Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR races. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes, including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and is located adjacent to Route 66 Raceway.
*Withdrew drew to the team's transporter breaking down while traveling to the track.[2]
Practice
First practice
The first practice would occur on Thursday, June 28, at 4:30 PM CST. Johnny Sauter of GMS Racing would set the fastest lap, with a 31.006 and an average speed of 174.160 miles per hour (280.283 km/h).[3]
The second and final practice would occur on Thursday, June 28, at 6:35 PM CST. Todd Gilliland of Kyle Busch Motorsports would set the fastest lap, with a 30.862 and an average speed of 174.972 miles per hour (281.590 km/h).[3]
Qualifying would take place on Friday, May 11, at 4:05 PM CST. Since Chicagoland Speedway is at least 1.5 miles (2.4 km), the qualifying system was a single car, single lap, two round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 13-32. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1-12.[4]
Noah Gragson would proceed to set the fastest time in both rounds, achieving a lap in the second round of a 30.384 and an average speed of 175.131 miles per hour (281.846 km/h), making Gragson the pole winner for the event.[5] No drivers would fail to qualify.