Shane van Gisbergen "won his Cup Series debut on a rainy Sunday" in downtown Chicago for the inaugural NASCAR Chicago Street Race, chasing down Justin Haley and Chase Elliott in a "memorable finish to the series’ first street race." The race was scheduled for 100 laps and 220 miles, but it was "shortened because of fading sunlight after the start was delayed" for more than 90 minutes because of "a historic rainfall that flooded the course." The last half of the Xfinity Race, set to resume after it was suspended Saturday because of lightning, was canceled (AP, 7/2).
The day "began with uncertainty," as "rivers of rainwater" flooded the downtown course. There were "plenty of cars hitting the tire barriers," but "none of the spectacular multicar crashes" often seen in NASCAR races on oval tracks. The rain also "didn’t seem to bother many of the fans who crammed the souvenir shop," but the weather "assuredly was a huge downer" for NASCAR and the city (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/2). Several racers "shared concerns before the race delay was announced and again when it was announced that the race would indeed start Sunday." The race’s intense action was a "welcomed spectacle" for many of the fans in attendance, some of whom had "complained about a perceived lack of communication and accommodation during the delays" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/2).
NASCAR’s first foray into downtown Chicago "nearly went into the books as a colossal failure." Three of four concerts "planned for this weekend festival were canceled." But in the end, they got a Sunday race that "no one could call a total clunker." It was "a good time and certainly a fascinating spectacle" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/2). The Sunday crowd, "at least early in the day, was noticeably thinned out compared to Saturday’s attendance" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/2).
Shane van Gisbergen won his Cup Series debut in downtown Chicago despite torrential downpoursGetty Images
