NASCAR O’Reilly Series: Zilsich on pole after rain cancels Chicagoland practice

JOLIET, Ill. — Connor Zilisch will lead the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series to the green for the Cuervo 300 at Chicagoland Speedway after rain cancels practice.

The O’Reilly Series will have their lone practice session moved to their qualifying time tomorrow as a result of the cancellation.

The limited number of drivers who have competed at Chicagoland merited the move.

NASCAR officials have determined that the practice session has more importance than the qualifying session because of the inexperience within the field.

Therefore, that handed the field to Connor Zilisch after his performance a week ago at Sonoma.

He will start alongside rookie Brent Crews on the front row as he will be glad to see a full practice session take place on Saturday.

Carson Kvapil will start third and utilizes Shane van Gisbergens for the top five position. Corey Day in fourth to complete the second row.

Parker Retzlaff rounds out the top five from fifth. Jesse Love will complete the third row from sixth.

Anthony Alfredo and Viking Motorsports continue their early summer tear and were rewarded with a seventh-placed starting position. Sheldon Creed will complete the fourth row in eighth.

Finally, the final two positions in the top ten belong to a Sam. Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith complete the top ten in the fifth row.

Cup Series regular, Chase Elliott, will pilot the JR Motorsports No. 88 this weekend. He will start just outside of the top ten from eleventh. Myatt Snider returns to the O’Reilly Series garage and will start 12th in the DGM Racing No. 91.

Elsewhere in the field, Coronado winner Austin Hill will line up 16th with Justin Allgaier buried in the mid-pack just behind him in 17th.

Below is the full starting lineup for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series from Chicagoland Speedway.

Starting Lineup

MORE:

• NASCAR at Chicagoland 2026: Odds and more info
• NASCAR Cup Series: Shane van Gisbergen wins Sonoma as he sweeps the weekend