With heavy rains and flooding threatening the entire Cook County area, NASCAR decided to call the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago street course two laps short of halfway.
Cole Custer was declared the winner of The Loop 121 on Sunday (July 2). All the racing for the event took place Saturday, though, and those 25 laps were historic and exciting. Custer let every lap and dominated stage one. The No. 00 Ford Mustang was clearly the best car on the track when the rain and lightning came.
It’s Custer’s second win in the Xfinity Series this season.
It’s the fifth time in NASCAR history that a race hasn’t reached the halfway point and evened called official. The last time was at Kansas Speedway in 2022.
“With standing water and flooding a significant issue at the race track and throughout the city, there was no option to return to racing prior to shifting to NASCAR Cup Series race operations,” NASCAR said in a statement. “Throughout the entire planning process for the Chicago Street Race, our relationship with the City of Chicago has been strong and among the most valuable assets in reaching this historic weekend. In the spirit of that partnership, returning on Monday for the completion of a NASCAR Xfinity Series event two laps short of halfway was an option we chose not to employ. Based on several unprecedented circumstances, NASCAR has made the decision to declare Cole Custer the winner of the race.”
John Hunter Nemechek was the runner up. Justin Allgaier, Brett Moffitt, and Austin Hill rounded out the top five.
Sammy Smith finished in sixth, followed by Daniel Hemric, Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman and Kaz Grala rounding out the top 10.
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks drove the No. 10 for Kaulig Racing yesterday and was one of the heavy favorites before his engine expired on lap 4. It was Marks’ first NASCAR start since 2018. He finished in 38th.
The only other caution for incident was for Andre Castro, who crashed hard into the tire wall entering turn 1. Castro was making his first start in the Xfinity Series in Jesse Iwuji Motorsports’ No. 34 Chevrolet. He was treated and released by the infield care center.
Xfinity Series Results at Chicago
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns next weekend to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday (July 8). Coverage begins on USA Network, PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio at 8 p.m. ET.
Garrett joined Frontstretch as a news writer in 2023, and became a fantasy racing and betting writer in 2024. Hailing from the heart of coal country in southern West Virginia, he's a married father of three and currently enrolled in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at New River Community Technical College in Beaver, WV.
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Expect the same for the Cup fiasco. They’ll be trying to run the event at night using the street lamps, optimistically speaking!
The city loses, not NA$CAR. Suckers !!!
Considering the crowd, if it even rose to the characterization, the city doesn’t care.