The Grant Park 165 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series race held on the Chicago Street Course , a street circuit in Grant Park , Chicago , Illinois , United States . The race was first held in 2023 and was the first ever street race contested in the NASCAR Cup Series. The NASCAR Xfinity Series also holds a race on the street course on the day before the Cup Series race.
45-580: Alex Bowman is the defending race winner, having won it in 2024 . On March 24, 2021, NASCAR announced that an imaginary street course in the Chicago Loop in Downtown Chicago would be the track for the fifth (and what turned out to be the final) race of the 2021 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series . The iRacing event was broadcast live on NASCAR on Fox on Wednesday, June 2. Rick Ware Racing Cup Series driver James Davison would win
90-544: A NASCAR Cup event. Bowman opened the first round of the playoffs with a solid 6th-place finish at Las Vegas, dismal 23rd-place at Richmond, and runner-up to Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott at the Charlotte Roval , which secured his advancement into the Round of 12. At Talladega , Bowman was leading the pack in the closing laps of Stage 2 when he was punted from behind by Joey Logano , triggering The Big One . Bowman
135-493: A change at Bristol in March when the formula was used when rain cancelled qualifying. Stage One Laps: 130 Stage Two Laps: 130 Stage Three Laps: 240 NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen , 1997 race winner Jeff Burton , Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns , Parker Kligerman , Marty Snider and Dillon Welch handled
180-566: A development driver for Penske Racing , winning races at Salem Speedway , Winchester Speedway , Iowa Speedway , and Kansas Speedway over the course of the year. He also won the pole for the inaugural ARCA Mobile 200 at Mobile International Speedway . In 2012, Bowman made his debut at the national level of NASCAR competition, driving for Turner Motorsports in the Nationwide Series at Chicagoland Speedway . He finished 17th in his debut race; he also drove for RAB Racing in
225-485: A late race restart with 12 laps to go, his third career victory and the first time that the No. 48 returned to Victory Lane since Johnson won the 2017 AAA 400 Drive for Autism . Three weeks later, Bowman would achieve his second win of the season at the 2021 Drydene 400 . On June 18, Bowman signed a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports through 2023. He won again at the 2021 Pocono Organics CBD 325 when teammate Larson,
270-479: Is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns. Kyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula. This was the final round that it was scheduled, but NASCAR made
315-564: Is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series , driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series , driving the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro for the same team. He owns a Dirt Midget and Sprint car racing team Alex Bowman Racing. He is known for a record six consecutive front-row starts in
360-559: The 2014 Daytona 500 in the No. 83. On January 20, the team announced his hiring for the No. 23 car for 2014, running the full 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season for Rookie of the Year. On January 30, 2015, it was announced that Bowman would drive the full 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in the No. 7 car for Tommy Baldwin Racing . He failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 after he
405-593: The 2022 Daytona 500 , but he was involved in a lap 63 crash in which he slammed into the flipping car of Harrison Burton . He was able to continue, but lost four laps, ultimately finishing 24th. The following week, at the WISE Power 400 in Fontana, Bowman was running in the top 10 when he hit the outside wall late in the race, finishing 25th. However, he won the 2022 Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas , his seventh career victory, after battling with teammate Kyle Larson over
450-410: The 2023 season with a fifth place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500 . On March 15, the No. 48 was served an L2 penalty after unapproved hood louvers were found installed on the car during pre-race inspection at Phoenix ; as a result, the team was docked 100 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points. In addition, crew chief Blake Harris was suspended for four races and fined US$ 100,000. On March 29,
495-513: The Daytona 500 , from 2018 to 2023, winning the pole in 2018, 2021, and 2023. He is known by many nicknames, the most predominant being Bowman the Showman. Denny Hamlin called him "just a hack" after a late-race collision at Martinsville in 2021 took Hamlin out of contention for the win. Following a 2022 race at Las Vegas , Kyle Busch said Bowman was "all luck, no skill" after Bowman won
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#1732786539808540-570: The NASCAR K&;N Pro Series East with X Team Racing for 2011. Bowman finished sixth in series points, winning Rookie of the Year honors. In 2018, Bowman made his return to the west series at Sonoma Raceway , driving the No. 24 for Bill McAnally Racing . Bowman competed in two ARCA Racing Series events during 2011 for Venturini Motorsports , at Madison International Speedway and Kansas Speedway , winning both events. He moved full-time to ARCA for 2012 for Cunningham Motorsports as
585-462: The New Hampshire 301 , driving the No. 88 for Hendrick Motorsports as an interim driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. , who would miss the remainder of the 2016 season because of concussion issues. Despite running in the top ten, including as high as eighth, Bowman blew a tire and hit the wall in turn one on lap 272, relegating him to a 26th-place finish. Bowman and Jeff Gordon would alternate
630-481: The 2024 NASCAR playoffs as the 12th seed. On September 20, Bowman scored his 5th career Cup Series pole for the playoff race at Bristol the next evening. This is his first pole since the 2016 Fall Phoenix race that is not for a Daytona 500. Through the Round of 16, Bowman earned 120 points, the most of any driver and advanced to the Round of 12. At the Kansas fall race on September 29, Bowman continued his hot start to
675-509: The California Dirt Focus Midget championship. In 2009, he was named USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year. In February 2010, Bowman was injured in an accident during a USAC race, suffering a fractured clavicle and rib . Bowman continues to field a midget in select races. In 2010, at the age of 17, he moved to full-bodied stock car racing, making two Rev-Oil Pro Cup starts and a late model start. Bowman moved to
720-531: The Chicago street race to the Cup Series schedule took place. After the announcement, NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy confirmed Stern's report of the Chicago street race replacing the race at Road America on the Cup Series schedule in a question and answer session with the media. On March 7, 2023, NASCAR announced that the race would not have a title sponsor and would instead be named after Grant Park , which
765-486: The Cup Series schedule would come on July 19. On June 17, Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal suggested that the Chicago Street Course could replace Road America on the 2023 Cup Series schedule as any street course race would likely replace one of the road course races and Road America did not have a contract to have a Cup Series race in 2023. On July 19, the official announcement of the addition of
810-593: The National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the penalty, upholding the fine and Harris' suspension but restoring the owner, driver, and playoff points. On April 6, the No. 48 was served an L1 penalty after alterations to the car's greenhouse were discovered during post-race inspection following the Richmond race ; as a result, the team was docked 60 driver and owner points and five playoff points. In addition, interim crew chief Greg Ives
855-524: The Nationwide Series at Kentucky Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway , and for Turner at Dover International Speedway , towards the end of 2012. In January 2013, it was announced that Bowman would be running the full Nationwide Series season for RAB in 2013, competing for Rookie of the Year honors. He would win his first career Nationwide pole at the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas. Bowman would win another pole at Texas later in
900-451: The No. 48 car to replace the retiring Jimmie Johnson for the 2021 season, during which he inherited Ally Financial 's sponsorship; the No. 88 would be taken over by Kyle Larson and renumbered to No. 5. Bowman finished 6th in the 2020 standings. Bowman started the 2021 season by winning the pole at the 2021 Daytona 500 . After an inconsistent start to the year, Bowman won at Richmond after holding off Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano in
945-407: The No. 48 for him. Due to his injury, Bowman was eliminated in the Round of 12. Bowman was cleared to return for the title decider race on October 28. He finished the season 16th in the points standings. Prior to the Daytona 500 , Bowman signed a three-year extension to remain with HMS through 2026 with his sponsor Ally Financial signing a five-year extension with HMS as well. Bowman began
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#1732786539808990-436: The No. 88 car for the balance of the 2016 season. Bowman won his first career pole at Phoenix . In that race, Bowman led the most laps with 197 and tried to make what would have been the winning pass on Matt Kenseth with six laps to go. While passing Kenseth, Bowman got tapped from behind by Kyle Busch , spinning Kenseth out; Bowman recovered to finish sixth. In December 2016, Rick Hendrick announced that Bowman would run
1035-415: The No. 88 for the 2018 season. On July 20, Hendrick Motorsports formally named Bowman as the driver of the No. 88 car in 2018. Bowman opened up the 2018 season on February 11 by winning the pole for the 2018 Daytona 500 . Despite being winless, he made his Playoff debut by staying consistent with two top-fives and nine top-10s. After the Charlotte Roval race , Bowman advanced to the Round of 12. Bowman
1080-431: The No. 88 in place of Earnhardt Jr. for the 2017 Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona; while Earnhardt Jr. was also eligible for the event, he elected to allow Bowman drive the car out of appreciation for substituting in 2016. Bowman finished third after losing out in a side-by-side battle for second with Kyle Busch. When Earnhardt Jr. announced his retirement in the spring, he expressed support for Bowman to replace him in
1125-557: The Round of 8 while Bowman was eliminated. Bowman finished the season ninth in the final point standings. ( key ) ( Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ) Season still in progress Ineligible for series points ( key ) ( Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ) 2021 Xfinity 500 The 2021 Xfinity 500
1170-730: The Truck Series race at Atlanta in the No. 24 as a fill-in driver for Justin Haley , who was too young to race at the track. In October and November, Bowman drove the No. 42 Xfinity car of Chip Ganassi Racing at Charlotte and Phoenix. At Charlotte, Bowman dominated the final portion of the race following a late restart to win his first NASCAR national series race. In 2022, it was announced by Spire Motorsports that Bowman would be driving their #7 truck series entry at COTA with sponsorship from HendrickCars.com. In January 2014, Bowman tested for BK Racing as part of Preseason Thunder before
1215-550: The United States to race full-time in NASCAR. He later would join the Cup Series full time in 2025 . On October 20, 2023, NASCAR announced that the 2024 Cup Series Chicago Street Race would be shortened from 220 miles (354.056 km) and 100 laps to 165 miles (265.542) and 75 laps. This is about the same length of the rain and darkness-shortened 2023 race, which was 171.6 miles and 78 laps long. Alex Bowman Alexander Michael Warren Bowman (born April 25, 1993)
1260-484: The Xfinity Series with Athenian Motorsports and a Truck Series race with JRM. On November 11, Bowman joined JRM for nine races in the No. 88 for the 2016 Xfinity season. He won a pole at Michigan and finished in the top-ten in all but two races. Despite the success, Bowman struggled to find sponsorship that would grant him the opportunity to race full-time for JRM. In 2017, Bowman joined GMS Racing to run
1305-662: The closing laps to earn his fourth win in 2021, as well as his sixth overall. Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation -owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County , in Ridgeway, Virginia , just to the south of Martinsville . At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series . The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles . It
1350-497: The last couple laps. In the race at Circuit of the Americas , Bowman was in the lead heading into turn 19 on the final lap. However, Ross Chastain bumped A. J. Allmendinger into Bowman, causing him to go wide and finish second behind Chastain. A concussion sustained from his crash at Texas forced him to miss the races at Talladega , Charlotte Roval , Las Vegas , Homestead , and Martinsville , with Noah Gragson filling in
1395-451: The leader, blew a tire going into the last corner on the last lap. During the playoffs, Bowman made it to the Round of 12, but struggled with poor finishes at Las Vegas and Talladega . Following the Charlotte Roval race , he was eliminated from the Round of 8. Despite his elimination, Bowman scored his sixth career win at Martinsville . He finished the season 14th in the points standings. Bowman's 2022 season began by qualifying 2nd for
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1440-462: The pit road duties from pit lane. Rutledge Wood handled the features from the track. MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio . Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 7 time Martinsville winner Rusty Wallace had the call for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody covered the action for MRN when the field raced down the backstraightway into turn 3. Steve Post and Kim Coon covered
1485-418: The playoffs by winning Stage 2, his first stage win of the season, and earning the fourth-most points in the race. Bowman would finish 18th at the Charlotte Roval and would advance to the Round of 8 but was later disqualified after his car failed post-race inspection due to not meeting minimum weight. As a result, Joey Logano , who was initially eliminated at the conclusion of the Round of 12, would advance to
1530-660: The race by taking 2 tires on a pit stop during a late-race caution. A native of Tucson, Arizona , Bowman started his racing career on short tracks in Arizona and California in 2000 at the age of seven, driving quarter midget cars in United States Auto Club (USAC) competition. By 2006, he had won nine national championships and had 165 feature wins. In 2008, he won the USAC National Focus Midget championship with 11 wins, as well as
1575-462: The races he missed, combined with some poor finishes, Bowman failed to make the playoffs. Bowman started the 2024 season by finishing second to teammate William Byron at the 2024 Daytona 500 . He broke an 80-race drought by winning at the Chicago street race on wet tires after a late-race pass on Joey Hand and held off a charge by Tyler Reddick who was on the faster slicks. Bowman entered
1620-407: The scheduled laps. New Zealand racing driver Shane van Gisbergen and triple Australian Supercars champion won the event. in his first-ever NASCAR race running for Trackhouse Racing 's PROJECT91 program after qualifying in third. He also became the first driver to win in his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in 1963 . Following the race win, van Gisbergen left Supercars in 2024 and came to
1665-399: The season, but was released by the team prior to the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway . Bowman ended the season with six top-tens in 32 starts. Bowman returned to the Nationwide Series in 2014, driving the No. 80 for Hattori Racing Enterprises at Dover, while driving the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevy at Charlotte and Phoenix. During the 2015 season, Bowman made starts in
1710-492: The starting grid of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race by winning the Fan Vote. At the 2019 Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Speedway , Bowman again dominated the final stage of the race but was passed by Kyle Larson with 8 to go. However, unlike the race at Kansas, Bowman was able to pass Larson again with 6 to go and won his first Cup Series race. With the win, Bowman has finished in every possible position in
1755-503: The street course will pass by. Similarly, the Xfinity Series Chicago street race was named The Loop 121 after the Chicago Loop , the area of the city in which the street course is located. It was also announced on that day that the Cup Series race would be 220 miles and 100 laps in length. The inaugural running of the event was held during a rain storm. The start of the race was delayed, and eventually ran for only 78 of
1800-415: The virtual Chicago street race. Ever since the announcement of the track's virtual creation for this iRacing event, there had been rumors and speculation that NASCAR would like to make this track a reality and have a street race in Chicago on the Cup Series schedule in the future. On July 7, 2022, Jordan Bianchi from The Athletic reported that an official announcement of a Chicago street race being added to
1845-459: Was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 31, 2021, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia . Contested over 501 laps -- extended from 500 laps due to an overtime finish , on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 35th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, the ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8. Alex Bowman moved Denny Hamlin during
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1890-418: Was caught up in a multi-car wreck in his duel race. In New Hampshire, his car erupted in flames after rubber from a blown tire got into the engine. He was able to return to the track. On the final lap, he blew a tire causing to smack the wall before the caution came out. On January 21, 2016, Bowman parted ways with Tommy Baldwin Racing, losing his Sprint Cup ride. Bowman returned to the Cup Series at Loudon in
1935-457: Was eliminated from the Round of 12 after the fall Kansas race and finished 16th in points. The 2019 season saw improvement in Bowman's finishes, including three consecutive second-place finishes at Talladega , Dover , and Kansas . At Kansas, Bowman dominated the later portion of the race but was passed by Brad Keselowski with eight laps to go and could not retake the lead. Bowman also made
1980-514: Was eliminated in the Round of 12 after the Kansas race . On March 1, 2020, Bowman got his second career NASCAR Cup Series win in the Auto Club 400 after leading 110 laps and winning stage 1. After a late pit-stop by second-placed Ryan Blaney , Bowman beat Kyle Busch by a margin of nine seconds. On October 6, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives would switch to
2025-621: Was suspended for two races and fined US$ 75,000. On April 25, Bowman suffered a back injury from an accident during a sprint car race at West Burlington, Iowa . Josh Berry , who substituted for Chase Elliott earlier in the season, was announced as the relief driver of the No. 48 while Bowman recovered. Bowman returned to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 and finished 12th. Also, Bowman announced that he will not race sprint cars to focus on NASCAR and said that he will have Jake Swanson to race on his sprint car team from now on. Due to
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