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Bears QB Justin Fields to give command to start engines for Chicago Street Race

JHby:Jonathan Howard•07/01/23•

Jondean25

justin fields
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

When the Grant Park 220 gets going tomorrow, Justin Fields is going to be the guest of honor and deliver the starting command for the field. The Chicago Bears QB will get the NASCAR Cup Series race going on Sunday. It just goes to show how much work NASCAR has put into this event and how much they want the city to embrace it.

After electrifying the Bears faithful during the last NFL season, Justin Fields has become a big figure in the city. He will be the one to give the starting command for the Chicago Street Race. Just when you think all of the cool stuff has been announced, NASCAR says, “Wait! There’s more!”

The announcement was made on Saturday afternoon. This should have fans excited and ready to go for Sunday’s big main event. Good thing Fields is used to performing on Sundays, right?

Last season, Justin Fields racked up 2,242 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions through the air. Meanwhile, he put up 1,563 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Fields knows a thing or two about speed and there will be plenty of it in Chicago tomorrow.

Justin Fields joins NASCAR for Chicago Street Race

So, what can Justin Fields expect tomorrow? Well, based on what we saw on Saturday, he’s going to get a show. Fans at the rack and at home are going to have a blast watching this Cup Series race. Practice and qualifying gave us a glimpse of what we might see on Sunday.

To start, Denny Hamlin is the pole winner. He was great in practice and despite his pessimism about how he would perform coming into the race, Hamlin made the most of his opportunities. The JGR driver just barely edged out Tyler Reddick from his own 23XI Racing team. He also beat out a hard-charging Shane van Gisbergen, the three-time Supercars champion.

There is a great mix of regular Cup Series talent and some street course ringers as well. Along with van Gisbergen, Jenson Button put up a great practice and qualifying session.

This race is going to be entertaining and fans won’t want to miss this main event. Drivers have been impressed with the level of grip on the track as well as the width of the course. That could all come together to give us an event, unlike anything we’ve seen before.