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Nascar Chicago 2025 Start Time & Schedule | MotorSportRadar

Nascar Cup - Chicago 2025

Dunlaing Watches
Event Start

Chicago

Dunlaing Watches
0 D
0 H
0 M
0 S

5 - 7 Jul 2025

Completed
Chicago Street Course

Chicago Street Course

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Practice
19:00 - Sat, 5 Jul
Qualifying
20:00 - Sat, 5 Jul
Race
20:00 - Sun, 6 Jul

Track Info

Chicago Street Course - Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA

NASCAR’s first top-series street circuit - 2.2 mi / 3.54 km with 12 turns around Grant Park and Lake Shore Drive - temporary city streets with concrete canyons and heavy braking zones

First Race
Jul 2, 2023
The inaugural Cup race (Grant Park 220) was won by Shane van Gisbergen on his series debut. Alex Bowman won the 2024 Grant Park 165.
Circuit Length
2.2 mi / 3.54 km
12-turn layout through Grant Park and along DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
Turns
12
Heavy-brake ninety-degree corners linked by quick kinks and lakeside straights.
Lap Records
Cup Qualifying 1:27.518 - Kyle Larson (2024) • Cup Race Lap 1:29.720 - Shane van Gisbergen (2024)
Xfinity qualifying 1:29.448 and race lap 1:30.879, both by van Gisbergen in 2024.
Accolades
2024 Event of the Year
Sports Business Awards recognized the Chicago Street Race as Event of the Year.

When was the track built?

It’s a temporary course mapped on existing city streets around Grant Park, announced for NASCAR’s 2023 schedule and delivered as the series’ first-ever street race. Procedures and layout refinements continued into 2024 while retaining the 2.2 mi, 12-turn footprint.

When was its first race?

The venue’s first race was the Grant Park 220 on July 2, 2023, won by Shane van Gisbergen. Weather challenges returned in 2024, when Alex Bowman won the shortened Grant Park 165.

What's the circuit like?

  • Street-circuit precision: Concrete walls and tight 90s put a premium on braking stability, rotation, and traction over bumps.
  • Changeable conditions: The inaugural race and 2024 edition both wrestled with rain and fading light, making strategy and tyre choice pivotal.
  • Benchmark pace: Kyle Larson’s 1:27.5 Cup pole set the single-lap bar; van Gisbergen holds the official Cup race-lap record at 1:29.720.

Lap records and benchmarks

  • NASCAR Cup - qualifying: 1:27.518 - Kyle Larson, 2024.
  • NASCAR Cup - race lap: 1:29.720 - Shane van Gisbergen, 2024.
  • NASCAR Xfinity - qualifying: 1:29.448 - Shane van Gisbergen, 2024.
  • NASCAR Xfinity - race lap: 1:30.879 - Shane van Gisbergen, 2024.

Why go?

It’s NASCAR in the heart of a global city. Expect skyline backdrops, heavy-brake divebombs, weather plot twists, and a festival atmosphere steps from the lakefront museums. The unique format has already produced debut-winner lore and late-race drama.

Where's the best place to watch?

  • Start/finish along Columbus Dr: Launches, pit action, and the run to Turn 1.
  • Lake Shore Drive section: Feel top-speed build before big stops back into the park.
  • Heavy-brake zones (T4–T6 and T11–T12): Prime passing and lockup territory with great photo angles.

Not just one series - headline moments in Chicago

Back-to-back headlines: Van Gisbergen’s debut win in 2023 and sweep across Cup and Xfinity from pole in 2025 cemented the event’s road-race reputation.

Event of the Year: The Sports Business Awards honor reflected the race’s successful launch and city partnership.

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