Nashville saw NASCAR produce an incredibly chaotic finish with Joey Logano eventually claiming victory after five overtime restarts. Logano’s win secures his spot in the playoffs as NASCAR heads to the Chicago Street Course for the 2024 Grant Park 165. Last year’s event saw rain delays and red flags before Shane van Gisbergen eventually prevailed – claiming a win in his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series start.
Will SVG repeat? How will the cars fare on a drier version of this track? We still have plenty of questions about this event as NASCAR’s best hope to find themselves in Victory Lane in Chicago.
2024 Grant Park 165 Entry List
AJ Allmendinger and Shane Van Gisbergen will both run double-duty this weekend, racing in their regular Xfinity Series rides as well as running the Cup Series race for Kaulig Racing. Austin Hill in the #33 will also be bumping up to the Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing. Road course specialist Joey Hand mans the #60 for RFK Racing to round out the part-time entries in the field.
Speeding through the city. 💨 pic.twitter.com/ml38f1N3lt
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 6, 2024
I’m not fully sure what to expect from this race as this likely runs like a completely different track from last year. Limited sightlines will likely cause issues and the narrow streets hamper passing opportunities, but the drivers are still more than capable of putting on a show in adverse conditions. I’m still not fully sold on the viability of this race long-term but I’m happy NASCAR is making this attempt and I’m hoping it continues to grow the sport.
2024 Grant Park 165 Race Odds and Predictions
After his impressive 2023 win at the Chicago Street Course, SVG is the Vegas favorite to win once again at +425. After Van Gisbergen, Tyler Reddick has the next-best odds to win at +550. Van Gisbergen’s Kaulig teammate, AJ Allmendinger comes in at +1400. The value of that play shouldn’t be discounted.
Making lap time here is a game of inches. #NASCARChicago pic.twitter.com/Lt81aG1r0J
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 6, 2024
Given NASCAR’s limited exposure to street racing, it’s tough to get a real read on who should be successful in the 2024 Grant Park 165. I think SVG and Allmendinger represent two of the best options this weekend. However, I’m going to opt for Christopher Bell in the #20 as my official pick for the race winner. Bell comes in at +600 to win and has had the dominant car for the past two weeks. Despite Bell’s accident at Nashville, it feels like the #20 holds a ton of momentum.
I’m also going to go back to Michael McDowell as more of a dark horse pick for this race. The #34 team is in a must-win situation if they want to be in the postseason and McDowell generally runs well when NASCAR turns both left and right. The #34 comes in at +1200 to win.
Check the schedule below to make sure you don’t miss any on-track action!
Saturday 07/06
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 12:30 p.m. CT on USA
The Loop 110 (NASCAR Xfinity Series) – 2:30 p.m. CT on NBC
Sunday 07/07
Grant Park 165 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 3:30 p.m. CT on NBC
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