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Daywatch: 1st NASCAR Chicago Street Race is anything but dull

Good morning, Chicago.

Weekend thunderstorms wreaked havoc across Chicago, resulting in flooding the National Weather Service described as “potentially life-threatening,” swamping highways, halting some Chicago Transit Authority services and damaging dozens of homes.

For around 5,000 ComEd customers across Chicagoland, the storms interrupted power, with the electric company reporting nearly 100 active outages as of late Sunday afternoon.

Torrential rains also put a damper on the first NASCAR Chicago Street Race as standing water covered parts of the course and fans waited in the rain for the races to resume. NASCAR officials declared Cole Custer the winner of the Xfinity Series Race on Sunday after lightning forced officials to shut it down Saturday with just under half the laps completed. Shane van Gisbergen won his NASCAR Cup Series debut, chasing down Justin Haley and Chase Elliott in a memorable finish to the series’ first street race.

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Excited fans brave downpours to witness NASCAR Chicago Street Race

The cars flew through tight turns around Grant Park on roads like DuSable Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue, kicking up mist from the wet course’s puddles. Above the zooming cars, the city’s picturesque skyscrapers pierced fog clouds still lingering from the afternoon’s storms.

The stands slowly filled up after the delays. Drivers deftly passed one another in front of fans who braved the showers to watch the spectacle.

Shane van Gisbergen wins the inaugural NASCAR Chicago Street Race

The 34-year-old New Zealand native became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.

Despite a rain delay and safety concerns, the 1st NASCAR Chicago Street Race is anything but dull

It wasn’t exactly a perfect day for racing, but drivers dealt with the obstacles as if they had driven our streets forever, writes Paul Sullivan. There’s no such thing as a slow lane in Chicago.

Cubs lose rain-delayed game vs. Guardians 8-6 in 10 innings after rallying for 4 runs in the 9th

The Guardians looked as though they were on their way to an easy win after waiting out yet another long rain delay before things took a wild turn.

Hall of fame rock disc jockey Dick Biondi dead at 90

Legendary Chicago rock disc jockey and personality Richard “Dick” Biondi has died, WLS-AM 890 announced on Saturday night. He was 90.

Hollywood’s actors may join its writers on strike.

Hollywood actors may be days from joining screenwriters in what would be the first two-union strike in the industry in more than six decades, with huge consequences for film and television production. Here is a look at how it could play out, and why it’s happening.

Review: ‘Lane Call: A Night of Closing’ at Factory Theater is a throwback to the heyday of discount retail

The transience of the retail world is key to “Lane Call,” which playwrights Len Foote and Scott OKen based on their experiences working at a Venture in Norridge, where they met in 1984. Young employees come and go, using the job as a steppingstone to “real” careers, while the threat of store closures or buyouts is ever-present. “Stores change; job stays the same,” muses the middle-aged manager of the factory’s fictionalized Venture.