NASCAR takes on the streets of Chicago for the first time on July 1-2. The schedule features two busy days of on-track action and one day set aside for the teams to work.
The weekend begins on Friday, June 30. The Xfinity Series and Cup Series teams will both have garage hours, but there will not be any on-track action. The cars will actually take to the streets for the first time on Saturday, July 1. Xfinity Series practice will be first at 11 a.m. ET (USA), followed by qualifying at 12 p.m. ET (USA).
The Cup Series drivers will follow with their first, 50-minute practice session at 1:30 p.m. ET (USA). Qualifying will follow at 2:30 p.m. ET (USA) as 37 drivers battle for the best starting position.
The actual races will unfold over both days. The Xfinity Series race will cap off July 1’s schedule at 5 p.m. ET (USA). The drivers will complete 55 laps around the 2.2-mile street course.
The Cup Series race will take place on Sunday, July 2. The 100-lap event will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET as NBC provides coverage for the second consecutive week.
The Teams Will Have a Different Procedure During Pit Stops
GettyBubba Wallace makes a pit stop at Watkins Glen International.
The historic race weekend will mark the first time that these teams have taken on the streets of Chicago. It will also force the crews in the respective series to follow different procedures during pit stops.
As FOX Sports analyst David Ragan showed during an episode of “NASCAR Race Hub,” the entrance to pit road is on the right side of the track as the drivers head toward the start-finish line on Columbus Drive. This means that they will be pitting with the right side of the car next to the pit road wall instead of the left.
Take a lap around the Chicago Street Race course with @DavidRagan. #NASCAR #RaceHub
There are some similarities between traditional and backward pit stops. The jackman, tire carrier, and tire changers still run to the far side of the car first while the fueler goes about his business on the near side. The big difference is that the car is coming from the opposite direction as the overwhelming majority of stops.
Backward pit stops are not completely foreign to the Cup Series teams. They deal with this change every season when they compete at Watkins Glen International. The move to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course added a second backward pit stop to the schedule.
The crews have experience with these different stops, but they still have to spend extensive time getting back into the routine of them before Chicago, Indianapolis, and The Glen.
The Forecast Calls for Cooler Temperatures
With this weekend being a pivotal moment in the season, there will be extra attention paid to the weather conditions in Chicago. The new attendees that purchased tickets will not want to sit in the hot sun or the pouring rain, nor will they want to deal with smoke from wildfires as they watch a NASCAR race for the first time.
According to AccuWeather, the July 1 forecast calls for temperatures in the low 80s. There is an 80 percent chance of precipitation overall, but it drops to 55 percent as the Xfinity Series drivers prepare for the race. The teams will also have the wet-weather package available.
Sunday’s forecast calls for temperatures in the low 70s with an 82 percent chance of precipitation. A thunderstorm remains possible, which could delay the Cup Series race if there is lightning within eight miles of the course. Though the probability of precipitation drops to 65 percent in the afternoon.
The smoke from Canadian wildfires is a different situation. According to AccuWeather, the Air Quality Index is 211. This ranks as very unhealthy. The forecast indicates that the AQI could drop below 200 on July 1-2, which would be a slight improvement.
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NASCAR: Schedule for Inaugural Chicago Weekend