July 6, 2025 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Shane van Gisbergen completes rare weekend sweep in Chicago

CHICAGO, Ill.—Once again, Shane van Gisbergen asserted his superiority on the streets of Chicago, and in doing so, he matched a major NASCAR milestone.

In winning the Grant Park 165 on the Chicago Street Course, the New Zealander completed a weekend sweep of the NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Cup races, both from the pole position.

Taking the checkered flag under caution, after Cody Ware plowed into the Turn 6 tire barrier as van Gisbergen charged through Turn 12 on the next-to-last lap, SVG matched Kyle Busch’s sweep of both races from the pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July of 2016. No other driver has won races in NASCAR’s top two divisions from the pole on the same weekend.

The three-time Australian Supercars champion said he was panicked at the possibility of a caution and potential overtime after Ware’s wreck, but he reached the start/finish to start the final lap before NASCAR called the caution.

“What an amazing weekend for me,” said Van Gisbergen, who drove the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to his second Cup victory on the 2.2-mile, 12-turn circuit, his second win this season and the third of his career.

“Lucky guy to drive some great cars. I thank Trackhouse, WeatherTech Chevy and all these guys and girls here—what an amazing weekend. Thanks everyone for coming out, and hope we put on a good show.”

Ty Gibbs ran second, equaling his career-best finish at Darlington last year. Tyler Reddick restarted 15th on fresh tires with nine laps left and climbed to third before he ran out of time.

Van Gisbergen took the lead for the final time on Lap 60, moving to the inside of front-running Chase Briscoe in Turn 2, racing side-by-side with the recent Pocono winner through Turn 3 and out-braking him into Turn 4 to gain the top spot.

From that point, SVG had to survive two cautions and restarts, the first to get an ambulance across the track for a spectator medical emergency and the second for Austin Cindric’s stalled car.

After that sixth yellow, Gibbs, running second, didn’t get a strong launch on the final restart and fell a car-length behind before reaching Turn 1. SVG pulled away from the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from that point on.

“Well, it really depends on the restart zone, because it’s right in that last corner, and the dude on the outside gets shafted every single time,” said Gibbs, who restarted on the outside approaching Turn 12.

“If you watch every one of them, the inside guy wins almost every time. He just got a good enough gap, had a good restart. I had a little bit of rear tire degradation that didn’t really help me on my launch off the corner. (He) just got a good gap and got away from me.”

For Reddick, the race was a case of déjà vu. Last year he chased race winner Alex Bowman with a faster car over the closing laps and finished second.

“We kind of ended up in a tough spot there on the penultimate restart, I guess,” Reddick said. “Some of the cars were spinning—I can’t name them all, but unfortunately we kind of just got stuck in the wrong lane where I had to check up. I got behind those cars that we were on the same tire strategy as, so we just lost a bit of time there passing those cars back.

“It’s great to finish third, but it’s for sure a bummer when you look at how much ground you made up.”

For the first time in the three years of the Chicago Street Race, weather in the form of rain didn’t play a role—but anticipation of possible thunderstorms did.

As the race neared conclusion, fog and storm clouds began to roll in from the north, but rain didn’t reach the track until after the checkered flag.

“The strategy was a bit all over the place, as we knew it would be today, racing the weather, racing cars and different (pit) stops,” Van Gisbergen said. “Stephen (Doran, crew chief) did a really good job on the box all day of just painting the picture in my head of who I was up against.

“We had two great pit stops. Just so stoked to get (sponsor) WeatherTech in Victory Lane for their home race.”

Michael McDowell got past SVG at the start of the race and led the first 31 laps, but he had to take his car to the DVP (damaged vehicle policy) area to repair a stuck throttle and lost 22 laps in the garage.

A massive eight-car crash on Lap 3 blocked the track between Turns 10 and 11 and forced a stoppage of 14 minutes, 42 seconds. Carson Hocevar started the melee when he clipped the inside wall in Turn 10 and crashed into the opposite wall with enough force to move the Jersey barrier.

Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet turned sideways, and the cars of Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Todd Gilliland, Will Brown and Riley Herbst piled into the wreck. Only Herbst and Suarez were able to continue.

“I didn’t see it until the last second,” Keselowski said. “I slowed down, and I actually felt I was going to get stopped, and then I just kind of got ran over from behind. It’s just a narrow street course, and sometimes there’s nowhere to go.”

Keselowski’s early exit made a winner of 32nd seed Ty Dillon in the In-Season Challenge. Dillon will face Bowman in next Sunday third-round event at Sonoma Raceway, after Bowman traded shot after shot with his Chicago opponent, Bubba Wallace, until Wallace spun in the closing laps to lose the head-to-head battle.

John Hunter Nemechek finished 15th, one spot ahead of Chase Elliott, to eliminate the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the In-Season Challenge. Nemechek will face Erik Jones, who advanced when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. retired after colliding with a tire barrier.

Ryan Preece ran seventh and eliminated 30th-place finisher Noah Gragson. He’ll face Reddick, who ousted Hocevar. Gibbs prevailed over sixth-place finisher AJ Allmendinger and will race against Zane Smith at Sonoma.

Smith came home 14th and knocked out 18th-place Chris Buescher, who ran most of the race with an engine down on power.

Series leader William Byron was out of the race with a broken clutch after one lap and finished 40th. His lead in the standings over second-place Elliott shrank to 13 points.


NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 19
Race Results for the Grant Park 165 - Sunday, July 6, 2025
Chicago Street Race - Chicago, IL - 2.2 - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 75 Laps - 165. Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 7/6/2025 @ 05:23 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 1 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 75   40 Running 2 26 5
2 9 54 Ty Gibbs Monster Energy Toyota 75   35 Running  
3 4 45 Tyler Reddick Jordan Brand Toyota 75 3 3 51 Running  
4 40 11 Denny Hamlin Progressive Toyota 75  6 38 Running  
5 6 8 Kyle Busch Slurpee Chevrolet 75 2  41 Running  
6 16 16 AJ Allmendinger Celsius Chevrolet 75   31 Running 1 2
7 7 60 Ryan Preece BuildSubmarines.com Ford 75 5  36 Running  
8 11 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 75  4 36 Running  
9 30 33 * Austin Hill(i) United Rentals Chevrolet 75 9  0 Running  
10 22 1 Ross Chastain Busch Light Apple Chevrolet 75 6  32 Running  
11 12 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 75   26 Running  
12 17 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Dutch Boy Ford 75  1 35 Running 1 3 1
13 14 5 Kyle Larson Valvoline Chevrolet 75   24 Running  
14 26 38 Zane Smith Vermeer Midwest Ford 75 8  26 Running  
15 25 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 75 7 8 29 Running  
16 39 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 75  7 25 Running  
17 21 35 Riley Herbst # Lucy Toyota 75   20 Running  
18 8 17 Chris Buescher Body Guard Ford 75   19 Running  
19 33 78 * Katherine Legge e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet 75   18 Running  
20 36 10 Ty Dillon Sea Best Chevrolet 75   17 Running  
21 31 66 * Josh Bilicki(i) PureKick Ford 75   0 Running  
22 28 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Chevrolet 75   15 Running  
23 5 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 75 4 2 30 Running 1 13
24 13 20 Christopher Bell CRAFTSMAN Racing For A Miracle Toyota 74  10 14 Running  
25 34 43 Erik Jones AdventHealth Toyota 74  9 14 Running  
26 35 51 Cody Ware Arby's New Angus Cheesesteak Ford 73   11 Accident  
27 27 2 Austin Cindric Discount Tire Ford 72   10 Running  
28 37 23 Bubba Wallace McDonald's Toyota 70  5 15 Running  
29 18 99 Daniel Suarez Jockey Chevrolet 69   8 Accident  
30 24 4 Noah Gragson Rasmussen Air & Gas Energy Ford 68 10  8 Running  
31 32 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Rate Chevrolet 62   6 Accident  
32 2 71 Michael McDowell DePaul Chevrolet 53 1  15 Running 1 31 1
33 23 41 Cole Custer Haas/Andy's Ford 29   4 Accident  
34 29 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 28   3 Accident  
35 3 77 Carson Hocevar Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet 2   2 Accident  
36 10 3 Austin Dillon Breztri Chevrolet 2   1 Accident  
37 15 6 Brad Keselowski Kroger/Blue Buffalo Ford 2   1 Accident  
38 20 34 Todd Gilliland Grillo's Pickles Ford 2   1 Accident  
39 19 13 * Will Brown Mobile X Chevrolet 2   1 Accident  
40 38 24 William Byron All-Pro Auto Reconditioning Chevrolet 1   1 Clutch  

Fastest Lap Bonus:  # lap 71 / 90.091
45                                                                   

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 28 Mins, 17 Secs. Average Speed: 66.764 MPH Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 71, 8, 45, 19, 60, 1, 42, 38, 33, 4
Stage 2 Top 10: 12, 19, 45, 48, 23, 11, 9, 42, 43, 20

Race Comments: Shane Van Gisbergen won The Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Race, his third NASCAR Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag to start the race, the following cars dropped to the rear for the reasons indicated: No. 11 (engine change); Nos. 4, 5, 9, 10, 23, 24, 47, 48, 78.

Failed to Qualify: (1) 67 Corey Heim(i).

Caution Flags: 7 for 15 laps; Laps: 4-6 (#77, 6, 99, 34, 3, 13, 35, 16 turn 11 [Red Flag: Lap 4, 14:42] [None]); 22-24 (Stage 1 Conclusion [17]); 32-33 (#21 stalled on track [None]); 47-48 (Stage 2 Conclusion [None]); 61-62 (Spectator medical emergency [10]); 65-66 (#2 stalled on track [12]); 75-75 (#51 incident turn 6 [None]).

Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers; M. McDowell 1-31; S. Van Gisbergen # 32-41; A. Allmendinger 42-43; R. Blaney 44-46; C. Briscoe 47-59; S. Van Gisbergen # 60-75.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: July 13, 2025 - Sonoma Raceway

NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications @ P.O. Box 2875, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2875


PLAYOFF STANDINGS

POS NO. DRIVER MFR +/-
1  Kyle Larson Chevrolet  3 WINS
2 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota  3 WINS
3 20 Christopher Bell Toyota  3 WINS
4 24 William Byron Chevrolet  1 WIN
5 88 Shane Van Gisbergen Chevrolet   2 WINS
6 12 Ryan Blaney Ford No Points 1 WIN
7 2 Austin Cindric Ford No Points  1 WIN
8 22 Joey Logano Ford No Points  1 WIN
9 19 Chase Briscoe Toyota No Points  1 WIN
10 21 Josh Berry Ford No Points  1 WIN
11 9 Chase Elliott Chevrolet No Points   1 WIN
12 1 Ross Chastain Chevrolet   1 WIN
13 45 Tyler Reddick Toyota +143
14 48 Alex Bowman Chevrolet +39
15 17 Chris Buescher Ford +35
16 23 Bubba Wallace Toyota +2

On The Bubble

17 60 Ryan Preece Ford -2
18 16 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet -43
19 8 Kyle Busch Chevrolet -46
20 43 Erik Jones Toyota -50


CURRENT NASCAR CUP SERIES REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

Following Chicago Street Race Grant Park 165
UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 7/6/2025 @ 06:26 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL

Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. William Byron 24 19 0 632 0 0 1 7 12
2. Chase Elliott 9 19 0 619 -13 13 1 0 5
3. Kyle Larson 5 19 0 613 -19 6 3 8 23
4. Denny Hamlin 11 18 0 589 -43 24 3 4 19
5. Tyler Reddick 45 19 -1 584 -48 5 0 1 1
6. Christopher Bell 20 19 1 565 -67 19 3 1 16
7. Ryan Blaney 12 19 0 539 -93 26 1 4 9
8. Ross Chastain 1 19 0 490 -142 49 1 0 5
9. Chase Briscoe 19 19 -1 482 -150 8 1 1 6
10. Alex Bowman 48 19 -2 480 -152 2 0 0 0