JOLIET, ILLINOIS — The NASCAR Cup Series is scheduled to race at Chicagoland Speedway on July 5, 2026, marking the first event at the track since 2019. The speedway, located in Joliet, Illinois, approximately 45 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, lost its Cup Series date during a schedule realignment before the 2020 season.

NASCAR announced the return of the venue to the schedule for the 2026 season. The green flag for the eero 400 is scheduled for Sunday, July 5, at 3:19 p.m. PT. Practice is set for Friday, July 3, with qualifying on Saturday, July 4.

Chicagoland Speedway opened in 2001 as a 1.5-mile D-shaped tri-oval. The facility was built on approximately 930 acres with a reported construction cost of $130 million and a seating capacity of approximately 47,000.

The 2026 race will be the 20th Cup Series event held at the venue, which hosted 19 races through 2019. Earlier in 2026, drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney tested at the track. Hamlin won the 2015 race at the speedway, while Brad Keselowski won races there in 2012 and 2014.

Thirty-nine drivers are entered for the race, and all are expected to participate. Corey Heim is entered in the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing; Heim won a Cup Series race at Naval Base Coronado two weeks prior. Connor Zilisch is entered in the No. 88 car for Trackhouse Racing, and Shane van Gisbergen is entered in the No. 97 car for the same team.

Austin Hill is substituting for Kyle Busch, who died in May 2026 due to sepsis. JJ Yeley is entered in the No. 44 car for NY Racing Team, and Josh Bilicki is entered in the No. 66 car for Garage 66. Seventeen of the 39 drivers have not previously competed in a Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway. Drivers designated with a parenthetical (i) on the entry list are ineligible for championship points.

Zane Smith will be racing in the event, marking his 100th start. "The mile and a half of Chicagoland, the racing that it brought back in all of its races just brought some legendary finishes. Hopefully I'm a part of it this year, racing for my first win, it's my 100th start this weekend, so I've always loved this place," Smith said. Tony Stewart holds the record with three wins at the venue. Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Brad Keselowski each have two victories. Alex Bowman won the 2019 race, which was his first career Cup Series victory. In 2018, Kyle Busch won by 0.001 seconds over Kyle Larson.

A fan festival took place in downtown Joliet ahead of the race weekend. "It's gonna be exciting since this is their first time coming back in 7 years so it'll be exciting to see what these cars can do," Brian Stanley said. Khimari Poe commented, "I think it's really cool I've never seen anything like this before."