Cole Custer is declared winner of the rain-delayed NASCAR Xfinity Series Chicago Street Race, The Loop 121 after flash flood conditions.
CHICAGO—Drenching rain and standing water on the Chicago Street Course forces NASCAR to declare Cole Custer the winner of The Loop 121 NASCAR Xfinity Series race three laps short of halfway and five laps short of the completion of Stage 2.
Custer is Declared Winner of the Rain-Delayed NASCAR Xfinity Series Chicago Street Race
Custer led all 25 laps of NASCAR’s first-ever Chicago Street Race before lightning strikes in the area on Saturday forced NASCAR to red flag the race and then postpone completion until Sunday morning. But with the rain persisting into Sunday morning, NASCAR made their decision.
“It’s been an awesome weekend overall,” said Custer, who drives the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. “The whole event, the whole thing that NASCAR’s put on here—the whole city—it’s been pretty unreal… The course is such a blast to drive.
“Today, we definitely wish we could have run all the laps. We don’t want to win it this way, but at the end of the day, we had a really fast car. I think everybody knew that.”
This marks the first time NASCAR is declaring a winner short of the halfway point or the end of the second stage. These are two benchmarks for an official event. The second criterion is in effect starting in 2020 after the advent of stage racing, in 2017.
NASCAR Issues a Statement to Explain the Decision to Curtail the Race:
“With standing water and flooding a significant issue at the race track and throughout the city, there was no option to return to racing prior to shifting to NASCAR Cup Series race operations. Throughout the entire planning process for the Chicago Street Race, our relationship with the City of Chicago has been strong and among the most valuable assets in reaching this historic weekend.
NASCAR
“In the spirit of that partnership, returning on Monday for the completion of a NASCAR Xfinity Series event two laps short of halfway was an option we chose not to employ. Based on several unprecedented circumstances, NASCAR has made the decision to declare Cole Custer the winner of the race.”
The Loop 121 Results
The victory was Custer’s second of the season, the 12th of his career, and his tenth straight top-ten finish this season.
John Hunter Nemechek finishes second and leads the series standings by 16 points over Austin Hill, who earns credit for a fifth-place result. Nemechek shares his impression of NASCAR’s first street race.
“Racing downtown on the streets of Chicago was pretty amazing,” he said. “The whole experience, the atmosphere and how many fans were here — I give a lot of props to everyone at NASCAR. Everyone involved with the Chicago Street Course did an amazing job. Riding around under caution yesterday, being able to see all of the fans lined up three or four rows deep along the fence with no open spots was incredible. Probably one of the best attendances we’ve had so far this year in the Xfinity Series.
“The race went OK for us. I ran P2 from the drop of the green flag until lap 25 when they called it (Saturday). We needed a good stop to be able to make an adjustment and have a shot to contend with Cole for the win and just never had that opportunity. We’ll take that second place, and we’ll move on from it.”
Justin Allgaier finished third and Brett Moffitt fourth. Sammy Smith, Daniel Hemric, Chandler Smith, Parker Kligerman, and Kaz Grala earned positions six through ten, respectively.
The Xfinity Series Point Standings
Up Next
Next Saturday, July 8th the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Alsco Uniforms race in Hampton, Georgia. Coverage of the event is at 8 pm ET on USA, PRN, SiriusXM Radio, and via live streaming on the NBC Sports app.