top five. We can do it when we get it right. For me, it’s not going to come while forcing it. We just need to prepare every week, do the best we can, and it will come naturally. I’m still improving a lot, and I know I have a lot to learn.” What are your expectations for racing at Chicagoland Speedway for the first time?“It’s going to be good, I think. It looks really challenging, really bumpy. There is a bit of footage going around from the tire test that I’ve been watching. It looks awesome, really rough in these next gen cars. In all the testing footage, they are wrapped around the bottom in one lane, but I’ve gone back and watched the 2019 race there, and they are all over the track. It looks like a really cool racetrack. I’m looking forward to going somewhere new and having a long practice as well, it will definitely help me.” |
| Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturer Championships:Total (1949-2025): 44First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)Most recent: 2025 Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Driver Championships:Total (1949-2025): 34First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most recent: Kyle Larson (2025)Driver and Manufacturer Championship Sweeps: 29 Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2025 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007) 2026 STATISTICS: Wins: 6Poles: 4Laps Led: 1,393Top-Fives: 34Top-10s: 66Stage Wins: 13 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 887 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 770Laps led to date: 258,127Top-fives to date: 4,470Top-10s to date: 9,217 Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date: General Motors: 1,221 Chevrolet: 887 Pontiac: 154 Oldsmobile: 115 Buick: 65 Ford: 848 Ford: 748 Mercury: 96 Lincoln: 4 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467 Dodge: 217 Plymouth: 191 Chrysler: 59 Toyota: 214 |