NASCAR Chicago Street Race preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

On Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will take on the Chicago Street Course for the third time in the Grant Park 165. Here's what you need to know before the 19th race of the 2025 Cup Series season. 

Favorite: Shane van Gisbergen (+165, per DraftKings)

Van Gisbergen won the inaugural Chicago Street Race in 2023 and the Xfinity Series race in Chicago last year. While a crash took him out of contention in the Cup Series race in Chicago in 2024, he has an excellent shot to sweep the weekend and notch his second Cup Series win of 2025 on Sunday. 

Underdog: Ryan Preece (+10000, per DraftKings)

Preece is by no means a road course ringer, but he has won a stage at both COTA and Mexico City this season. Should weather or strategy shake up the running order on Sunday afternoon, Preece could be in a position to be opportunistic and snag a solid finish, if not a win. 

Can Chase Elliott keep momentum rolling?

Elliott's win at Atlanta broke a 44-race winless streak, but it's the upcoming stretch of road courses — Chicago, Sonoma and Watkins Glen will all be contested over the next six weeks — that should have the No. 9 team excited. Elliott hasn't been as sharp on road courses with the Next-Gen car, but he's always a threat for a top-five finish. Keep an eye on the No. 9 on Sunday afternoon as Elliott goes for his second straight win. 

Playoff cut line becoming more real 

With only eight races remaining in the regular season and only four playoff spots still up for grabs, the battle around the cut line is only getting more intense. Bubba Wallace currently holds the final spot by 23 points over Ryan Preece, but a new winner below the cut line would move it up. At this juncture of the season, each corner could be the difference between making and missing the postseason.