A look at the winners and losers from Sunday’s Chicago Street Race
WINNERS
Justin Marks — Trackhouse Racing owner saw his team win last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway , not too far from where he lives, and then saw his Project 91 effort win Sunday on the streets of Chicago. Marks has championed a street race in NASCAR for years and his team wins the inaugural Cup street race with Shane van Gisbergen.
Justin Haley — Runner-up finish marked his first top-five finish since last fall’s race at the Charlotte Roval. Not a bad finish to the weekend after it started with him forgetting his luggage.
Ty Gibbs — The rookie’s ninth-place finish moved him to 16th in the points, the final playoff transfer spot with eight races left in the regular season.
NASCAR — The rain was a pain and some questioned officials calling the Xfinity race before it reached halfway, but the inaugural Chicago Street Race wasn’t as bad as doomsayers predicted. NASCAR showed it can run on city streets and that should led to more possibilities in the future.
LOSERS
Christopher Bell — He won both stages but his race turned when NASCAR shortened the event for oncoming darkness. Some drivers had pitted more recently than Bell by then and could make it to the end. After pitting, Bell went from the lead to outside the top 10. Later, he was collected in that multi-car wreck that briefly blocked the track and then he had another incident. He finished 18th.
Alex Bowman — He entered holding the final transfer spot but lost that when he finished last. He fell from 16th to 20th in the points.
Austin Dillon — He was vying for the lead until he wasn’t. Running second, Dillon hit the wall in Turn 12, ending his race. He finished 37th.
Noah Gragson — He hit the Turn 6 tire barriers four times. It was not his day, finishing 25th.