NASCAR makes its long‑awaited return to Chicagoland Speedway
After a three‑year hiatus, the stock car series rolled back onto the 1.5‑mile oval in Joliet, Illinois, on Friday for a 50‑minute practice session that set the stage for the upcoming weekend race. The familiar roar of engines echoed across the track as teams unloaded their freshly painted machines.
Riley Herbst emerged as the fastest driver, topping the speed charts in the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota. His teammate Bubba Wallace, piloting the No. 23 entry, followed closely, giving the Toyota camp a one‑two finish that delighted fans.
Chevrolet was represented by Kyle Larson, who secured third position and led the brand’s effort, while Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing also turned in strong performances, keeping the competition tight.
Reddick’s tire experiment and the search for extra groove
Tyler Reddick led the lap‑average charts across ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty‑five lap segments and completed a race‑high 61 laps, the most of any driver. He expressed confusion over the tire behavior on the aged surface, noting a flat fall‑off that contrasted with expectations.
The practice was largely incident‑free, though Erik Jones experienced a mechanical issue and was sent to the garage with his No. 43 car. Several drivers struggled with the tight turn‑in to the pit lane and stayed out of the higher grooves, with none daring to hug the outside wall.
Reddick hopes the new O’Reilly‑sponsored cars will help widen the racing groove, a change that could reshape the on‑track product. He remains intrigued by the surface’s unusual characteristics and believes a broader groove could improve racing.
With no major crashes and a wealth of data to analyze, teams left the track optimistic. The next step will be translating practice insights into race‑day strategy as the series prepares for its first event at Chicagoland since 2019.