Australian Supercars champion Will Brown will make his second-ever NASCAR Cup Series appearance in the Grant Park 165 street race, joining the Chicago Street Race as a late entry for Kaulig Racing.
Brown, who clinched the 2024 Supercars title, made his NASCAR debut earlier this month in Sonoma, California, where electrical issues dropped him from 24th to a 31st-place finish at the Save Mart 350. He will line up alongside fellow Australian, Shane van Gisbergen, who won last year’s inaugural Grant Park race and just captured his second Cup Series win at NASCAR’s first Mexican street race on June 15.
This year’s Chicago event in the South Loop on July 5 and July 6 marks the final race under the city’s original three-year contract with NASCAR. With no renewal yet announced, the race’s future remains uncertain, though organizers say a deal could be reached in the coming days.
In Mexico City, van Gisbergen handled wet conditions and a narrow track that was built for Formula One better than many Cup Series veterans. The street circuit, NASCAR’s second to overlap with F1 after Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, saw early crashes involving Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch.
Alex Bowman also had quite the race after saying he was struggling to walk following his large accident in Michigan last week. However, it all paid off in Mexico City as Bowman pulled off a stunning 4th place, his highest finish this year.
Back in Chicago, the first street closures begin on Thursday, June 19, starting with the closure of Columbus Drive to Lake Shore Drive not far from Columbia’s campus, with more streets around the area closing in the coming days.
The street closures will be shorter this year.
Traffic and street closures related to building the course were reduced to 18 days in 2025, which is seven days less than 2023 and one day less than 2024.
Overall, the building and breakdown of the course was shortened by two weeks.
The course itself will remain the same, although changes were made to the park seating structures by consolidating the premium hospitality areas to the east side of Columbus Drive at Buckingham Fountain.
The first set of street closures in Grant Park, including Balbo Drive closing between Columbus Drive and DuSable Lake Shore Drive, are the first of several. Parking will also be restricted on both sides of Columbus Drive between Jackson Boulevard and Balbo Drive.
Irene Lankin-Duffy, who lives in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, said last year’s NASCAR street closures prevented her from getting to work.
“I couldn’t work for a week, but they bought me out so it was not that bad,” Lankin-Duffy said. “This year, I don’t think so because they’re losing money.”
Andy Patel, who lives in suburban Schaumburg, said he’s noticed people taking alternate routes or switching to public transportation to avoid street closures and parking challenges.
Patel said the race disrupts the city but he is confident that officials will find a way to allow access.
Ed Luczak, a resident of Humboldt Park, said he didn’t have a problem with street closures last year due to relying on public transportation but said he sees how it disrupts the city.
“I don’t have a car, so I don’t have a problem,” Luczak said. “The bus where I live going west is not interfered with NASCAR… if there’s a slight interference it’s because they only get as far as State Street. After that, you have to walk.”
Copy edited by Emma Jolly
