Information By: HEATHER GRIFFIN / RICK WARE RACING – CHICAGO, IL
RICK WARE RACING
Grant Park 165
Date: July 7, 2024
Event: Grant Park 165 (Round 20 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Chicago Street Race (2.2-mile, 12-turn street circuit)
Format: 75 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/25 laps/30 laps)
Note: Race called 17 laps short of its scheduled 75-lap distance due to darkness.
Race Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Shane van Gisbergen of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Hand of RFK Racing (Ford)
RWR Race Finish:
● Justin Haley (Started 23rd, Finished 16th/ Running, completed 58 of 58 laps)
● Kaz Grala (Started 40th, Finished 26th/ Running, completed 58 of 58 laps)
RWR Points:
● Justin Haley (29th with 287 points)
● Kaz Grala (35th with 166 points)
RWR Notes:
● Haley earned his eighth top-20 of the season and second top-20 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts on the Chicago Street Course. It was his third top-20 result in the last four races.
● Haley’s best finish on the Chicago Street Course remains second, earned in last year’s inaugural event.
● Haley’s 16th-place finish was a team-best for RWR on the streets of Chicago. The previous best finish was 21st, earned by Jenson Button in 2023.
● This was Grala’s first NASCAR Cup Series start at Chicago.
Race Notes:
● Alex Bowman won the Grant Park 165 to score his eighth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first on the streets of Chicago. His margin of victory over second-place Tyler Reddick was 2.863 seconds.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 19 laps.
● Thirty-four of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Chicago with an 11-point advantage over second-place Chase Elliott.
Sound Bites:
“I feel like we had a really good car. The biggest thing we were fighting was track conditions and we were able to drive up into the top-10 before the call to pit at the end of stage two. I think we could’ve left with a top-five finish. That’s what this team deserves, but I’m glad I was able to get back up there for another top-20 finish and make a decent points day out of it.”– Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvements Ford Mustang Dark Horse
“I had a blast at the beginning of the race driving all the way up to 12th from the tail. Our remixers.com Ford was quick today and had top-10 pace. The way things cycled at the end we were primed to get that top-10 finish, but got a penalty for entering a closed pit road with only a handful of laps left. We battled back as best we could, but ultimately just got too far behind.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 remixers.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VisitPA.com on Sunday, July 14 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.