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Austin Cindric
Chicago Fantasy Outlook – Austin Cindric is a hard driver to trust at road courses. Cindric either finishes top 10 or finishes 20th or worse. Over the last four races on this track type going back to last year, Cindric has 2 top tens and then two finishes of 18th or worse. This year at road courses, Cindric hasn’t been good at either, having a 21.5 average finish and ranking 26th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings. Going back to 2024 at road courses, Cindric has a 16th place average finish and his Track Type Total Speed Ranking ranks 20th. Heading into the weekend, I’ll view Cindric as a teens driver who’ll have upside but could just as easily burn you.
Chicago Track History – At Chicago, Austin Cindric has a 10.5 average finish but ranks 23rd in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings. Last year, Cindric had his worse of the two races and finished 15th, and that finish overrates him. In the race, Cindric had a 29.0 average running position, ranked 24th in terms of Total Speed Rankings and was running in 26th on lap 40, which is my favorite reference point for performance before major field flipping/pit strategy ensued. Late race wildness was a major boost to Cindric and with 5 to go, he was literally back in 28th. In 2023, Cindric started in the rear of the field but raced his way to a 6th. Would I say he was legitimately 6th place good, absolutely not. In the race, Cindric had a 17.6 average running position, the 20th best Total Speed Ranking and on lap 48 prior to his pit strategy play which propelled him into the top ten, Cindric was running in 21st. That said, once Cindric got in the top ten, he hung tough and never left it. In terms of speed by segment, Cindric had rankings of 26th, 27th, 10th and then 8th over the four quarters of the race.

Todd Gilliland
Chicago Fantasy Outlook – Todd Gilliland is one of the “sneaky good”, low to mid-tier drivers at road courses. Gilliland ran well last year at Chicago en route to a 7th and going back to 2024 on this track type, Gilliland has 3-top tens and a 15.6 average finish. If you’re looking for a dark horse who could sneak in a top ten, don’t overlook him but ultimately I think viewing Gilliland as slightly better than mid-pack is likely the right play.
Chicago Track History – At Chicago between the combined races, Gilliland has a 13th place average finish and ranks 12th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings. Last year, Gilliland had a solid showing. In the race, Gilliland finished 7th, had a 9.3 average running position, earned the 4th best Driver Rating and ranked 6th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In 2023, Gilliland had a mediocre afternoon. In the race, Gilliland finished 19th, had a 22.8 average running position and ranked 25th in terms of Total Speed Rankings.

Carson Hocevar
Chicago Fantasy Outlook – At Chicago, look for Carson Hocevar to have a solid afternoon. Hocevar’s a respectable road course racer and on this track type since 2024, Hocevar ranks 16th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings and his average finish minus Mexico is a respectable 15.2.
Chicago Track History – Carson Hocevar almost snuck in a top ten last year at Chicago but he ended up finishing 24th. In the race, Hocevar started 13th, had a 16th place average running position, was in 19th on lap 40 before major field flipping took place but he was then a driver who benefitted from it and it leaped him into the top 5. From that point on, Hocevar hung tough in the top ten, was in 5th on lap 53 but then on lap 55 when Bell crashed, Hocevar got into him and that led to the #77’s poor result. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hocevar ranked 12th.

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