CHICAGO — Sunday’s (July 7) Chicago Street Race marked Joey Hand‘s first NASCAR Cup Series start in two years, and his first with RFK Racing’s No. 60 team.
“This came up a few months ago,” Hand said. “Brad [Keselowski] and I have gotten close doing sim stuff, and he was like, ‘hey, you want to do Chicago?’ I said absolutely. I do not turn down races, pretty much.”
Hand made the absolute most of the opportunity in Chicago, as he scored a career best fourth-place finish and scored a win in stage two.
Hand started the day from 38th place, and he slowly picked his way through the field, running top 15 by the time the race resumed from a lengthy rain delay on lap 26.
“We had a tough qualifying, had some brake bias issues, so we knew the car was better than what we showed in qualifying,” Hand said. “And it was, we were able to drive through a lot of cars, a lot of really good cars.”
The end of stage two brought about a split decision, as Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and several other leaders elected to pit before the end of the stage for dry tires. Presented with a golden opportunity to gain track position, Hand and the No. 60 team decided to roll the dice and stay out for the remainder of the race.
“Staying out or not, it was like, we’re going to go back to 20th and then be in a dog fight [if we pit],” Hand said. “And the inside lanes when it’s wet like this on slicks, it’s tougher to pass; you’re not going to pass a lot of cars. So I was like, ‘we’ve had a great day, we worked our way through from 38th to the lead basically passing people, and I was ready to go down with it like that, to see what happens kind of deal, and the team was on board with that.”
The gamble paid off in the form of a stage two win, as Hand kept Alex Bowman at bay to take the green and white checkered flag on lap 45.
He then entered the final stage in control of the race, and with a final lap set for 8:20 p.m. local time, less than 20 minutes separated Hand from an all-time shocker of an upset.
He began the final stage with the lead and held it for a few laps, but Bowman passed him for the top spot on lap 51, moments before the final caution of the evening.
The field then lined up single file for a five-lap shootout with impending darkness, and Hand managed to hold on with the rapidly declining wet-weather tires to finish fourth.
“It was a big day; it was an awesome day,” Hand said. “It was super fun.
“It was a great team, great group of people in the car. I had a lot of fun this whole weekend, even going to the shop and doing seat inserts. They welcomed me like I’ve been there for years. We had a lot of fun, and that kind of camaraderie and that comfort level for me immediately is what gives you pace, and if the car is there, you just got to wheel it. …
“Awesome day for me to win a stage in a NASCAR race — my eighth one — and to go forward on legitimate pace and to finish fourth when it’s all said and done. It’s a big one for me, for sure.”
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly columns include “Stat Sheet” and “4 Burning Questions.” He also writes commentary, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.
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This is too good to pass up!
Let’s give him a Hand for the drive!
Don’t forget Mr. Hand from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
I have to Hand it to you for that one. But you are showing your age.