Lightning forces The Loop 121 postponement

The NASCAR Xfinity Series‘ inaugural race on a street circuit didn’t even make it halfway before lightning ruined everyone’s Saturday. After completing twenty-five of fifty-five laps, lightning strikes within the radius of the Chicago area forced the remainder of The Loop 121 to be pushed to Sunday at 10 AM Central Time.

While NASCAR can race street and road courses in the rain, a lightning strike automatically causes a thirty-minute delay. The strikes occurred within eight miles of the Chicago Lakefront on which the track is located, hampering track drying efforts.

Pole sitter Cole Custer led all twenty-five laps prior to the delay, with points leader John Hunter Nemechek in tow. At the back, Sheldon Creed worked his way up from last to eleventh; he was forced to start at the rear in a backup car after crashing while over-driving his car in qualifying despite already being the second fastest driver.

Andre Castro and Justin Marks are the lone retirements so far. Marks, running his first Xfinity race since 2018, suffered an engine failure after just three laps. Castro’s NASCAR début came to an end when he spun into the tyre barrier on lap 18.

Running order at delay