It’s halfway through the season, and Brad Keselowski’s RFK Racing has been winless so far. They’re desperately in need of one, and their best bets are certainly on their 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Chris Buescher. Last year, Buescher had a great run at the road courses, with a win at Watkins and two top-10 finishes at COTA and Sonoma. When it comes to street racing, he didn’t have much luck at the Chicago Street Course, where he finished 20th. Despite being better on the road, the upcoming street challenge doesn’t intimidate him from eyeing a spot in the playoffs.

Road courses are often hyped as they provide a cleaner racing experience and let the drivers showcase their driving skills and strategies better. They offer more overtaking opportunities at higher speeds. On the other hand, street racing could get a little chaotic with its unpredictable elements. We saw how Kyle Larson crashed out last year after missing the corner entry. Tempers can flare between the drivers, and strategies can make or break a driver’s day. So while Buescher has beaten SVG in his playground last year, he isn’t sold on the hype that good road racers will do well in Chicago.

Buescher feels street racing is a whole different ball game

With his impressive finishes at the road courses at COTA and Mexico, Buescher certainly knows a thing or two about road racing. But can he carry his learnings from these tracks into Chicago? Buescher disagrees about that: “Road racing is road racing in general. But street racing is its own animal”.

While speaking to Bob Pockrass, Chris Buescher acknowledged the unique challenges that street racing possesses and how not just he, but all drivers need to be aware of them. The leeway that road racing provides when it comes to runoffs is a huge challenge on the street course. Speaking about street racing, he said, “But I think that the street course does present its own challenges in that sense that you have to be a little bit more disciplined. There are drivers that are very fast and maybe a little bit out of control, and a lot of road courses, most of all road courses, give you the ability to be a little out of control at times and not pay a penalty.”

The Grand Park 165 track in Chicago is only a couple of years old and still pretty young for drivers to become veterans on it. The inaugural season in 2023 saw Shane van Gisbergen take the entire community by storm when he defeated NASCAR road course ringers like Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick. Buescher further explains how this lack of experience for everyone at the track also factors in when it comes to the performance on the track.

“I think that’s why we seen SVG come in the first race and take everybody to school, and nobody had that experience to figure it out. Um, then Mexico City happens, so I’m not sure what to make of it. But, you know, ultimately, there’s a lot of things that tell me that we’re gonna be very competitive as we come in to Chicago Street course, and a lot of things that will line up based on just general road racing,” he added.

With the playoffs race getting more and more intense, it is indeed tough to have a clear-cut favorite. While the usual suspects like SVG and Buescher are expected to do well, there are a few others worth mentioning.

Drivers to watch out for ahead of the Chicago race

There is no doubt that Shane van Gisbergen will continue to be the favorite for the race, considering his impressive record at the track. His last year’s head-to-head with Kyle Larson was a thrilling entertainer, where we saw mutual admiration between the two. With Larson in a much better position at the table than SVG, fans will wait to see who wins the race drama this time.

Alex Bowman, the current defending champion of the race, will be another strong contender to look for. Given how strong he was at Atlanta, a win in Chicago would seal his spot in the playoffs. Last year, a win shut down the noise surrounding his future with HMS. Perhaps history can repeat this weekend.

Perhaps the big underdog driver is Michael McDowell. Last year, he had a P5 finish, and during the inaugural event, he bagged a top 10 result. Backing his consistency is his road course mastery. He won the last road course race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he even finished runner-up at Sonoma in 2024. Although the switch to the Chevy camp with Spire Motorsports hasn’t been smooth, expect him to run up front and compete for the win.

Who do you think can be the surprise package in Chicago? Share your picks in the comments.