This year, the Grant Park 165 is over-subscribed with 41 entries for the race confirmed by NASCAR.
With the grid capacity at 40 cars, one car will not qualify for the race at the Chicago Street Course.
On balance, the likelihood of Brown missing the race seems slim, but not impossible. He will have to get through practice unscathed and hope his #13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro is quick enough and gremlin-free.
Earlier this year, NASCAR introduced its Open Exemption Provision (OEP) for wildcard entries that, if approved, guarantees that entry a start in the race.
The provision was used earlier this year by Trackhouse Racing, who fielded Helio Castroneves in the Daytona 500.
NASCAR has confirmed no applications for the OEP have been made for the upcoming Chicago race, meaning all 41 cars will have to qualify their way into the race.
‘Open’ entries include Brown (#13 Kaulig Racing), Austin Hill (#33 Richard Childress Racing), Josh Bilicki (#66 Garage 66), Corey Heim (#67 23XI Racing), and Katherine Legge (#78 Live Fast Motorsports)
The last time NASCAR had a race outside of the Daytona 500 where a car failed to qualify due to an oversubscribed field was in 2018 at Texas Motor Speedway.
That year, Timmy Hill failed to qualify in the MBM Motorsports entry.
Brown has one NASCAR Cup Series start to his name with Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma in 2024.
He qualified 24th and was classified 31st after technical issues with his Chevrolet Camaro.
The two-day NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 begins with practice at 3am (AEST) on Sunday followed by qualifying at 4am (AEST).
Monday’s race, which takes in 75 laps begins at 4am (AEST).
Entry List: NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165
| Num | Driver | Team | Crew Chief | Car | Sponsor |
| 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Phil Surgen | Chevrolet | Busch Light Apple |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Brian Wilson | Ford | Discount Tire |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Richard Boswell II | Chevrolet | Breztri |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | Drew Blickensderfer | Ford | Rasmussen Air & Gas Energy |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Cliff Daniels | Chevrolet | Valvoline |
| 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Jeremy Bullins | Ford | Kroger / Blue Buffalo |
| 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | Ryan Sparks | Chevrolet | Gainbridge |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Randall Burnett | Chevrolet | Slurpee |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Alan Gustafson | Chevrolet | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | Andrew Dickeson | Chevrolet | Sea Best |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gayle | Toyota | Progressive |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Jonathan Hassler | Ford | Menards\Dutch Boy |
| 13 | Will Brown | Kaulig Racing | Mike Cook | Chevrolet | Mobile X |
| 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Trent Owens | Chevrolet | Celsius |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Scott Graves | Ford | Body Guard |
| 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | James Small | Toyota | Bass Pro Shops |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Adam Stevens | Toyota | CRAFTSMAN Racing For A Miracle |
| 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | Miles Stanley | Ford | Motorcraft \ Quick Lane |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Paul Wolfe | Ford | Shell Pennzoil |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Charles Denike | Toyota | McDonald’s |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Ryan Fugle | Chevrolet | All-Pro Auto Reconditioning |
| 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Andy Street | Chevrolet | United Rentals |
| 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Chris Lawson | Ford | Grillo’s Pickles |
| 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | Davin Restivo | Toyota | Lucy |
| 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ryan Bergenty | Ford | Vermeer Midwest |
| 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | Aaron Kramer | Ford | Haas/Andy’s |
| 42 | John Hunter Nemechek |
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Travis Mack | Toyota | Dollar Tree |
| 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB | Ben Beshore | Toyota | AdventHealth |
| 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Billy Scott | Toyota | Jordan Brand |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Hyak Motorsports | Michael Kelley | Chevrolet | Rate |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Blake Harris | Chevrolet | Ally |
| 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Billy Plourde | Ford | Arby’s New Angus Cheesesteak |
| 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Tyler Allen | Toyota | Monster Energy |
| 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Derrick Finley | Ford | BuildSubmarines.com |
| 66 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Garage 66 | Carl Long | Ford | PureKick |
| 67 | Corey Heim (i) | 23XI Racing | Bootie Barker | Toyota | Robinhood |
| 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Travis Peterson | Chevrolet | DePaul |
| 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | Luke Lambert | Chevrolet | Zeigler Auto Group |
| 78 | Katherine Legge | Live Fast Motorsports | David Ingram | Chevrolet | |
| 88 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | Stephen Doran | Chevrolet | WeatherTech |
| 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Matt Swiderski | Chevrolet | Jockey |
* withdrawn from the event
(i) ineligible for driver championship points
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US
Discussion about this post