Chaotic practice, qualifying produces predictable NASCAR Chicago lineup

The front row for the third NASCAR Cup Series race at Grant Park in Downtown Chicago is a pair of drivers with something to prove.

Shane Van Gisbergen won the inaugural race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City and is effectively locked into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs come October. That knocked Michael McDowell from a provisional playoff spot and arguably means he also needs to win before the end of the regular season.

For Van Gisbergen, every road course win means a greater likelihood of at least surviving into the second round, which includes the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. McDowell, who is also a road course specialist but also a 15 year Cup Series veteran, is the more well-rounded driver and just needs to get into the Round of 16.

They were amongst the best in Mexico City and now have stakes starting on the front row in the Windy City.

It’s also worth noting that ‘SVG,’ the inaugural winner of this race in 2023, captured the pole by a half second over McDowell.

“(Jeff) Gluck asked me this morning what I was going to have to do to beat SVG,” said McDowell during a post qualifying press conference. “Obviously, I didn’t do enough because he got me by a half second there.

“So we still got some work to do but our race trim was good. Our car is in the game and tomorrow will be a mixed bag with the potential weather moving in and out. A lot of variables to go out there and navigate.”

The bad news for McDowell there is ‘SVG’ is the best in the rain as evidence by his two career Cup Series victories at Chicago and Mexico City not that Van Gisbergen is the type to gloat.

“He’s decent at road courses but you never know,” Van Gisbergen said. “There are 15 guys that turn up on a road course and that’s the beauty of this series – everyone is so good. You never know who is going to be the challengers so I’m not really surprised by anything in this sport.”

Overall, it was an exceptionally dramatic day in Chicago, that also included the first DNF for a NextGen race that wasn’t the Daytona 500 with 41 cars on the entry list. But that was a surprise too in that Katherine Legge in the Live Fast Motorsports car beat Corey Heim in a 23XI Racing car.

Heim bent a toe link in his first lap in qualifying and wasn’t able to put a full lap together to fend off Legge who had her own off-track excursions.

"I was thinking, way to go showing all my minor indiscretions there," Legge told TNT Sports after making it in the show. "I tried my best to mess that qualifying up, honestly. It was a lot of pressure to come in with only 20 minutes of practice on a street course where there is no room for error (and) try to put it in the show. I actually feel pretty good about it now.

"We would have been a lot faster had I not kept nicking the walls. I've given my crew a lot of work to do. Sorry guys! But I just had to keep pushing and put it in the show, which we did so I'm very proud of them. I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow and a little bit less stress."

Legge said this was more stressful than her Indianapolis 500 attempts.

"There's a level of comfort with Indy," Legge said. "I know where I'm going and what I'm doing and here, it's very much drinking from a fire hose, trying to find my feet and get better. And the only way to get better is with laps and we don't have any practice ... it's this vicious circle. But I really appreciate everybody's support. it means the world to me. i can't thank everybody enough. It's been a hell of a year."

As for Heim, he owned the mistake in a social media post.

Made a mistake on my first lap and bent the toe link. Tried to get everything I could out of it after that but clearly wasn’t enough. That’s completely my fault and still trying to process all of it. Thank you @23XIRacing for a car plenty capable enough to make the race.

— Corey Heim (@CoreyHeim_) July 5, 2025

Other drivers who needed to qualify their way into the show included Supercars contender Will Brown for Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing Xfinity contender Austin Hill and MBM Racing’s Josh Bilicki.

It was a challenging racetrack as well, even by street course standards.

“Yeah, I think that's the temperature,” Van Gisbergen said. “You know, we're over a second off I think what we managed last year and the track is just treacherous when it’s that hot and slick with no run-off areas.

“I hit the wall two or three times on my qualifying lap and you have to be precise, with no margin left. I don’t blame the guys’ crashing. It’s a very tough track, this one.”

Before the qualifying session could even begin, there was a chaotic practice session that also altered the course of the entire day.

In the very opening seconds of the first practice round, Denny Hamlin suffered an engine failure and couldn’t even turn a single lap and will have to start the race in the back of the field.

It resulted in a really animated conversation with team owner Joe Gibbs and competition director Chris Gabehart, his longtime crew chief.

"We want to be in control as drivers," Hamlin told TNT Sports. "We want to be in control of our result. You don't want to have processes or mechanical (issues) stop you from that, and obviously this is a race track where it's important to have reps. We spend hours upon hours practicing, getting ready -- all that stuff and you know, couldn't even make a pace lap before we blew up."

There's trouble right away for @dennyhamlin! pic.twitter.com/KpYIQFCpYE

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 5, 2025

And then there was William Byron, who had just posted the fastest time in the second session when he also broke traction in Turn 10 and needed to replace a toe link due to the resulting damage.

The No. 24 gets into the wall!@WilliamByron was at the top of the speed charts at the time of this incident. pic.twitter.com/hoNMOju9J4

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 5, 2025

"I'm an idiot," Byron told TNT Sports. "I just took a lot through there and (had) a lot of speed. I was just getting my tires cleaned back off from leaving pit road. … I had just pitted, so my tires were probably just coming up to temp again. I took it easy the first half of the lap and I was starting to push, being close to the alternate start/finish (line) and just lost traction."

Byron is also the championship leader and starting at the rear will mean a lost chance to build on that advantage, which does carry playoff seeding implications. However, his closest pursuers are teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, plus Hamlin, and they're all starting at the back due to toe-link changes too.

"Just sucks starting from the back ... just don't like crashing," Byron said.

Alex Bowman will also start at the back with a toe link change, meaning all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers suffered the same fate.

Starting lineup