With Rough Weather Expected Yet Again, Joey Logano Feels NASCAR Teams Now Know How to Tackle Rain at Chicago

Though several drivers, including William Byron, Erik Jones, and Michael McDowell, had pinned their hopes on finally tackling a dry street course in Chicago, Mother Nature once again seems ready to play spoilsport. Team Penske’s Joey Logano, however, is seemingly embracing the same.

With forecasts pointing toward yet another rain-soaked weekend in the Windy City, the odds of a dry Grant Park 165 appear slim. Still, Logano insists that, after two years of trial by the downpour, teams have learned how to tackle the storm, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Since its start in 2023, the Chicago Street Race has been no stranger to chaos. The inaugural event and its sequel both fell victim to turbulent skies. In the first season, competitors raced under looming flash floods and lightning warnings.

Last season, thunderstorms truncated the Cup Series event by 17 laps, while the Xfinity race faced the same fate. The Cup race also suffered extensive delays due to on-and-off showers.

Despite the unsettled history, this year’s event is still expected to pull in tens of thousands of fans. The Sunday forecast paints a familiar picture: partly cloudy skies, a 52% chance of scattered storms from noon to 7 p.m., highs near 83 degrees, and winds gusting from the west-northwest at 10 to 15 mph.

With a 56% overall rain chance and 82 degrees expected at the green flag, a delay could once again throw an issue at the start, much like the two previous editions.

The uncertainty looms even larger with NASCAR reportedly eyeing a potential street race in San Diego next year. Whether that replaces or complements Chicago remains up in the air. For now, though, all roads lead to the Windy City.

While many drivers remain wary of tire calls and the edge of grip on a wet street circuit, Logano isn’t losing sleep. He believes the garage has finally found its sea legs.

“You know at least what you’re getting into. Comfortable? Never. I don’t think so,” Logano said during the pre-race media session. “But since the first time here, I mean, you look at all the rain races that we’ve had, and the one that stands out the most to probably everyone is the one at COTA that was like, ‘OK, that’s too far.’ Now we’ve gotten to the point where we can go out there and make laps and race.”

He added, “We know what the right amount of spray is, so we can see and feel safe out there, and you can tell the drivers have all gotten much better at it. The first time we were rain racing, we were all tiptoeing around, and everyone was going wicked slow.”

“Now it’s like, instead of survival, what it was to start, like just don’t crash, now they feel better about it. They’re more comfortable. They’re more aggressive,” added the No. 22 Ford driver.

For Joey Logano, the evolution is evident. Racing in the rain in Chicago has gone from damage control to door-to-door competition. Drivers now understand where the grip falls off and where the limits lie.

He’s also one of the few in the field who genuinely embraces the unpredictability and said it’s fun to watch. The tire strategy, when to go from wets to slicks, or the other way around, is bound to make things interesting this Sunday.