CHICAGO — Here’s what the drivers had to say after Sunday’s Chicago street race:
Alex Bowman — Winner: “Oh my gosh, Blake (Harris) called, I never thought wet tires in the dry like that would work. So, I’m just so proud of this No. 48 Ally Chevy team. I mean I made a big mistake earlier and ripped the whole left front off the car and ruined everybody else’s day. It’s just unacceptable and a mistake on my part. I’ve had a lot of mistakes lately and I’m just happy to be here and get another trophy for these guys. … I’m really proud of this team, and it means a lot to win here and finally get a win on a road course. To do something like this is really special.”
Tyler Reddick — Finished 2nd: “Yeah, I’m disappointed. I was catching Alex (Bowman) by a big margin. I don’t know. It baffles me. I definitely made a mistake. I was trying to stay in the dry lane and I had more than enough room to do that. Yeah, I cut the wheel a little too much, wasn’t focused enough, I guess. I knew I was going to catch him and the sooner I could get to him, the more options I had, and it was going to get a little bit more slippery beyond Turn 8. Yeah, but we didn’t even give ourselves a chance to beat him, unfortunately. I hate that. That’s not what this Jordan Toyota Camry is about and what this team is about. We just have to start capitalizing on those points.”
Reddick: ‘Last-minute mistake in Chicago race leaves me perplexed’
A disappointed Tyler Reddick reacts to his second-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course, in which a chip on the wall near the end cost him a chance to catch Alex Bowman.
Ty Gibbs — Finished 3rd: “We had a really good weekend and I’m grateful to have two great race cars that my team brought me. It’s pretty rare, isn’t it, to have two great cars that I can lean on to make speed. You know, I feel like we were really fast in both races. We were really close both days. I mean, all I can ask for is a win, but here we are. It’s really fun to race in the Cup Series. I’m just grateful for what I can do.”
Joey Hand — Finished 4th: “It was a great day. I’m all smiles. It was a lot of fun. It’s fun to have a car that’s moving forward. RFK, that Stage 60 car and that group of guys and girls were awesome. We had a great time together. We didn’t qualify well, but I told them we were way better than that. I went to bed last night and dreamed I was up front. It was a lot of fun. I like those conditions where everyone has to find a different lane and nothing is set in stone. I’ve won a lot of races like that in my life. I thought I had a chance to win another one, which would be huge. To finish fourth, starting 38th, with that car was a lot of fun.”
Michael McDowell — 5th place: “Yeah, we needed a few more laps. I’m proud of our effort. At the beginning when we went to wet and it wasn’t raining we were struggling and lost a lap. We bounced back and took over and after that rain break we started 32nd so I’m happy to be back in the top five. I’m proud of our effort. Everyone is fighting hard on our 34 Ford Mustang. We had a great race at the end to get on the slicks before everyone else so we could try to get ahead of some of the guys and it worked out. Those last 10 laps our car was coming through when everyone else was struggling and it was a lot of fun. But that’s not what we needed today. We needed a win and we didn’t get it but we’re going to keep fighting for the rest of the season.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — Finished 6th: “It was crazy. I felt like our car was really good from the beginning. We came through the field, got to 15th and stayed there. Then when the rain came, 11th missed his brakes in Turn 6 and I thought we were done because I couldn’t get going again. But once we got back on the road, we were able to put in a lot better lap times and the strategy worked perfectly. I didn’t think she was ready to go to dry tires that early. Obviously, she was at the end, so my guys made the right decision to keep us on wet tires and score stage points. Then they told me, ‘Hey, these guys are going to catch you with three or four laps to go, but this is the best chance to have a good finish.’ So overall, it was really cool to come away from Chicago this year with a good finish.” That’s what our car was capable of, so it was fun.”
Todd Gilliland — Finished 7th: “It’s really disappointing actually. I didn’t help us with that last caution. I didn’t want to end up in the 4. I tried to go right and get under him under braking, and I hit him. That’s not what I wanted to do at all and it really didn’t help us at all. Overall, our car was really solid. I’m really proud of it. We brought a lot more speed to the track, so it’s a lot of fun.”
Kyle Busch — Finished 9th: “We had a good finish today at the Chicago Street Race with our Zone Chevrolet. Hopefully this is the start of some positive momentum for our Richard Childress Racing team. It’s cool to get the finish we deserve. Great job by Randall Burnett and everyone at RCR and ECR. The way the race went we got slicks at the right time late in the race and we passed a ton of cars. For some reason we really struggled with the wet tire setup. The car felt like it was on ice so we have some work to do to improve that. Overall it was a good day for sure.”
Ryan Blaney — Finished 10th: “It was a pretty crazy race. We put dry tyres on and luckily finished 10th. I lost a few points at the end. I missed the corner a bit and lost a few points, but overall it was a good finish from the start. Pretty crazy race. I would like to race here once on dry tyres all the time for the sake of the fans and for us.”
Daniel Suarez — Finished 11th: “It was a good comeback, but I just wish we had run the whole race because the 48 won the race and I was right there with him when we lost all the positions on the track. I think it’s unfortunate for what it could have been, but overall we were able to bounce back and that’s all that matters. The No. 99 Jockey x Folds of Honor Chevy team did a good job at the end of the day.”
Daniel Hemric — Finished 12th: “What a challenge! Once again, my crew chief, Trent Owens, had an incredible strategy by continuing to run on wet tires. If the race had ended about two laps earlier, we would have had a solid top 10, but we ended up running down a few riders on fresh tires. Overall, we maximized our day and I appreciate the fight from our Kaulig Racing team.”
Noah Gragson — Finished 14th: “It was a really crazy race, but I’m grateful to the guys at Stewart-Haas for the opportunity. I was just trying not to wreck myself and keep the car in one piece. You can get crushed so easily. I’m really grateful. We’ll keep going next week and try again.”
Austin Dillon — Finished 19th: “We had a really good No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet in the Chicago Street Race this weekend, especially on wet tires. They needed a few laps to get there and when they did, we could run anywhere we wanted on the track. We had some start issues with the slicks. We knew this was going to be a tough race with all the tight corners. On the last lap, we got pushed by another car and hit the wall, which slowed our race down and cost us a few positions. We actually had a chance to be in the top 10 today, so I’m proud of the effort everyone at RCR and ECR put into our road course program. It was fun to race on the streets of Chicago and introduce our sport to so many new fans. We’ll continue that momentum at Pocono Raceway next week.”
Chris Buescher — 20th place: “I had some pretty good speed at times and was able to work pretty well in the wet track and get going, but eventually I got caught by the pit lights and I didn’t make it. I didn’t see it but I didn’t make it. It just put us behind at the very end and we didn’t have time to come back.”
Chase Briscoe — Finished 32nd: “At the start of the race, in the dry, we were able to move up from 22nd to 4th and I thought I was in a really good position to be in the race. Then the rain came and I kept locking the tyres and hitting obstacles.”
Ryan Preece — 34th place: “We were crashed and the race was over.”
Josh Berry — Finished 36th: “We knew it was going to be a tough day and we delivered. In normal circumstances it would have been a challenge, but with the wet tyres getting mixed up and the rain delays it was a tough day. But we learned a lot as a team and I continued to hone my racing skills on the road circuits. I’m obviously not happy with the result, but we’ll stay focused and come back next week with a clean sheet.”
AJ Allmendinger — Finished 38th: “We are proud to have had the chance to have a very good day. We made a lot of progress during practice and qualifying, but unfortunately the penalty (for stopping while the pit lane was closed) put an end to our day.”
Kyle Larson — Finished 39th: “I guess I just locked the car up. As soon as I hit the brakes, it wouldn’t slow down. I was just going to try to finish where I was going to finish. But yeah, it really damaged the car. It’s just unfortunate. I’m disappointed. It just caught me off guard. You push the braking zones a little bit more each lap to get more comfortable, but it caught me off guard.”
Shane van Gisbergen — 40th place: “She looked pretty good and then somebody hit her. It’s depressing. The No. 16 Wendy’s Saucy Nuggs Camaro was really good. We were leading for a lot of the race. I felt good taking off in the rain, so it’s unfortunate. It’s an unfortunate mistake by Chase Briscoe. I’m sure he didn’t mean it. But yeah, when he hit me, there was nothing I could do.”