The Loop 121 Xfinity Series race, the main event for the first day of NASCAR Chicago street races, was postponed until Sunday morning after organizers delayed the race on Saturday evening due to inclement weather.
In a tweet at 6:28 p.m. ET, organizers announced Loop 121 has been rescheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m. ET. gates are due to open at 9am
The NASCAR Chicago street race begins Saturday after nearly a year of anticipation, with qualifiers for The Loop 121 Xfinity Series starting the weekend.
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Here’s a look at the notable incidents that happened during Saturday’s race:
Loop 121 – NASCAR Xfinity Series Race
6:38 pm
In a tweet, NASCAR Chicago announced that the Chainsmokers’ concert, originally scheduled for Saturday night, has been cancelled. Organizers said it would not be rescheduled for Sunday.
6:28 pm
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, Loop 121 has been rescheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m., according to NASCAR officials. Gates will open at 9am
5 pm
Due to the potential for storms and lightning, NASCAR Chicago street race organizers delayed Loop 121 for an unknown amount of time Saturday evening.
Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications Tweeted NASCAR stopped the race at 5:22 p.m., asking attendees to find proper shelter and take precautions.
About half an hour later, race organizers said the weather delay remained, adding that they would provide an update when it became available. People were still encouraged to “find suitable shelter”.
At 6:09 p.m., NASCAR Chicago tweeted that although the race was still delayed due to rain, the race was planned to be completed today.
4:45 pm
Andre Castro’s Xfinity Series debut came to an abrupt end when his Chevrolet spun into the Turn 1 tire barrier. NASCAR.com.
4:22 pm
Justin Marks was forced to make an abrupt exit from the race after his engine failed on lap 4.
4 pm
The Loop 121, a series race sanctioned by The International Motor Sports Association, began on Saturday after 4 p.m. Join or forward to USA Network for live coverage NBC.com.
Xfinity Series Qualifying Race
A look at the results after the Xfinity Series qualifying race Here.
1:20 p.m.,
In the Cup Series practice round, the same wall that had caused Sheldon Creed to crash earlier proved equally dangerous for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2:20 p.m.
Chase Elliott is now out of the Cup Series qualifiers after a tough crash in the course’s tight ninth turn.
2:30 pm
Longtime NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick crashed out of qualifying after failing to cleanly cut a turn and hitting a course barrier.
2:55 p.m.
The Cup Series qualifying race has ended, with Denny Hamlin clinching the pole position for Sunday afternoon’s Cup Series race.
With both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series drivers now acclimating themselves to the Chicago street course, calculated caution seems to be the approach so far.
Drivers took advantage of the course’s wide turns and straights for passing opportunities, while braking timing proved to be incredibly important.
Although the drivers avoided any major vehicle-on-vehicle collisions, several accidents occurred at the course’s barriers, particularly at the course’s challenging eighth and ninth turns.
It has been proven that safe exiting out of half-oval shaped turns requires pinpoint precision, causing even non-crashed drivers to slide while exiting the turn.
NASCAR Cup Series qualifier results can be viewed Here.