Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman believes that his future will be plans will be settled sooner rather than later, but that doesn’t mean he feels he is racing for his job.

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The NASCAR Cup Series is back at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2019. It’s been a return long-awaited by fans and drivers, but the lingering question has been whether this will be a one-off.

On this week’s episode of Bless Your Heart, co-host Dale Earnhardt r. revealed that the word he’s heard around the sport is that NASCAR wants to return to Chicagoland and it might not be the only racing in the city.

Related: NASCAR Qualifying Order at Chicagoland Speedway

“I got word that it will likely be a sellout this weekend and I also got word that they (NASCAR) are looking to go back (to Chicagoland) even though the Chicago Street Course has been teased to return”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on NASCAR’s long-term plans for racing in Chicago

There have been persistent NASCAR rumors throughout the season that the Chicago Street Course race could return in 2027. NASCAR took it off the schedule this season, alleviating some of the burden for the area on security and preparing the course for the Fourth of July weekend.

NASCAR replaced the Chicago Street Race with the first-ever street course race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California. While many executives want to have a race in Southern California, it’s unlikely that there’ll be a San Diego street course race in 2027.

Related: NASCAR Weekend Schedule at Chicagoland

Discussions are already ongoing for the Chicago Street Course to return next year. While the return is expected, it’s left many NASCAR fans to wonder if this weekend’s race at Chicagoland will be a one-off, with the track once again abandoned after Sunday.

However, a sellout crowd would certainly suggest that there’s more than enough interest to potentially pull off two NASCAR races in Chicago in a season. So, racing fans in the region might still have an opportunity to see a Cup Series race at Chicagoland if they weren’t able to make it this weekend.

More must-reads:

• NASCAR Qualifying Order for Chicagoland: Groups 1 and 2 for Cup Series Qualifying
• Kyle Busch’s 4-Year-Old Daughter Still Talks to Her Dad Every Morning at Breakfast
• Denny Hamlin Assigns Blame for Costly Incident with Carson Hocevar at Sonoma

The post NASCAR News: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals Potential 2027 Plans for Chicagoland, Chicago Street Course appeared first on Mr PitBox.

The road courses are in the rearview mirror for the 2026 NASCAR season and we’re now at the halfway point of the regular season. With this weekend’s return to Chicagoland Speedway for the Eero 400, qualifying position will be key in the final races before The Chase.

Let’s dive into the NASCAR qualifying order this weekend for Chicagoland.

Related: NASCAR Weekend Schedule at Chicagoland

NASCAR Qualifying Order This Weekend: Chicagoland

Here is the table from Screenshot 2026-07-03 at 8.50.08 AM.jpg with the Car No. column removed:

More must-reads:

• NASCAR News: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals Potential 2027 Plans for Chicagoland, Chicago Street Course
• Kyle Busch’s 4-Year-Old Daughter Still Talks to Her Dad Every Morning at Breakfast
• Denny Hamlin Assigns Blame for Costly Incident with Carson Hocevar at Sonoma

The post NASCAR Qualifying Order for Chicagoland: Groups 1 and 2 for Cup Series Qualifying appeared first on Mr PitBox.

Historic Sportscar Racing takes its racing heritage to one of motorsport’s most hallowed venues this weekend as the HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Goodyear joins the Le Mans Classic Legend at Circuit de la Sarthe from July 3-5.The event marks HSR’s first overseas race and will showcase more than 30…

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Why VSC is always or never or sometimes better, what is and isn’t BoP and thoughts on the IMSA points system among topics in the RACER Mailbag this week.

The post The RACER Mailbag, July 1 appeared first on Mr PitBox.

NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar found himself involved in another wreck this past weekend at Sonoma Raceway, this time making contact with Denny Hamlin and spinning out the No. 11 car.

On this week’s episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin explained that he viewed the incident with Hocevar as a “racing deal” that was primarily caused by both Hocevar’s actions

“They just kept shoving and, unfortunately, I got the worst end of it. I think that it’s always very easy to blame the car directly behind you and yes, Carson could have done a better job. But I don’t think that he came into the corner with reckless abandonment…In the end, I’m very comfortable in saying that wreck was a racing deal.”

Denny Hamlin on the contact he got from Carson Hocevar

Going into the turn on Lap 64 at Sonoma Raceway, Hamlin was in sixth place and in a great position to capture the regular-season points lead with a strong finish. Suddenly, when he was forced to check up, Hocevar got into the back of him, and that resulted in the No. 11 car spinning around with a majority of the field passing him.

Many NASCAR fans watching live were ready to blame Hocevar, believing the young driver got overaggressive and took out another one of his peers. However, further video and perspective from those involved shed more light on what really happened.

As captured by the on-board camera on Alex Bowman‘s car, he seemed to get into the back of Brad Keselowski. The impact from that pushed the No. 6 car into the No. 77, resulting in Hocevar then hitting Hamlin.

While Hocevar might deserve some of the blame for trying to go in the middle for a three-wide out of Turn 7 at Sonoma, there was a domino effect that effectively played a role in the incident. Hamlin probably gets away clean if not for Keselowski getting into Hocevar, but the aggressive racing in the thick of the pack caused the issue.

Hamlin was rightfully frustrated that instead of getting a top-10 finish at Sonoma, he had to settle for 26th place in a damaged car. Fortunately, he picked up just enough spots to sit atop the points leaderboard, and that’s a much better position than he expected to be in a few weeks ago.

As for Hocevar, he’s certainly to blame for quite a few wrecks and spins that’ve happened this season. However, the data and camera angles show that his recklessness wasn’t what caused Hamlin’s spin, and it’s clear he doesn’t have to worry about any retaliation from Hamlin either.

More must-reads:

• Kyle Busch’s 4-Year-Old Daughter Still Talks to Her Dad Every Morning at Breakfast
• NASCAR Entry List Chicagoland: 39 Cup Series Drivers for eero 400
• Round 2 NASCAR In-Season Challenge Predictions: Picks for Each Matchup at Chicagoland

The post Denny Hamlin Assigns Blame for Costly Incident with Carson Hocevar at Sonoma appeared first on Mr PitBox.

There are no more right turns on the NASCAR schedule for this year, but the road and street courses have provided entertainment.

The post NASCAR road and street course season is over and it hit the spot this year appeared first on Mr PitBox.

The NASCAR Cup Series is back at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2019. It’s been a long hiatus for the track, and the Cup Series is returning with a loaded field of 39 drivers this weekend. Chicagoland also gets to be part of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, with Round 2 taking place this week.

Let’s get right into the NASCAR entry list this weekend for the eero 400. On the part-time driver side, Corey Heim (No. 67 car for 23XI Racing), JJ Yeley (No. 44 car for NY Racing Team), and Josh Bilicki (No. 66 car for Garage 66) are competing in this weekend’s Cup race.

Related: NASCAR Weekend Schedule at Chicagoland

NASCAR Entry List This Weekend: eero 400 at Chicagoland

Read More: NASCAR In-Season Challenge Predictions for Roudn 2 at Chicagoland

More must-reads:

• Kyle Busch’s 4-Year-Old Daughter Still Talks to Her Dad Every Morning at Breakfast
• Denny Hamlin Assigns Blame for Costly Incident with Carson Hocevar at Sonoma
• Round 2 NASCAR In-Season Challenge Predictions: Picks for Each Matchup at Chicagoland

The post NASCAR Entry List Chicagoland: 39 Cup Series Drivers for eero 400 appeared first on Mr PitBox.

Dive into NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon’s life and legacy in “Jeff Gordon”, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum’s newest exhibition opening July 1, just before the Brickyard 400 returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The exhibition will span both Lower-Level rotating galleries, replacing “Now Stay Tuned” and “Setting the Pace”.“Jeff Gordon” will…

The post New Jeff Gordon exhibit to open at IMS Museum appeared first on Mr PitBox.

The NASCAR In-Season Challenge moves on to the second round this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, with the original field of 32 drivers now cut down to 16. Sunday night’s race will provide an opportunity for eight drivers to advance, coming one step closer to that $1 million prize at the end.

Let’s dive into our NASCAR In-Season Challenge predictions for Round 2 at Chicagoland.

Related: NASCAR Weekend Schedule at Chicagoland

(32) Alex Bowman vs (16) Austin Cindric

Alex Bowman delivered the biggest first-round upset of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge at Sonoma, knocking out No.1-seeded Tyler Reddick immediately. He now heads to Chicagoland Speedway to continue his Cinderella story—a track where he coincidentally is the most recent winner (2019). Bowman is having an up-and-down season, with his 10th-place finish at Sonoma his first top-10 in a points race since Texas Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Austin Cindric has four top-10 finishes this year and a superior average finishing position in the last six races (20.7 to 22.0). This should be a close head-to-head matchup, but we’re rolling with the “upset” pick here.

• Advancing: Alex Bowman

(25) Todd Gilliland vs (9) Carson Hocevar

Todd Gilliland has a single top-10 finish this season (sixth place at Bristol Motor Speedway), and outside of that, he’s finishing most races in 17th place or worse. He’s never really shown the skills behind the wheel to compete with top drivers, and the No. 34 car itself doesn’t really have the speed to challenge for a top-10 spot. This should be relatively easy for Carson Hocevar. In the last six races, Hocevar ranks eighth in average finishing position (14.7), and that’s with two road courses in the mix. Back on an oval, we think Hocevar can beat Gilliland by 15-20 spots at the finish.

• Advancing: Carson Hocevar

(12) Chase Briscoe vs (5) Ty Gibbs

We’re getting a few teammates going head-to-head for the second round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. Ty Gibbs, who won the $1 million prize last summer, is coming off a third-place finish at Sonoma, where he also won both stages. While teammate Chase Briscoe didn’t fare as well in the stages, he was the only one to provide a legitimate challenge for SVG on the final laps at a road course. So both drivers come into Chicagoland with momentum. In the last six weeks, Briscoe and Gibbs have each delivered three top-10 finishes, so consistent success is a theme for them both. This certainly feels like it could be the closest matchup in the second round, but we’re giving the slightest edge to Gibbs.

• Advancing: Ty Gibbs

(20) Michael McDowell vs (4) Chase Elliott

Michael McDowell easily moved past Bubba Wallace in Round 1, but his path to advancement gets a lot more challenging moving forward. Four of McDowell’s top-10 finishes this season have come on road courses. On ovals, his average finishing position drops considerably. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott gets to return to what feels like a second home. In four career Cup races at Chicagoland, Elliott has the second-best average finishing position (8.8), and he’s finished 11th or better in three of the races. We think the No. 9 car will finish at least 10 spots ahead of McDowell on Sunday night.

• Advancing: Chase Elliott

(2) Denny Hamlin vs (15) Erik Jones

There are plenty of NASCAR stats, particularly in 2026, that make Denny Hamlin the smarter pick to advance to the third round. The regular-season points leader narrowly survived at Sonoma, avoiding another first-round upset at the hands of Ty Dillon thanks to Dillon’s power-steering issue on the final laps. Hamlin will be elated to return to an oval, and his winning streak on these tracks bodes well for him advancing. With that said, Erik Jones is also driving a Toyota, and we just can’t fight this gut feeling that Jones will find a way to pull off the upset this weekend.

• Advancing: Erik Jones

(7) Chris Buescher vs (10) Christopher Bell

There was nothing more impressive in NASCAR this past weekend than Christopher Bell netting the third-most points on the day while navigating the road course with a fractured wrist. While the injury hasn’t fully healed, it is getting better, and moving from that track to Chicagoland will take some of the stress off the wrist. We certainly expect Chris Buescher to provide an admirable challenge for the No. 20 team, but we think Bell can beat him by at least 3-5 spots at the finish.

• Advancing: Christopher Bell

(11) William Byron vs (6) Kyle Larson

We’re not sure what’s wrong with the No. 24 team this season, but the results in 2026 for William Byron feel underwhelming. He has recorded just two top-10 finishes in a points race over the last two months, and his average finishing position this season (16.44) is the worst in his Cup career since 2020. In comparison, Kyle Larson leads NASCAR in average finishing position (7.3) over the last six races thanks to five top-five finishes, and Chicagoland is one of his best tracks. This is just a bad head-to-head draw for Byron.

• Advancing: Kyle Larson

(14) Shane van Gisbergen vs (3) Ryan Blaney

Shane van Gisbergen has never raced at Chicagoland before, but he will be aided this weekend by a strong qualifying position that should position him to start near the front of the field. Unfortunately for van Gisbergen, Ryan Blaney should also have an equally strong starting spot, and his track record on intermediate courses far surpasses van Gisbergen’s.

• Advancing: Ryan Blaney

More must-reads:

• NASCAR Weekend Schedule Chicagoland: Practice, Qualifying Time and Raco Info for Fourth of July Weekend
• NASCAR In-Season Challenge Results Today: Who Advanced at Sonoma? Round 1 Winners, Round 2 Matchups
• NASCAR Race Today: Winners, Losers from Toyota / Save Mart 350

The post Round 2 NASCAR In-Season Challenge Predictions: Picks for Each Matchup at Chicagoland appeared first on Mr PitBox.