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The Big 6: Questions Answered After Alex Bowman Beats the Clock and the Field in Chicago

Who… should you be talking about after the race?

Being the lone driver in NASCAR’s most successful organization without a win has to put a little pressure on a driver, but Alex Bowman no longer feels it after he and the No. 48 team read a wet track, a slower car in front of them and a ticking clock perfectly on Sunday, racing darkness to win the Grant Park 165 on the Streets of Chicago course.

NASCAR’s new rules for impending darkness played out for the first time after a rain delay in Chicago. 

Teams knew when the clock would run out on the race, and that helped Bowman’s team make the tire call that would win the race over a charging Tyler Reddick. The win is the eighth of Bowman’s career and first of 2024. He’s now the 12th winner of the season and locked into the playoffs. It’s also the first career win for crew chief Blake Harris.

And don’t forget Joey Hand. The road course specialist led nine laps in his eighth Cup Series start and won the second stage before finishing fourth in a third car for RFK Racing. Hand, making his first start since 2022, was by far the best finisher for RFK on Sunday.

What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?

For the second year in a row in Chicago and the fourth week in a row this season, rain played a role in how the race played out.

See also
Monday Morning Pit Box: Mother Nature Puts Crew Chiefs to the Test at Chicago

Wet-weather tires allowed the race to run, but like last month at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, despite the novelty, it probably wasn’t the same race fans would have seen had the track stayed dry … and both races would likely have stayed dry had they started earlier.

Does that mean it’s time for NASCAR to go to earlier start times?

It’s past time, actually. While earlier starts wouldn’t end all weather problems, it’s hard to argue that a lot of races in recent years since 3:30 p.m. and later (Eastern) starts haven’t been affected by weather (and/or darkness as a result of weather delays). And many of them would have been avoided if the races had started at 1 p.m. ET. Races started at or around that time for decades with no issues.

Maybe there was a reason for that.

Where… did the other key players wind up? 

Pole winner Kyle Larson gave up the lead at the green flag but lurked close enough throughout the first stage to stalk the lead. After the rain delay, though, Larson was just a little too hot on a wet track and slid into a tire barrier.

He tried to get it going again but the damage was too much, and Larson was done for the day in 39th spot.

Defending race winner Shane van Gisbergen won the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, making it a perfect three for three on road courses in that series in 2024. He picked up right where he left off early, driving to the lead in stage one, which he went on to win under caution. But when the rains came in earnest in stage two, van Gisbergen was tagged by a sliding Chase Briscoe and slammed into a concrete barrier, enough to end his day in 40th.

Defending Cup champion Ryan Blaney never really found the speed he needed on Sunday. He hovered around mid-pack for most of the day, but the No. 12 team let the strategy play out and the race came to them. That paid off in the form of a 10th-place finish. It wasn’t the type of race that will win a driver a title in this day and age, but it was the type that puts one in the position for a playoff run.

When… was the moment of truth?

The race wasn’t exactly a Wild West show, but at times it felt like one amid heavy rain, wet track blues and varying pit strategy. 

When push came to shove, it was pit strategy that decided the race. Knowing the timer was ticking down to zero hour, some teams, including Bowman’s No. 48, felt that staying out on wet-weather tires was the way to go. The track was drying in the racing line, but track position was too important to give away for slicks.

As it turned out, that worked perfectly, though just barely. Reddick and Christopher Bell elected to take slicks and were visibly much faster than Bowman. But lacking track position, both had to race through traffic to the front. Bell tangled with teammate Martin Truex Jr. and smacked the wall. Reddick was running Bowman down when the clock ran out, and with a little more time would have been close enough to battle for the lead. But he got a little hot and one racing slick stepped into a wet spot. Reddick just brushed the wall enough to slow him down, allowing Bowman to take the win.

Meanwhile, the favorites entering the day were blindsided by the weather and wound up battling for last pace.

All in all, despite a few spins on the wet tack, the race wasn’t pure chaos. It just played that way on TV.

Why… should you be paying attention this week?

It’s not a road course. It’s not really an oval, either. Whatever it is, the Cup Series takes on Pocono Raceway this weekend. 

Pocono is a challenge because of its layout. A flat triangle with three distinct turns, it’s long been the bane of crew chiefs because it usually means sacrificing handling in one corner to be good in another. The massive front straightaway means cars enter the tight confines of turn 1 at extremely high speeds and on several racing lines.

At 2.5 miles, Pocono also presents a unique pit strategy situation. Some teams will approach it like a road course because a pit stop won’t cost a lap or more as it does on most ovals. Stage racing has also added to the strategy dilemma, so the race could well go to a team who plays it right from the pit box.

See also
Stock Car Scoop: Did Alex Bowman Save His Seat With Chicago Win?

How… come teams got to choose tires this week when they were mandated at Loudon?

Some fans were wondering why teams had a tire choice to start the race at Chicago after just a couple of weeks ago, every tire change on wet-weather tires was carefully mandated by NASCAR after rains at New Hampshire.

It’s a different situation. That was the first time NASCAR had ever used those tires mid-race on an oval. It was important to get accurate data on wear and to err on the side of driver safety.

They’ve run the tires before on road courses, including this one, so putting things in the hands of teams was a reasonable decision. Teams know what to expect. 

Give NASCAR some time with wet tires on ovals and it’s likely things will change. Consistency is important, but the two scenarios are far from the same thing. NASCAR has been consistent on road courses, and as long as they progress on ovals, the two just aren’t the same sets of circumstances.

Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.


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DoninAjax

NA$CAR buys IMSA and can’t get the end of a timed example of Brian’s product right! No surprise there since they threw the checkered flag one lap early at the Daytona 24 Hour real race.

Bill W.

That fiasco of a race may have saved Bowman’s ride next year.

Carl D.

Yep, it’s past time for NASCAR to go to earlier start times. But in the spirit of compromise, I’m okay with a start time of 1:00 in the time zone the racetrack is in.

DoninAjax

When the events start at 3:30 EST it is 12:30 on the west coast. They’re spoiled out there for some reason. One o’clock here is 10 AM out there, which was the start time of the Firecracker on July 4th.

Jeff H

NASCAR doesn’t control the start times. Only the network broadcasting the race can set the start time. That is a loaded with sarcasm statement, but I think we all know that is the real story. I wonder how many , like me, turned it off as the red flag came out? Personally not a fan of any temp street course races in any series. I think they are just dumb crash fests with all the unsafe walls and terrible pavement.

Bobby

Okay….I will say what no one else has said on any FS article comment this weekend. Hocevar got major point deductions and Big $$$ fines for turning lapdog Burton during a caution. That’s certainly fair! But, we all watched the always unhinged driver of the 23 car deliberately smash in to the winning 48 car on the cool down lap and put him right into the wall. As the winning driver has probably loosened his belts at that point….isn’t he at risk of injury??? But, I digress…

DoninAjax

The 23 drives for Reverend Joe and a guy named Michael something.

Echo

Exactly right. Let’s see how Nascar tries to get that car in the playoffs in the next few weeks. I don’t believe that car has been taken back to Nascar post race this year. It would pass of course.

Echo

A few of us have noticed nothing negative on that car on FS all year.