Jeff Gordon reflects on how to grow NASCAR’s popularity
Jeff Gordon discusses the popularity of NASCAR and how the sport can continue to grow.
Sports Seriously
Arguably the most unique event on the NASCAR calendar is here. The streets of Chicago will be filled with the sounds of Cup Series racing for the third year in a row.
This year’s race comes with an added wrinkle; it’s round two of NASCAR’s inaugural in-season challenge. Round one last week in Atlanta saw multiple upsets of the top seeds thanks to a collision-filled race with nearly one-third of the field failing to finish.
In the end, Chase Elliott won his home race by just 0.168 seconds over Brad Keselowski. That win was his first in more than a calendar year and closed the gap from him to championship leader William Byron.
The Grant Park 165 will be another challenge for the remaining 16 drivers in contention for the in-season challenge title. It’s the only street course event of the season and the prior two runnings were impacted by rain.
USA TODAY Sports will have coverage of the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. Follow along for all the action and results:
How to watch NASCAR Cup race in Chicago
The Grant Park 165 is 75 laps around the 2.2-mile track for a total of 165 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 20 laps; Stage 2: 25 laps; Stage 3: 30 laps.
Alex Bowman led the final eight laps, taking the lead on Lap 51 of the shortened race that ended with a countdown clock on Lap 58 instead of the scheduled 75 after weather disrupted the race. When the clock hit zero, Bowman needed to maintain his lead for two laps – taking the white flag and the checkered flag – to earn his lone victory of 2024. Bowman pulled away from Tyler Reddick and won by 2.863 seconds.
