CHICAGO – Although wet weather conditions and the Chicago Street Race seem to be inseparable, these challenges were not able to keep Alex Bowman from returning to victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Bowman’s triumph on Sunday evening was the first since he won Las Vegas Motor Speedway's spring race in 2022. While breaking the winless drought was a huge point of emphasis for the team after the race, it was the way crew chief Blake Harris got the valuable track position that impressed Bowman the most.
"I feel like between Blake (Harris) and I, we have everybody covered at second guessing us," Bowman said after the race. "So, to win it on a call that was Blake’s call and to be able to go win it on wets, it means a lot. So thankful for this group and to continue to overcome stuff like that. It’s hard to go to work every day when you get talked about like that sometimes. So, I am proud of these guys for overcoming that.”
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The tide began to turn for Bowman in the final stage during Sunday’s weather-shortened main event. With several delays for standing water, NASCAR officials made competitors aware that the white flag would be thrown at 8:20 p.m. local time regardless of the lap count. As the track dried out, Harris opted to keep his driver on the racing surface with wet weather tires while the front runners pitted for slick tires. The move resulted in valuable track position which Bowman was able to use in the final laps to score the victory.
The win also has major championship implications as the No. 48 Ally Racing team is now locked into the 2024 playoffs. With five races remaining in the regular season, Bowman’s focus will now be to accumulate more playoff points to position himself well for a deep playoff run.
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William Byron experienced one of the most up-and-down days of his 2024 campaign and yet still managed to bring home an eighth-place finish. To open the race, the team opted for wet weather tires and lost considerable track position as the racing surface dried out for most of the opening run. They would struggle to move through the field as the event progressed through the end of stage one and stage two. However, the team was able to fly through the pack in the closing laps by utilizing slick tires to get around competitors still on wet weather tires as the track finally returned to being dry. The result? An impressive recovery to eighth place.
The streak of top-20 finishes for Chase Elliott came to an end on Sunday afternoon with a 21st place result. On the final restart, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team was able to use the same strategy as Byron to maneuver around those on wet weather tires. However, an aggressive move on the final lap by Daniel Suarez sent Elliott spinning in the final corner. The contact knocked the team from the top 10 to 21st.
Kyle Larson ended Sunday’s main event in the 39th position. After relinquishing the lead early in the day, Larson still managed to keep pace with the front runners through stage one. However, stage two saw Larson lose control heading into Turn 6 as he hit the tire barrier on corner entry. Unfortunately, the damage proved to be terminal for the No. 5 entry.
Next Sunday, the Cup Series rolls into Pocono Raceway for the tour’s lone stop in Pennsylvania for the season. Catch all the action at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).