How to watch NASCAR’s historic Chicago Street Race, and 4 things to look for

Imagine the best stock drivers in the world taking over one of America’s most iconic cities.

You don’t have to imagine for long.

The NASCAR Cup Series is finally set to race in downtown Chicago for the inaugural Chicago Street Race — the first street race in NASCAR’s 75-year history. Fans can catch the race on NBC or follow it on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90) or MRN.

The Cup race will begin at 5 p.m. ET after the Xfinity Series race — which began but was thereafter put on hold because of inclement weather Saturday — resumes at 11 a.m.

Here’s what you need to know before the drivers try to conquer the 12-turn, 2.2-mile track.

Four story lines ahead of Cup race

1. Have we mentioned this race will make history? If North Wilkesboro Speedway fell under the “what’s old is new again” trope, this race aligns with another cliché: “We don’t know what we don’t know.” Cup drivers explained that the racing product put on during Sunday’s spectacle is secondary to the spectacle itself. What’s also more important than how the race goes? The opportunity for introducing NASCAR to a bunch of prospective fans. Racetrack president Julie Giese said her team expects about 50,000 people to descend on downtown Chicago for the race on Sunday — and a heavy majority of those fans are first-time ticket-buyers.

2. Jimmie Johnson to miss race due to family tragedy. The seven-time Cup Series champion won’t race as planned in Sunday’s Cup race after news broke Tuesday that Johnson had family ties to a shooting and killing in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Per local police reports, those who died were 68-year-old Terry Janway, 69-year-old Jack Janway and their 11-year-old grandson Dalton Janway. Terry and Jack’s daughter, Chandra, is the wife of Johnson. The Legacy Motor Club co-owner doesn’t race full-time in the Cup Series anymore but announced earlier this year that he’d make a few appearances at a few of NASCAR’s biggest races, including the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and Chicago. The Johnson family said in a statement that they asked for media privacy; NASCAR extended its “deepest support and condolences” via a statement.

3. The 43 team, led by driver Erik Jones, saw its appeal of a harsh NASCAR penalty fail on Wednesday. That means the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld NASCAR’s ruling that the Legacy Motor Club team violated vehicle assemblage rules several weeks ago — and thus upheld NASCAR’s 60-point penalty and 5-Playoff-point penalty to the driver and owner. This further buries the struggling 43 team in the playoff hole. It’s worth noting, though, that Jones notched a Top 10 finish last week at Nashville Superspeedway — some much-needed positivity for the team this season.

4. A fun longshot pick? AJ Allmendinger. Not many drivers in the Cup Series have street racing experience. One who does, though, will be commanding the No. 16 car. Allmendinger — who’s known to be one of the best road-course drivers on the circuit and maintains that reputation despite not running for one of the sport’s top teams — was once dominant in a ChampCar, which is what he used to run street races in. That makes him a player in Sunday’s Cup race, no doubt. Not only that, but his team is getting better, too: He notched a Top 10 at Nashville last week and finished sixth at Sonoma the race before — which ties for his best finish since the Daytona 500 in February.

Even if Allmendinger is a fun pick, sportsbooks don’t necessarily agree he’s a safe one: The 41-year-old driver opened at 11-1 odds, per NASCAR — still not bad! — ahead of Sunday’s Cup race. Those ahead of him include Tyler Reddick (dubbed “Road Course Jesus” by Bubba Wallace last week) at 7-1 odds; Martin Truex Jr. at 7-1; Kyle Larson at 7-1; Chase Elliott at 7-1and Ross Chastain at 11-1.

NASCAR race details at Chicago

• Race: Grant Park 220

• Place: Streets of downtown Chicago

• Date: Sunday, July 2

• Time: 5:05 p.m.

• Purse: $7,565,807

• TV: NBC, 5 p.m.

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Distance: 220 miles (100 laps)

• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 45), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 100)