Chase Briscoe fended off Christopher Bell in NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, earning his first Cup Series victory of the season in front of a sellout crowd.
Chase Briscoe knew the moment had to be perfect when the checkered flag finally came. He held off Christopher Bell in NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, a 1.5-mile oval about 50 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, capturing his first Cup Series victory of the season.
Bell stayed glued to Briscoe’s bumper through the final laps, but couldn’t reel in the leader from his Joe Gibbs Racing stablemate. Briscoe, the 31-year-old Indiana native, celebrated his sixth career win with a burnout before stepping into the window of his car to wave to the sellout crowd.
Bell’s second-place finish was his fourth runner-up result this season. He raced with a splint on his arm while continuing his recovery after breaking his left wrist in a crash at Michigan on June 7.
Denny Hamlin, who started on the pole, finished third. William Byron, who won two stages while leading a race-high 94 laps, and Alex Bowman completed the top five.
Toyota continued to show speed in the race’s crunch-time running, placing seven of its cars in the top 10. Led by Briscoe, Bell and Hamlin, the manufacturer’s strong showing reflected a season that’s already been moving upward.
The day still carried a sting for one championship contender. Tyler Reddick’s title hopes took a hit after an oil leak about 32 laps left in Stage 2. The caution lasted long enough for Reddick’s 23XI Racing crew to work in the garage. replacing the radiator after a hole was found. Reddick. who won the first three races of the season. finished 36th and now trails Hamlin by 44 points at the top of Cup standings after entering the weekend down by one.
Kyle Larson’s race took a sharp turn after he qualified second behind Hamlin. He was third when he spun out of Turn 4 on Lap 93, driving his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the wet infield grass. Larson was pulled out of the mud and finished 34th, extending his winless drought to 43 races. He’d finished second in each of the previous two Cup races at Chicagoland.
On the track and in the pits. the event carried extra weight because it marked NASCAR’s attempt to reconnect with an audience. NASCAR had run 19 Cup races in Joliet before pulling out after the 2019 season. The series tried to build interest in the event in a crowded sports market, but attendance struggled. After racing on a street course in downtown Chicago each of the previous three years. NASCAR returned to Chicagoland — looking to see how the Next Gen cars would handle the facility’s rough. bumpy asphalt.
Rain on Friday and Saturday caused some parking issues, but the racing itself delivered. For fans. there was also a pop-culture moment: Bubba Wallace drove a “Space Jam”-themed car in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Looney Tunes movie. Wallace, in his No. 23 Toyota Camry for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Michael Jordan, finished sixth.
Ryan Blaney finished seventh in his seventh consecutive top-10 finish. Ty Gibbs, Corey Heim and Riley Herbst completed the top 10.
The result left the spotlight where it belongs after a hard-fought night: Briscoe getting the win, Bell still chasing it, and the championship picture reshuffling as speed met damage and misfortune.
Chase Briscoe Christopher Bell NASCAR Chicagoland Speedway Joliet Denny Hamlin William Byron Alex Bowman Tyler Reddick Kyle Larson Bubba Wallace Toyota 23XI Racing