Shane van Gisbergen was an unknown to many NASCAR fans when he made his debut last year in Chicago. This year, the Kiwi is the strong favorite to win the street race for the second straight time. The other Cup Series drivers, however, have had a year to prepare for the race and have the data from last season’s event to help them. Can any of the full-time racers pose a threat to SVG’s dominance on Sunday?
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According to CBS Sports, Tyler Reddick can challenge the three-time Supercars champion. Both Reddick and SVG have 6-1 odds for the race on Sunday. Christopher Bell comes in at the third spot with 13-2 odds, followed by Kyle Larson with the same numbers. His teammate Chase Elliott rounds off the top five favorites with 17-2 odds.
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This year, the Chicago Street Race is going to be a lot different than last year. The weather forecast does not predict rain. This means that the 75-lap race will see double-file restarts, which was not the case in 2023. Considering how narrow the track is, going through the first turn few turns may prove to be chaotic.
For SVG, winning this race back-to-back will surely solidify his standing as the best road course racer in NASCAR today. He has already won road course races this year at Portland and Sonoma in the Xfinity Series. But the Kiwi believes that it’s going to be a lot tougher than it was last time.
Shane van Gisbergen emphasizes the importance of track position at Chicago
Firstly, the conditions are entirely different. NASCAR mandated wet weather tires last year but that won’t be the case this time around. Then there are the double-file restarts that can cause chaos. As a result, SVG believes that track position will be key. Anything apart from starting at the front will be treacherous.
You kind of get going just before the last corner, so it’s a huge advantage to be the first guy,” he said as per Motorsport. “But yeah, if you’re third row back, it’s going to be carnage – maybe not carnage – but difficult to stay clean through there.”
It will be interesting to see how the Kiwi navigates his second-ever Cup Series street course race on Sunday. Trackhouse Racing has a lot of faith in their import from the other side of the world. Now, it is up to him to deliver yet again.
