NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Grant Park 165 at Chicago

2.20-Mile Track with 12 Turns

I'm not sure, but I think the siren may still be going off at the Dawson's Pool Hall in Georgia, celebrating Chase Elliott's 20th Cup Series win, and his second win at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway, in case you missed the memo). The victory was definitely a popular one for NASCAR's most popular driver. Chase became the 12th different winner this season. As that number rises, so done the anxiety level for those drivers looking for their first win this season. The Chicago Street Course would be the difference-maker for drivers with road-racing chops who can avoid the jersey walls and the tire barriers.

This Week's Pick Strategy: It seems logical to make your fantasy picks this week cross-referencing drivers who have run well at the Chicago Street Course with road-course racing. I am going to start from there and then eliminate drivers outside the Top 10 in standings who've had an inconsistent year.

 

Last Year's Pole Winner: Kyle Larson
 

Last Year's Race Winner: Alex Bowman

Most Top 10s at Chicago Street Course

SOURCE: NASCAR MEDIA

 

Top 10 Ranked Drivers at Chicago Street Course

SOURCE: FRSC.pro

Lap Leaders at Chicago Street Course

 

SOURCE: NASCAR MEDIA

 

Drivers with Most Top 10s on Road Courses

(2022-2025, 19 races):

Chris Buescher - 15

All with 12 - Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick
Both with 11 -  Michael McDowell and A.J. Allmendinger 

Both with 9 - William Byron and Ross Chastain
Both with 8 - Alex Bowman and Joey Logano

Austin Cindric - 7
Both with 6 - Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch

* Includes Charlotte Road Course, Circuit of the Americas, Daytona Road Course, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Mexico City, Road America, Sonoma Raceway, and Watkins Glen International

SOURCE: FRSC.pro

 

The Likely Suspects: These drivers have cultivated an expertise on the Chicago Street Course: Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick, Shane van Gisbergen, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Chris Buescher.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is Shane van Gisbergen. My next picks are Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman. I will complete my roster with Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher.

 

My Fabulous 5 (Drivers most likely to finish in the Top 5):
Shane van Gisbergen, Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Busch.

NASCAR Fantasy Live Line Up: 

Shane van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Ty Gibbs, and Alex Bowman. In the garage: Chris Buescher.

        Featured Match Ups: Bowman over Wallace, Gibbs over Allmendinger, Buescher over Smith, and Hocevar over Reddick.

Second-Look Driver: This week's second-look driver is Justin Haley. Sunday will be Justin's third start at the Chicago Street Course. He earned a runner-up finish in the inaugural 2023 event where he started 37th and led 23 laps. He has a 9.0 average finish here, which ranks him fourth-best among active drivers and a driver rating of 85.3, the sixth-best among active drivers. Justin is currently 30th in the driver's standings. How cool would it be to see him run well on Sunday?

Points to Ponder:

• Two organizations have won a pole at the Chicago Street Race in the NASCAR Cup Series – Joe Gibbs Racing (Denny Hamlin, 2023) and Hendrick Motorsports (Kyle Larson, 2024). 
•  Two drivers have won a NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course – Shane van Gisbergen (2023) and Alex Bowman (2024).Shane started from the third position and Alex started from the eighth position.
• Justin Haley finished runner-up in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race in 2023. Tyler Reddick finished runner-up in last season’s NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race (2024).
• A total of 10 different drivers have finished in the top-five in the two NASCAR Cup Series races at the Chicago Street Course – 1. Shane van Gisbergen, 2. Justin Haley, 3. Chase Elliott, 4. Kyle Larson, 5. Kyle Busch, 6. Joey Hand, 7. Michael McDowell, 8. Tyler Reddick, 9. Ty Gibbs, 10. Alex Bowman.
• Christopher Bell leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at the Chicago Street Race with 51 laps led (38% of his laps completed). 
  

If you are playing NASCAR Fantasy Live, remember to make your picks by 1:55 p.m. EST on race day, Sunday, July 6th. Don't forget to select your bonus matchups.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 18 years. She launched  NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.