Joey Logano Sounds Warning Note Ahead of Chicago: “Definitely Gonna Be Tough”

The inaugural Chicago street race weekend has begun, and it has already seen a few crashes. Perhaps not the perfect start to the first-ever street course race, but one that was expected considering the unfamiliarity of such a track setup. Following the qualification rounds, Team Penske driver and two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano went on the record and shared his honest opinion regarding the difficulty of the race course.

He confessed that the race on Sunday would present a tough challenge. Wresting these heavy cars around such tight corners had to catch a few drivers off guard and this is exactly what happened.

Joey Logano believes the Chicago Street race will be tough

According to NASCAR, Logano stated, “The jury’s still out, right? We haven’t raced yet. But so far, I’d say it’s a success from a lot of different things. I told some of the people from NASCAR, even if the race is just OK, it’s a success because of where we are and the marketing that’s come along with it. You know, so many people in Chicago are talking about NASCAR racing right now.”

“They may not have talked about it or heard about it or are interested in it, and they’re going to come to see it, and hopefully, you’ll hook them into loving the sport, like we have so many others. So from that standpoint, it’s already a win for a sport, and we’ll see how the race goes.”

“I mean, there’s definitely some really tricky spots on the race track. I mean, it’s… it’s hard to do, it’s like, you push a little bit too much, you wreck your car. It’s definitely gonna be tough.”

Multiple drivers crash out during practice and qualifying

As Denny Hamlin claimed the pole for the inaugural Grant Park 220, behind him there had been quite a few instances where his competitors crashed out. NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Chase Elliott found himself out of qualification after clipping a section of the barriers and heading on straight into a wall located on the other side.

It was not just Elliott who had his day ruined after the wreck. Stewart Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick too ended up hitting the inside wall during qualifying, thereby ending his stint. Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron had an incident around turn 4, while trying to exit the corner the rear end of his car hit the wall.

Looking at the number of wrecks, it’s clear that the main race on Sunday is likely to see more incidents. Unlike the practice and qualification sessions where cars weren’t clustered together, the race will involve multiple cars competing closely. With limited space on the track, it will be a considerable challenge for the drivers to keep their cars on the road and away from the walls.