Denny Hamlin is calling Chicago sweet home after capturing the pole position for Sunday’s Grant Park 220, the NASCAR Cup Series’ first street race.
Hamlin, driving the No. 11 Toyota, completed the fastest lap along the 12-turn, 2.2-mile downtown track at 89.557 mph.
“The course is very good and raceable,” Hamlin told NASCAR.com.
Road course ace Tyler Reddick will start on the outside of the front row after Hamlin edged his hot lap of 89.513. The second row includes first-time NASCAR pilot Shane van Gisbergen (89.403 mph) in third place and Christopher Bell (88.765) in fourth. Gisbergen is a three-time Australian Supercars champion.
Van Gisbergen clocked the fastest practice lap earlier Saturday at 89.419 mph. He is seated in Trackhouse Racing’s No. 91 machine, part of the garage’s Project 91, which places top drivers from other disciplines in Cup competition.
With Hamlin, Reddick and Bell, Toyota earned three of the top four starting spots. Van Gisbergen was the top-finishing Chevrolet driver and Michael McDowell (89.328) paced the Ford family with a P6.
Cup points leader Martin Truex Jr. Will start 11th and Ross Chastain, the victory last Sunday at Nashville, struggled and is slated to begin P34.
Chaison wasn’t the lone driver to struggle with on the inaugural street course.
Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick, both former circuit champions, crashed during qualifying. Elliott, who likely needs a win to earn a playoff spot, struck Turn 8’s retaining wall and Harvick failed to safely maneuver through the 90-degree turn along Turn 1. He crashed into the outside wall and will start 36th in the 37-car field. Elliott will start P26.
Denny Hamlin snatched the pole away from Supercars driver Shane van Gisbergen in the closing moments of qualifying to earn his third pole of the season in Chicago.#NASCAR75https://t.co/lUPFKFBfRl
— SPEED SPORT (@SPEEDSPORT) July 1, 2023
Legacy Motor Club’s Crew Work On Impromptu Pit Stop
At least they had plenty of experience working in tough traffic.
Legacy Motor Club pit crew members volunteered to work overtime after noticing a traffic accident.
They paused their work unloading their Cup and Xfinity Series machines and helped repair the cars of a few local drivers.
Three members of Xfinity driver Parker Retzlaff’s crew, David Cropps, Carl Garcia and Mike Usray, unhooked the damaged car’s wiring harness and utilized a screwdriver to dislodge the dented bumper before replacing it.
The driver thanked the crew for the impromptu pit stop and was able to drive on.
Update: Some of our guys and some @LegacyMotorclub guys are helping fix it up! https://t.co/y9nMmfLi5P pic.twitter.com/2JhljUvKpv
— Kaulig Racing (@KauligRacing) June 30, 2023
Starting Lineup for NASCAR Cup Series’ Grant Park 220
Here is a look at the lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Grant Park 220 at Chicago Street Race:
Starting Position, Driver, Car No., Team
- 1, Denny Hamlin, 11, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 2, Tyler Reddick, 45, 23XI Racing
- 3, Shane van Gisbergen, 91, Trackhouse Racing
- 4, Christopher Bell, 20, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 5, Daniel Suarez, 99, Trackhouse Racing
- 6, Michael McDowell, 34, Front Row Motorsports
- 7, Kyle Larson, 5, Hendrick Motorsports
- 8, Jenson Button, 15, Rick Ware Racing
- 9, Joey Logano, 22, Team Penske
- 10, AJ Allmendinger, 16, Kaulig Racing
- 11, Martin Truex Jr., 19, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 12, Ty Gibbs, 54, Joe Gibbs Racing
- 13, Alex Bowman, 48, Hendrick Motorsports
- 14, Bubba Wallace, 23, 23XI Racing
- 15, Chris Buescher, 17, RFK Racing
- 16, Chase Briscoe, 14, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 17, Ryan Blaney, 12, Team Penske
- 18, Kyle Busch, 8, Richard Childress Racing
- 19, Corey LaJoie, 7, Spire Motorsports
- 20, Brad Keselowski, 6, RFK Racing
- 21, Erik Jones, 43, Legacy Motor Club
- 22, William Byron, 24, Hendrick Motorsports
- 23, Noah Gragson, 42, Legacy Motor Club
- 24, Aric Almirola, 10, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 25, Todd Gilliland, 38, Front Row Motorsports
- 26, Chase Elliott, 9, Hendrick Motorsports
- 27, Josh Bilicki, 78, Live Fast Motorsports
- 28, Ryan Preece, 41, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 29, Austin Dillon, 3, Richard Childress Racing
- 30, Andy Lally, 51, Rick Ware Racing
- 31, Austin Cindric, 2, Team Penske
- 32, Harrison Burton, 21, Wood Brothers Racing
- 33, Ty Dillon, 77, Spire Motorsports
- 34, Ross Chastain, 1, Trackhouse Racing
- 35, Kevin Harvick, 4, Stewart-Haas Racing
- 36, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 47, JTG Daugherty Racing
- 37, Justin Haley, 31, Kaulig Racing
I had doubts about the success of the @NASCAR Chicago street race, but I’ve been glued to my phone for the last 30 minutes watching qualifying. This is incredible! Super impressive run by @shanevg97 pic.twitter.com/YqJy5A0L8q
— justin (@jcatsby) July 1, 2023
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