The 2023 The Loop 121 was the 16th

stock car race Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

of the

2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series The 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series is the 42nd season of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season started with the Beef. It's What's for Dinner. 300 on February 18 at Daytona Intern ...

, and the inaugural iteration of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

. The race was scheduled to be held on Saturday, July 1, 2023, but after 25 laps, the race was postponed until Sunday, July 2, due to inclement weather. The race was held in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

at the

Chicago Street Course The Chicago Street Course is a street circuit in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States that will host the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series on July 1–2, 2023. The track was initially a conceptual track on iRacing made for th ...

, a street course. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 55 laps, but was decreased to 25 laps (2 laps short of the typical point where the race could be called official) due to downpouring rain and standing water.

Cole Custer Cole Matthew Custer (born January 23, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. He previously drove for the team full-t ...

, driving for

Stewart-Haas Racing Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champ ...

, would lead all 25 laps of the race after starting from the pole, and earned his 12th career

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

win, and his second of the season. To fill out the podium,

John Hunter Nemechek John Hunter Nemechek (born June 11, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the son of NASCAR driver Joe ...

, driving for

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His ...

, and

Justin Allgaier Justin M. Allgaier (born June 6, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports. He is the 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series champion an ...

, driving for

JR Motorsports JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and occasionally in the NASCAR Advance Auto Par ...

, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively. This was the first street race to be contested in the series.

Background

The

is a

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the ...

located in the city of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, United States. It hosts the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

and

. The track was initially a conceptual track on

iRacing ''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tr ...

made for the

eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series was a series of ''iRacing'' sim racing events originally organized for NASCAR drivers to compete in after its 2020 seasons were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drivers from all of NASCAR's s ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. The track for the actual race in 2023 ended up being the exact same layout as the version used in 2021 for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The start/finish line is located on South Columbus Drive in front of

Buckingham Fountain Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago Landmark in the center of Grant Park, between Queen's Landing and Ida B. Wells Drive. Dedicated in 1927 and donated to the city by philanthropist Kate S. Buckingham, it is one of the largest fountains in the wo ...

in Grant Park. The cars will go south and then turn left onto East Balbo Drive and then right onto South

Lake Shore Drive Lake Shore Drive (officially Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable Lake Shore Drive, and called DuSable Lake Shore Drive, The Outer Drive, The Drive, or LSD) is a multilevel expressway that runs alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan, and adjacent t ...

(also part of

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Mi ...

), which is alongside

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that ...

. The cars will then turn right onto East Roosevelt Road and then make another right, which gets them back onto South Columbus Drive where they are going north. They will then reach the intersection of South Columbus Drive and East Balbo Drive again and will make a left turn. When they are back on East Balbo Drive, they will cross a bridge over the

Metra Electric District The Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Station), in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs. As of 2018, it is the fifth ...

tracks. Next, the cars will turn right onto South Michigan Avenue and go north, go onto East Congress Plaza Drive and back onto South Michigan Ave. Lastly, they will make a right turn onto East Jackson Drive, go back across the Metra Electric tracks, and right back onto South Columbus Drive to the start/finish line.

Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.

Practice

The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, July 1, at 10:00 AM CST, and would last for 50 minutes.

Justin Marks Justin Marks (born March 25, 1981) is an American racing driver, entrepreneur, and current owner of Trackhouse Racing Team in the NASCAR Cup Series. He last competed in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving the No. 93 for Meyer Shank ...

, driving for

Kaulig Racing Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrol ...

, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:32.138, and an average speed of .

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 1, at 11:00 AM CST. Since the

is a

street course A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the p ...

, the qualifying system is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each driver will have multiple laps to set a time. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. The fastest driver to set a time in that round will win the pole.

, driving for

, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 1:30.421, and an average speed of .

Race results

Only 25 laps of the race were run, the entirety of stage 1 and the first 10 laps of stage 2. After several lightning delays on Saturday, NASCAR planned to postpone the rest of the race to Sunday, the morning before the Cup race. However, torrential rain on Sunday morning (including several flash flood warnings issued for the region) led to NASCAR issuing an unprecedented decision to call the race before the point the race could be called official. Stage 1 ''Laps: 15'' Stage 2 ''Laps: 10*'' The drivers who finished in the top ten were given stage points (10-1) Final Results

Notes

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

{{NASCAR on NBC NASCAR races at Chicago Street Course Loop 121 Loop 121 2023 in Chicago The Loop 121