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NASCAR Xfinity Series will start on rain tires for Chicago practice

JHby:Jonathan Howard07/01/23

Jondean25

NASCAR Chicago Xfinity Series
(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The very first NASCAR session on the Chicago Street Course is going to be done with rain tires during Xfinity Series practice. With the streets of the Windy City wet and a little more rain coming down, Xfinity Series practice is going to be very interesting.

In a weekend of first, why not put on the rain tires and see what happens? We finally have cars out on the track and we are almost ready to see some action on this street course. If you wanted an interesting race weekend, then rain is only going to add to that.

There is a 50-minute practice ahead of the qualifying session. After the Xfinity Series is finished, the Cup Series will hit the track. What will this extra wrinkle in the race do to spice up this Saturday morning?

There are no Cup Series drivers allowed in the Xfinity Series race. This is to allow everyone to have the same experience on the track. No one will gain an advantage by getting extra laps in on the street course. So, we’re going to get an Xfinity winner and potentially punch a ticket to the playoffs.

When you add in the rain, things just get more interesting. NASCAR is in Chicago and cars are on the track. This is a great chance to see what these drivers are made of. While we hope for some good race conditions, a little rain never hurt anybody.

NASCAR Xfinity Series at Chicago

In the early going of practice, the laps are taking about a minute and 40 seconds to complete. As drivers get used to the track we could see those times come down. This season we have seen the Xfinity Series take on road courses. So, who should we expect to be competing for the win?

Before we got to Chicago, Cole Custer and Justin Allgaier battled with one another in Portland. Parker Kligerman is also a driver to watch as he has shown a knack for getting around the twists and turns of the road courses.

However, keep an eye on Justin Marks. The Trackhouse Racing co-owner is in the No. 10 car for Kaulig Racing. He is a Trans Am racer nowadays and is used to hitting the road courses. Marks might stick his nose into this race and make it interesting before it is all said and done.

Xfinity Series is out on the track. NASCAR in Chicago is officially underway. With rain on the track we are going to get an extra level of difficulty on this brand-new course.