Race 18 of 33: The Loop 110 on the Chicago Street Course
Track Specs: 2.2-mile street course / 50 laps
Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen
Zilisch’s finish: 2nd
Smith’s finish: 7th
Kvapil’s finish: 16th
Allgaier’s finish: 23rd
Shane van Gisbergen
Shane van Gisbergen started from the pole position after earning his fourth career NASCAR Xfinity Series pole. He dominated early, leading every lap to win Stage One. In Stage Two, he remained out front until a late caution flag prompted his No. 9 team to pit for fresh tires, fuel and a minor adjustment. Starting 19th in Stage Two, the New Zealander charged through the field and climbed to second place. A caution flag with six laps to go allowed him to restart alongside teammate Connor Zilisch. On the restart, Van Gisbergen took the lead and claimed his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season.
“Unreal day! Thought it was going to be a lost cause when the strategy went a bit wrong there in Stage 2, but it ended up working out well. Thanks to my No. 9 JRM team, my WeatherTech/Red Bull Chevrolet was a rocket. Such an awesome day, looking forward to giving it another shot with this team next weekend in Sonoma.”
Connor Zilisch
Connor Zilisch scored a second-place finish on Saturday afternoon in The Loop 110 Chicago Street Race, his sixth consecutive top-five finish. Zilisch started 35th after sliding into a tire barrier late in NXS practice on Saturday morning. The No. 88 Red Bull/WeatherTech team hastily made repairs to its primary car, completing the work just before the race started. Zilisch sliced his way through traffic during Stage One, climbing through the field to score an eighth-place finish when the segment concluded on lap 15. Zilisch pitted one lap later for four tires and a major chassis adjustment and lined up 18th when the race went green on lap 18. In Stage Two, Zilisch again marched his way through traffic to score a fourth-place finish when the stage concluded on lap 30. Crew chief Mardy Lindley kept his driver on the track during the stage caution and consistently reminded his driver to save fuel and take care of his tires over the final stage. Zilisch restarted third on lap 37 and grabbed the lead one lap later. He was leading by nearly three seconds when the sixth and final caution flag waved on lap 46, erasing his advantage and setting up a final restart. Zilisch’s JR Motorsports teammate, Shane van Gisbergen, took the lead and led the final two laps to score the victory.
“It was really cool to give Red Bull and WeatherTech a one-two finish. I’m so proud of my team because they worked so hard today. The entire JR Motorsports organization came in to help get our car ready to go. Our Red Bull/WeatherTech Chevrolet was fast all day even after the damage. We had a shot at it there and that’s all you can ask for. I’m really looking forward to next week at Sonoma.”
Sammy Smith
Sammy Smith, driver of the No. 8 Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet, took to the streets of Chiago on Saturday and persevered through searing temperatures all day in qualifying and the 50-lap matinee event to put a fast car on the 2.2-mile course. Smith finished the race in seventh while accumulating valuable stage points and gaining three positions in the points to gain 11th place.
Smith drove his patriotic-themed Chevrolet through two cautions in the opening 15-lap stage from 10th to seventh, accumulating valuable stage points. The Iowa native felt good in the car, asking only for front-turn assistance when called to pit road. After the pit cycle, the No. 8 restarted 17th for Stage Two. The changes made by crew chief Phillip Bell were exactly what Smith needed to race through the field to a fifth-place finish in the second stage.
Smith took the green flag for the final 20 laps of The Loop 110 in fifth place. The Iowa native fought within the top five until a caution waved with just three laps remaining. Smith and his No. 8 team finished up the day with a seventh-place finish to add a second top-10 finish to his record on the streets of Chicago.
“This No. 8 Allstate Peterbilt Group team was on it all day long, even through the heat. They gave me a great car from start to finish and we have a lot of good to build on. We’ll take this and look ahead to Sonoma next week to keep getting better.”
Carson Kvapil
Carson Kvapil, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Technologies Chevrolet, took to the streets of Chicago for the first in Saturday afternoon’s The Loop 110. After taking the initial green flag in the 13th position, the rookie driver quickly made his way into the top 10. Avoiding several on-track incidents, Kvapil took the green-and-white checkered flag ninth, earning valuable stage points. Starting the second stage just inside the top 20 after the pit cycle, Kvapil worked his way to just outside the top 10 until a late-race restart saw the Mooresville native shuffled back to 15th at the end of 30 laps. Starting the final segment towards the back of the field, Kvapil once again began to work his way forward. Avoiding several more on-track incidents in the remaining laps, Kvapil lined up for a green-white-checkered finish restart inside the top 20, and the 22-year-old managed to earn four more positions in the remaining laps to end the race in 16th position.
“We tried to prepare as much as we could coming into this weekend, but I’ve never raced on a track like this, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I wish we could have gotten I done in the end for Johnny Morris and everyone at Bass Pro Shops and Clarience Technologies, but this No. 1 team is going to turn our focus to Sonoma and keep working to bring fast cars to the track.”
Justin Allgaier
Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, returned to his home state of Illinois for his third start on the Chicago Street Course. After a strong qualifying effort, Allgaier jumped quickly into fourth at the start and maintained his position there until a late-stage restart saw him shuffled just outside the top five where he would finish the opening stage. Lining up 16th in the second stage, Allgaier avoided several on-track incidents and took advantage of varying pit strategies to make his way back into the top 10. Unfortunately, a mechanical failure with less than 10 laps remaining saw the veteran driver and defending series champion drop out of contention, ultimately taking the checkered flag in 23rd position. After earning 22 points over the course of the day, Allgaier remains the NXS points leader as the series heads west to Sonoma.
“This wasn’t the result we were hoping for today with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet, but we had a really fast car and were able to get some stage points in the end. It is unfortunate we had an issued at the end, but I can’t thank these guys enough for working hard to keep us in the fight and congratulations to the No. 9 team and SVG on a great win.”
