It’s not much more than half a mile from Balbo Dr. to Roosevelt Rd., but that’s the stretch — make that the straightaway — on southbound Lake Shore Dr. where drivers will go fastest during next Sunday’s Grant Park 220, aka the Chicago Street Race.
How fast?
Nobody knows for sure yet — qualifying will take place Saturday before the Xfinity Series’ Loop 121 race — but NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham, a former team owner and crew chief for Jeff Gordon, has a pretty good idea.
Hint: We’re talking really dang fast.
“I’m telling you, they’re going to be hauling ass,” Evernham said Friday while en route to Guaranteed Rate Field to throw out the first pitch before the White Sox game. “We’re going to see 150, 160 miles an hour.”
Mercy!
There will be a pair of similarly long straightaways — one northbound from Roosevelt to Balbo, the other southbound from Jackson Dr. to Balbo — that won’t be quite as fast but will be heavy with action, according to Evernham, who’s here in the role of NASCAR ambassador. Decelerating into and accelerating out of the tricky 2.2-mile course’s seven 90-degree turns will present all kinds of opportunities to pass, and there could be some real chaos.
“You’re going to see some bent fenders and hard feelings,” he promised.
Evernham walked some of the course and rode around the rest — as a passenger in a black Chevy Tahoe, for those of you scoring at home — and shared some insightful takeaways. One: that viewers and spectators will be amazed at how aggressively drivers “hammer” Congress Plaza Dr., a semicircle that arcs essentially from Michigan Ave. and Harrison St. to Michigan and Van Buren St. Another, believe it or not: that crossing center lines into what normally would be oncoming traffic “is going to be a little exciting and a little confusing to some of these guys.”
Evernham isn’t picking a winner, but he likes the chances of the Cup Series’ more experienced road racers — Chase Elliott, A.J. Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson — and will not be the slightest bit surprised if fewer cars than usual finish the race.
“Are we going to see more cars maybe drop out with bent suspensions because the course is tight and they hit a curb, maybe?” he said. “We just might.”
THREE-DOT DASH
There’s some Home Run Derby buzz around the White Sox’ Luis Robert Jr. and Jake Burger and, less so, around the Cubs’ Christopher Morel. It’s a fun event, but can’t it mess with a young guy’s swing?
“That’s such a myth,” said the Cubs’ Cody Bellinger, who was a Derby participant as a Dodgers rookie in 2017. “It’s just like a one-day batting practice. It doesn’t ruin swings. I’ll debunk that myth forever.”
It figures Bellinger would. In his second game after his Derby, he hit for the cycle. …
Surely, we’re all numb to negative Bulls updates on Lonzo Ball by now. Or maybe not. Hearing executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas say Ball will miss all of next season, too, truly was sad. …
Aside from the fact he isn’t a good shooter, what’s discouraging about Bulls second-round draft pick Julian Phillips is that his play didn’t improve over the course of his only college season. His minutes dropped significantly in the NCAA Tournament, when he contributed next to nothing in Tennessee’s three games. Did we mention he isn’t a good shooter? …
Former Northwestern guard Chase Audige got a summer-league invite from the Heat after going undrafted. Predictably, some are criticizing Audige for not returning to the Wildcats for another season in which he presumably could have banked some decent NIL dough. That’s not unreasonable, but neither is leaving to chase a dream when you’ve had your fill of college life. …
The College World Series comes down to a final game Monday, with LSU and Florida squaring off for a national championship. Yes, it’s baseball, but still: How did Nick Saban and Kirby Smart let this happen?
THIS YOU GOTTA SEE
White Sox at Angels (8:38 p.m. Tuesday, NBCSCH): For the first time this season, the Sox will face Shohei Ohtani the pitcher. They’re already all-too-well acquainted with Ohtani the hitter, who crushed three homers on the South Side in late May.
NHL draft, Round 1 (6 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN): With the first pick, the Blackhawks will select can’t-miss Canadian 17-year-old Connor Bedard. Is it too soon to yell at him for not winning us a Stanley Cup yet?
MLB All-Star starters revealed (6 p.m. Thursday, ESPN): Spoiler alert: The list of A-team position players will include a grand total of zero Cubs and Sox.
ONLY BECAUSE YOU ASKED
From Ronald, via Twitter: “Why not the Cubs? Who’s got a better three than Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele and Drew Smyly?”
Better or not — and so far it’s a “not” — the Brewers should have Brandon Woodruff back before long to join co-ace Corbin Burnes. The Cubs never have fared well against Freddy Peralta. Julio Teheran has been incredibly good in a seemingly out-of-the-blue comeback. A resurgent Wade Miley has allowed fewer than three runs in seven of his 10 starts. If you’re a Cubs fan, you always have to be wary of the Brewers’ starting pitching. Also, if we’re talking big threes, how about we swap Smyly for Kyle Hendricks?
THE BOTTOM FIVE
Trey Mancini: It’s called a glove, dude. You might recognize it as that big leather thing on your left hand.
Kutter Crawford: The aptly named Red Sox pitcher teed up a pair of Robert home runs Sunday, including a two-run blast on a — fine, you already guessed it — cutter.
The Sky: They’ve lost six in a row, are in last place in the East and somehow have managed to score only nine points in a quarter in back-to-back games. Other than that, everything’s peachy.
Sam Howell: The Commanders quarterback ranked 32nd — dead last — in a Sun-Times ranking of NFL starting signal-callers. Does that make him better or worse than fellow North Carolina alum Mitch Trubisky?
The Travelers Championship: Considering Keegan Bradley went as low as 26-under in winning it, maybe it’s time to find a more challenging course for this event. We hear Earl’s Grub-n-Putt is available.
