Nascar news

• NASCAR Chicagoland predictions 2026, expert picks for Cup Series race

  04-07-2026 12:04 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019 for the eero 400 on July 5.18 drivers entered into this weekend's race ran in the last Cup race at Chicagoland in 2019, but the Next Gen car has not run at the track before.Still, it's a 1.5-mile track, and the field will search for grip up and down the grooves.Alex Bowman won the last event in 2019, and he, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin are all former winners.Here are The Tennessean's expert picks for Sunday'
  
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• NASCAR Classic at Le Mans ends with Andrew Jordan claiming the overall victory

  05-07-2026 23:48 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoThe inaugural running of the HSR NASCAR Classic at Le Mans has concluded after three races at the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe.JC France, grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., won Race #1 in a 2014 NASCAR Cup Chevrolet Camaro wrapped to look like the Garage 56 NASCAR entry.But on Sunday, it was all Andrew Jordan as he swept the day with victories in Race #2 and Race #3. He was driving a the No. 15 PEAK 2013 Toyota Camry, resembling the one driven by Clint Bowyer during his M
  
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• NASCAR News: CEO Steve O’Donnell Sheds Light on Future Racing Plans in Chicago

  05-07-2026 23:01 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  NASCAR is back at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2019. Saturday night’s O’Reilly Series race delivered plenty of excitement and there’s a sellout on Sunday night for the eero 400. Now the question is, will NASCAR be back in Chicago in 2027?Speaking to reporters ahead of the Cup Series race on Sunday at Chicagoland, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said the market remains “very important” to the sport whether that means Chicago holding a s
  
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• Christopher Bell Opens Up On Loss of Cockpit Freedom Weeks After Scary Crash

  05-07-2026 20:50 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Chase Elliott recently lost control of his car at Michigan International Speedway and snapped toward the outside wall. Christopher Bell was caught in the crossfire. With nowhere to go, Bell slammed hard into the SAFER barrier. The crash left Bell with a broken left wrist. It is terrible timing for a long recovery, especially with the current championship format demanding consistent points.Bell managed to race the next two weeks at Coronado and Sonoma. However, Joe Gibbs Racing kept prospect Bren
  
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• "Not Going To The Same Places"- Joey Logano Drops Blunt Verdict on NASCAR’s Rumored Chicago Schedule

  05-07-2026 20:30 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Joey Logano 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford waves to the crowd prior to the running of the 68th NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Daytona 500 on February 15, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 15 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602151995500 ©IMAGO/Icon SportswireNASCAR has been throwing ideas at the wall lately. Street races, dirt tracks, new markets, old ven
  
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• NASCAR Predictions Today: Eero 400 Picks, including Race and Stage Winners

  05-07-2026 20:25 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The NASCAR Cup Series is racing today at Chicagoland Speedway, with the eero 400 offering the potential to be one of the best races of the season. With the NASCAR starting lineup for Sunday set, it’s time to make some predictions.Let’s dive into our NASCAR picks today for the eero 400 winner, stage winners and more.Kyle Larson Wins Stage 1IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectKyle Larson did finish just 0.001 seconds behind Denny Hamlin in qualifying on Saturday, but the No. 5 team was hit
  
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• Chicagoland Speedway's return highlights NASCAR's schedule questions

  05-07-2026 20:17 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, IL – A return to Chicagoland Speedway after six years on the Fourth of July weekend highlights some of the quandaries NASCAR has with its schedule and also the opportunities.Is it more important to try to reinvigorate an audience at a traditional oval or reach new fans through a downtown street race?Did the pendulum swing too far toward road races in favor of traditional ovals?Is Chicago, the United States’ third-largest metro area, even the right place to race on Independenc
  
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• Will Austin Hill be racing NASCAR Cup full-time with RCR in 2027?

  05-07-2026 20:03 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoSince the tragic passing of Kyle Busch last month, NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series regular Austin Hill was put behind the wheel of Busch's Cup car. It was renumbered, with the No. 33 replacing the No. 8 on the door, and Hill is expected to drive the car for the remainder of the 2026 season while also competing for the NASCAR O'Reilly title.The 32-year-old has a best finish of 18th since taking over the car, but he also crashed while battling for the lead on a mid-race restart a
  
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• NASCAR at Chicagoland, starting lineup for 2026 eero 400

  05-07-2026 19:59 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The NASCAR Cup Series is in Joilet, Illinois, on Sunday, July 5, for the eero 400. Denny Hamlin is on the pole at Chicagoland Speedway, continuing his hot streak this season. Hamlin’s qualifying time of 30.296 seconds was 0.001 seconds quicker than Kyle Larson, who will start on the outside. It is Hamlin’s fourth pole of the season and 52nd career pole position, moving him to No. 9 all-time on the NASCAR Cup Series list.Rounding out the top five is a pair of RFK R
  
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• Taylor Gray ends up short at Chicagoland, makes gains in O'Reilly Chase pursuit

  05-07-2026 19:52 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, Ill. — One week ago, Taylor Gray’s sputtering No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota sat helplessly out of fuel at Sonoma Raceway, and teammate Brandon Jones obliged with a push to help him across the finish line. Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway, there was more contact, but at far higher speeds and with late-race stakes.Though Gray’s No. 54 bore some of Jones’ neon yellow paint on his logo-scrubbed left-front Goodyear tire, the hard racing in an event that Jones ev
  
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• NASCAR O’Reilly Standings Right Now: O’Reilly Series Points Leaders Today, The Chase Cutline

  05-07-2026 19:48 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Brandon Jones delivered an exciting win last night at Chicagoland Speedway in the Cuervo 300, delivering a bit of a shakeup in the NASCAR O’Reilly Standings right now. With only four races remaining in the regular season, it’s time to take a look at the O’Reilly Series points leaders and where The Chase cutline stands right now.Let’s take you right inot the NASCAR O’Reilly standings today through 20 points races. Further below is where you can find The Chase cutline
  
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• Andrew Jordan wins NASCAR Classic Race #2 as Kurt Busch podiums at Le Mans

  05-07-2026 19:28 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoAfter JC France's dramatic win in the first race of the weekend at the historic Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France, the NASCAR stock cars from across the decades were back on track on Sunday.Driving the No. 15 PEAK Toyota Camry from 2013, Andrew Jordan rebounded after a heartbreaking loss in Race #1, where his car slowed to halt while leading on the final lap.Driving the car Clint Bowyer once piloted for Michael Waltrip Racing, Jordan came back with a vengeance to win Race #
  
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• NASCAR starting lineup for Cup Series race at Chicagoland in July 2026

  05-07-2026 16:14 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Joe Gibbs Racing will lead the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for the race at Chicagoland Speedway in July. Denny Hamlin won the pole for the 2026 eero 400 at Chicagoland this weekend. Kyle Larson will join Hamlin on the front row for Sunday evening's event. It is Hamlin's fourth pole position of the 2026 season.Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski will follow the two drivers on the second row. Most notably, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Austin Cindric, Daniel Suarez, Corey Heim, Shane van Gisbergen
  
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• One Decision Could Decide Sunday’s NASCAR Race at Chicagoland

  05-07-2026 16:09 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Dark clouds rolled over Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, but the biggest storm facing NASCAR teams isn’t in the forecast.It’s the strategic gamble that could decide Sunday’s Cup Series race.Although Chicagoland hosted Cup Series races for nearly two decades before falling off the schedule after 2019, Sunday’s event marks the first time NASCAR’s Next Gen car will compete on the 1.5-mile oval. Seven years of aging pavement have transformed the racing surface, leaving
  
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• JC France wins wild NASCAR Classic race at Le Mans

  05-07-2026 07:39 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoAs part of the Le Mans Classic, NASCAR stock cars from across the decades are competing at the historic track, but it was fitting that a Camaro wrapped to look like the Garage 56 NASCAR entry -- and driven by a member of the founding France family -- found its way to Victory Lane.J.C. France, grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., drove a 2014 NASCAR Cup Chevrolet Camaro with the Garage 56 wrap to victory after misfortune befell the race leaders on Saturday.Andrew Jordan was
  
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• Elton Sawyer and Ben Kennedy Just Saved NASCAR’s Reputation With July 4th Brilliance

  05-07-2026 07:26 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas.For years, NASCAR has heard the same criticism from fans whenever rain interrupted a race: don’t wave the white flag too early.On Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway, NASCAR finally gave fans exactly what they had been asking for.After thunderstorms delayed the start of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Cuervo 300 by several hours, NASCAR officials stuck with their original plan to race on Independence Day instead of pushing the event to Sunday morning.
  
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• Brandon Jones denies Chase Elliott in NASCAR O'Reilly overtime to win at Chicagoland

  05-07-2026 07:15 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoIn NASCAR overtime for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, Brandon Jones passed Cup star Chase Elliott for the win. Racing on older tires, he slid up in front of Elliott. Elliott tried to fight back, running up against the wall to pick up momentum before sending it under Jones into the final corner, but Jones had the run to the line.That was the eighth victory of Jones' career, delivering Joe Gibbs Racing its third win of the 2026 season."I had to earn th
  
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• Chase Elliott Just Choked to an O’Reilly Lifer at Chicagoland

  05-07-2026 07:00 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Photo Credit: Jerome Miron.The fireworks had long faded by the time the checkered flag finally flew early Sunday morning, but Chase Elliott still left Chicagoland Speedway without the trophy.After weather pushed the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race well past midnight on Independence Day, Brandon Jones outdueled Elliott in an overtime restart to steal the victory, leaving NASCAR’s reigning Cup Series star to settle for second in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.Elliott spent much of
  
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• What time is the NASCAR race today? TV schedule, channel, live stream for Chicagoland

  05-07-2026 06:20 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  What time is the NASCAR race today? TV schedule, channel, live stream for Chicagoland originally appeared on The Sporting News.Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.After a thrilling road race in Sonoma last weekend, NASCAR will now make its way to the Windy City for the eero 400.Hosting the Cup Series for the first time since 2019, the Chicagoland Speedway is ready to host a Fourth of July weekend race that is sure to excite. The 1.5-mile track in Chicago's suburbs is sim
  
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• Denny Hamlin wins pole position for NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway

  05-07-2026 05:57 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has the pole position for a NASCAR Cup Series race. Again.Hamlin had a lap time of 30.296 seconds at 178.241 mph on Saturday in qualifying for the first Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in seven years. It was just enough to edge Kyle Larson in second at 30.297 seconds and 178.235 mph in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.“We got very fortunate that the last 12 cars had full sun, 100% sun (over the track),” Hamlin said. “The last few
  
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• 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Pit Stall Assignments: Where Every Driver’s Team Will Pit at Chicagoland

  05-07-2026 03:54 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The starting lineup is officially set for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, and teams now know where they’ll be making every pit stop during the eero 400.Following Saturday’s qualifying session, NASCAR released the official pit stall assignments for all 38 drivers. While qualifying determines the starting grid, pit selection is another critical advantage, especially at a 1.5-mile intermediate track where green-flag pit cycles often shape the outcome of th
  
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• Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell Hit With NASCAR Inspection Penalties Before Chicagoland Race

  05-07-2026 03:32 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Saturday qualifying at Chicagoland Speedway wasn’t the end of NASCAR’s workday.Following pre-race inspection, NASCAR penalized the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Michael McDowell after both teams failed inspection multiple times.While both teams lost key personnel for the remainder of the weekend, the consequences were far more severe for McDowell, whose qualifying session never even began.Michael McDowell Will
  
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• NASCAR Cup Series Starting Lineup: Where Every Driver Will Start at Chicagoland

  05-07-2026 03:16 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Denny Hamlin will lead the field to the green flag Sunday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in one of the closest qualifying sessions of the 2026 season.Hamlin turned a lap of 30.296 seconds (178.241 mph), edging Kyle Larson by just 0.001 seconds. Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski continued RFK Racing’s strong weekend by qualifying third and fourth, while Ty Gibbs completed the top five.Toyota placed five drivers inside the top eight, while reig
  
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• Jones holds off Elliott for O'Reilly Series win in Chicagoland thriller

  05-07-2026 03:01 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones held off JR Motorsports’ Chase Elliott in NASCAR Overtime to win a late-night thriller in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.The driver of the No. 20 Toyota claimed his first victory of the 2026 season on a long night at the 1.5-mile Joliet track after the start of the Cuervo 300 was delayed nearly five hours due to inclement weather.RELATED: Unofficial results | At-track photos: ChicagolandElliott, Jesse Love, Brent Crew
  
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• Christopher Bell approaching complete wrist recovery but not there yet

  05-07-2026 01:28 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoChristopher Bell continues to make progress with his fractured left wrist and has even replaced his cast in exchange for a split this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.He is fresh off a top five last week at Sonoma Raceway, no doubt one of his biggest challenges since his injurious crash at Michigan International Speedway, and views a pathway to a complete recovery.“I mean, the pain level has been low ever since the beginning but I would say my ability to drive the car is the
  
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• Chicagoland is a new, very jumpy race track for NASCAR NextGen cars

  05-07-2026 00:53 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Motorsport photoFor all intents and purposes, Chicagoland Speedway is a new racetrack for this iteration of the NASCAR Cup Series and it’s very much an open question about how it will race on Sunday night.It’s a new track, not because of how much it has aged since its last race weekend in 2019, but because the NextGen car is such a radically different platform compared to those that came before it.Independent rear suspension
  Wider low-profile tire 
  Sealed underbody 
  Rear di
  
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• NASCAR Cup Series set for first race at Chicagoland Speedway since 2019

  05-07-2026 00:45 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — It has been seven years since NASCAR last raced at Chicagoland Speedway. Seven years of Midwest heat, rain and snow covering the aging asphalt at the 1.5-mile track. That last weekend also was before NASCAR moved into its Next Gen cars.The Cup Series returns to Chicagoland on Sunday, and what was old is new again.“It is definitely like learning a new racetrack,” Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe said.NASCAR ran 19 Cup races on the D-shaped oval in Joliet
  
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• McDowell, Larson Hit With Pre-Race Penalties Due To Inspection Issues

  05-07-2026 00:38 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Craig White | Racing America On SIThere was drama for two NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams on Saturday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway. Kyle Larson, who scored the runner-up qualifying position, and Michael McDowell, have been assessed race weekend penalties following multiple pre-race inspection failures ahead of Sunday's eero 400.McDowell's No. 71 Spire Motorsports team were handed stiffer penalties as their car failed pre-race inspection three times on Saturday afternoon, which caused NA
  
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• Denny Hamlin earns pole position for eero 400 in NASCAR’s return to Joliet racetrack. ‘I’m a Chicago master.’

  04-07-2026 23:59 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  Denny Hamlin is atop the NASCAR Cup Series points standings for the first time all season.If that wasn’t enough reason for Hamlin to head into Fourth of July weekend in a celebratory mood, the series’ return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet for the first time since 2019 is definitely a welcome one.Hamlin won the Cup Series race in 2015 and has finished in the top 10 in five of his last six races in Joliet. Now, he’s on the pole for Sunday’s eero 400, adding to his local
  
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• NASCAR O'Reilly Series race at Chicagoland delayed by rain

  04-07-2026 23:08 via sports.yahoo.com
  
  The start time for the Cuervo 300NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race on July 4 at Chicagoland Speedway is being delayed for weather.Rain fell on the 1.5-mile speedway about an hour before the scheduled green flag in Joliet, Illinois, as a part of a storm moving in from the west. The track surface will need to be dried, and any storms with lightning will need to move through the area before the race can begin at Chicagoland.No start time target has been given by NASCAR.Connor Zilisch is on the
  
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