WATCH: Chase Elliott brushes against the walls at Chicago Street circuit

NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 - Practice - Source: Getty
Chase Elliott during the 2025 Grant Park 165 practice session - Source: Getty

Chase Elliott hit the wall hard off turn four on the streets of Chicago during the practice session. His #9 Chevrolet Camaro sustained damage, forcing him to miss the qualifying session to start at the back of Sunday's race.

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Despite an unfortunate outing, Elliott, 29, had a strong practice session. He had the third-fastest lap time of 91.072 seconds with a speed of 86.964 mph. 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace topped the timing sheet, followed by Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, who also had a crash during the session.

NASCAR posted a 15-second video of the Dawsonville native's moment on the Chicago street circuit, which shows how rough the #9 Chevy brushed the wall off turn four.

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“Contact with the wall late in practice for the No. 9 of @chaseelliott,” NASCAR wrote on X.
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Chase Elliott will start the race alongside William Byron and Denny Hamlin in a 40-car field. Both Byron and Hamlin didn't put down lap times during the qualifying session after encountering issues. All three teams plan to repair their primary cars.

Shane van Gisbergen, meanwhile, reigned over the streets of Chicago after securing the pole position for both the Cup and Xfinity Series races. Michael McDowell will start alongside SVG, with Carson Hocevar and Tyler Reddick locking the second row.

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The Grant Park 165 will kick off on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET on TNT Sports. The 75-lapper marks the third road course race of the year, with three more left on the calendar, namely Sonoma, Watkins Glen, and Charlotte Roval.

Chase Elliott during the 2025 Grant Park 165 practice session - Source: Imagn
Chase Elliott during the 2025 Grant Park 165 practice session - Source: Imagn

In addition to the race in Chicago, NASCAR is hosting the second round of the In-Challenge Season. Elliott is facing John Hunter Nemechek, who will start about 14 positions ahead of him in the 25th.

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“Grateful for that”: Chase Elliott on #9 team's support following win at Atlanta

Chase Elliott expressed gratitude for the support of the #9 Hendrick Motorsports team throughout the years. He lauded the strong bond within the team amid a 44-race winless streak, which he ended at EchoPark Speedway last week.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion said:

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“It's not every day that you encounter people like that... that just have your back no matter what. And I just think that those things should be celebrated and those things should be, you know, emphasized and held on to as long as everybody's willing to do it.” [0:03]

After pointing out having relationships with some of the #9 crew for a decade, Elliott added:

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“It'd be hard-pressed to find a group of people that knows you better than the folks that have been loyal to you and had your back for this entire time. So, certainly grateful for that,” he added. [0:51]

Elliott has been driving for HMS full-time since the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series season. He has scored 20 wins in the #9 Chevy, including last week's Atlanta summer race, where he passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to take the checkered flag.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

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Edited by Rupesh
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