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NASCAR‘s inaugural weekend on the streets of Chicago took a sudden turn on Sunday, July 2. A historic amount of rainfall in the area led to NASCAR ending the Xfinity Series race two laps before it became official.
According to the National Weather Service, Chicago O’Hare Airport had received 2.27 inches of rain by 12:10 p.m. local time. This set a new daily rainfall record for July 2, surpassing 2.06 inches set in 1982. The National Weather Service did not have a new official record as the rain kept falling. The plan was to wait until it stopped and then establish the new record.
The heavy rainfall led to a historic moment for the city of Chicago, but it also led to NASCAR making a difficult decision. The sanctioning body called the race official two laps before its halfway point. Per Seth Eggert of Kickin’ the Tires, this was only the fifth time in NASCAR history that a race ended before its halfway point.
“With standing water and flooding a significant issue at the race track and throughout the city, there was no option to return to racing prior to shifting to NASCAR Cup Series race operations,” NASCAR said in a statement on July 2.
“Throughout the entire planning process for the Chicago Street Race, our relationship with the City of Chicago has been strong and among the most valuable assets in reaching this historic weekend.
“In the spirit of that partnership, returning on Monday for the completion of a NASCAR Xfinity Series event two laps short of halfway was an option we chose not to employ. Based on several unprecedented circumstances, NASCAR has made the decision to declare Cole Custer the winner of the race.”
Multiple Weather Issues Disrupted the Inaugural Weekend
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GettyCrews push their cars off the street course in Chicago.
The race began on Saturday, July 1, but it moved to July 2 due to lightning in the area. NASCAR has to put the field in a 30-minute delay every time lightning strikes within eight miles, which happened multiple times after the drivers completed the first 25 laps.
The plan was to complete the race on July 2 before the inaugural Cup Series race, but lightning led to a delay before the scheduled green flag time. Heavy rainfall then continued to delay the start of the race as track crews attempted to clear the standing water.
NASCAR has its wet-weather package with the hazard light, windshield wiper, and grooved tires, but this only works to a certain point. There are still concerns about the lack of visibility when there is standing water and heavy rainfall.
The Xfinity Series, in particular, dealt with this issue at the Charlotte Roval in 2020. This fall race featured heavy rainfall and standing water, which led to multiple cars sliding off the track and hitting the wall. Others actually got stuck in the tire barriers after sliding off of the track.
Drivers Had Some Fun During the Actual Race
GettyCole Custer celebrates a win in Chicago.
The race did not play out as NASCAR, the teams, or the fans wanted. They wanted to see the race go the full distance instead of ending after only 25 of the 55 scheduled laps.
The situation was far from ideal, but there were multiple drivers that had some interesting comments about the laps that they were able to complete. For example, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sammy Smith said that he had fun running under the dry conditions, and he expressed hope that they would do more street courses in the future.
“The wildest win I’ve ever been a part of, for sure,” race-winner Cole Custer told NBC Sports after being declared the winner. “This is definitely not the way we want to get it — we want to run all the laps and win it the proper way — but at the end of the day, we’re racers. We’ll take it how it comes.”
Austin Hill provided further comments to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. He explained that multiple drivers expressed the opinion in their group chat that they should just run a couple of laps under caution and then call the race official so that they could go home.
“Racing downtown on the streets of Chicago was pretty amazing,” John Hunter Nemechek said. “The whole experience, the atmosphere, and how many fans were here — I give a lot of props to everyone at NASCAR. Everyone involved with the Chicago Street Course did an amazing job.
“Riding around under caution yesterday, being able to see all of the fans lined up three or four rows deep along the fence with no open spots was incredible. Probably one of the best attendances we’ve had so far this year in the Xfinity Series.”
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