Camaro Makes a Splash in Chicago | CamaroStoreOnline.com
The city streets of downtown Chicago roared with the sound of horsepower this past Sunday as the NASCAR Cup Series returned for its second-ever street race. The excitement began on Saturday with the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where Shane Van Gisbergen claimed his third victory of the season, driving the #97 WeatherTech Camaro.
Last year’s inaugural Chicago Street Race saw road racing veteran and budding NASCAR star Shane Van Gisbergen achieve his first career win in a dramatic downpour, piloting the #91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro. This year, the forecast promised sunshine and beautiful weather, but a 20% chance of rain quickly turned into an absolute monsoon.
Teams faced a challenging decision between wet weather tires and traditional racing slicks during the first 20 laps, as conditions changed with every corner. The race took a dramatic turn when a sudden downburst left standing water on the track, causing Saturday's winner and race favorite, Van Gisbergen, to crash into the retaining wall and exit the race.
Chevrolet Camaro driver Alex Bowman found himself in second place at the end of Stage 2, equipped with wet weather tires on a quickly drying track. With only 25 minutes remaining until the 8:20 curfew, Bowman and his Hendrick Motorsports team made the strategic decision to stay out on wet tires, despite the slower performance compared to slicks.
A bold challenge for the lead against ringer Joey Hand would propel Bowman to the lead shortly after the race's third and final stage began, a series of timely cautions allowing Bowman's Camaro to maintain position.
On a late restart shortly before the curfew, Bowman led the field with Tyler Reddick closing in on slick tires. In an incredible display of grit, Bowman expertly navigated the 12 turn Street Course with worn out wet tires on a dry track, taking the white flag as Reddick, pushing hard, bounced off a wall, ending his challenge. Bowman secured the win, snapping an 80-race winless streak dating back to March 2022 at Las Vegas and locking in his spot in NASCAR's postseason Playoffs.
This victory marked Camaro's 9th win of the season and its second consecutive win on a road course. With only six races remaining before the Playoffs, five Team Chevy Camaros, including those driven by Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Daniel Suarez, are now locked into NASCAR's post season.
As we head into Pocono this weekend, be sure to tune in to USA Network this Sunday at 3 pm ET to see if Camaro drivers and fan favorites Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch can secure their place in the Playoffs with a win.
As always, stay tuned to CamaroStoreOnline.com for ongoing coverage of this historic season for the Last Generation Camaro.
*All images sourced from Chevrolet Pressroom