JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — When it comes to 1.5-mile tracks, Kyle Larson is always confident. With NASCAR returning to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend, there is even more reason for optimism for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Larson has a successful history on the bumpy asphalt of Chicagoland, a D-shaped oval circuit. He has four top-five finishes in six Cup Series starts at the speedway about 50 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. His 6.17 average finish is tops in track history among drivers with multiple starts.
Sunday's eero 400 is the first Cup Series race at Chicagoland since 2019, but Larson participated in two days of testing at the track in April. He had one of the fastest cars in practice on Friday.
“I felt like we learned a lot about our race car at the test that has benefited the four of us as we’ve moved on from it,” Larson said, referring to fellow Hendrick drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron and Alex Bowman. “So yeah, I think just extra laps here gives some confidence, but everybody’s so good, they’re going to get the speed fast.”
The 33-year-old Larson is looking to stop a 42-race drought dating to his win at Kansas in May 2025. It looks as if the two-time Cup Series champion is rounding into form midway through the season, posting top-five finishes in five of his last six races, including fourth at Sonoma last weekend.
Larson was second in the previous two Cup races at Chicagoland, losing to Bowman in 2019 and Kyle Busch in a memorable finish in 2018. When it comes to NASCAR’s top series, he remains in search of his first win at the speedway.
Larson rewatched his last-lap duel with Busch before he tested at the track in April, and he watched the highlights again ahead of his return this weekend.
Busch died in May at age 41, and Larson said watching the end of the race has a different meaning for him now.
“It was a really neat battle and it’s always fun to be a part of battles that still to this day get replayed, and I’ve been a part of a few,” Larson said. “So yeah, just wish he was here for obvious reasons and we could have another battle.”
Larson is taking on Byron this weekend in one of the most intriguing matchups for the second round of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge. The winner of the five-race, bracket-style tournament receives $1 million.
There were no signs of any awkwardness as Larson and Byron discussed their own duel within the race on Friday.
“It would be fun to go heads up with William but it’s really not something that you’re too focused on in the race,” Larson said. “I think you’re always just kind of focused on winning and if you win, I mean that takes care of it. Yeah, as it gets closer to the race, I think you pay a little bit of attention to it, but I'm just trying to do a good job."
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Kyle Larson, foreground, drives in front of cars during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Sonoma Raceway, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Sonoma, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico will double security and limit capacity at the monument known as the “Angel of Independence” and at the fan festival in Mexico City’s main square for Sunday's Mexico-England World Cup match after four people died during celebrations following Mexico’s win over Ecuador earlier this week.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada on Friday announced the measures as she presented the pre- and post-match security plan following the deaths of four fans from asphyxiation and cardiac arrest.
As a World Cup host city and with the team advancing farther than it has in 40 years, Mexican fans have poured into the streets to watch the games and celebrate their wins after being priced out of the stadiums by the exorbitant cost of tickets. Mexican authorities have assured spectators that the country is safe and that they took all the safety precautions to host after a February attack in Guadalajara following the death of a cartel boss raised concerns.
The decision to reinforce security comes after two women, ages 19 and 44, and a 48-year-old man died of asphyxiation on June 30 in the streets near the central Paseo de la Reforma. Emergency services also treated a 25-year-old man for epilepsy, a seizure and gastrointestinal bleeding. The man died shortly afterward in the hospital from cardiorespiratory arrest.
The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into the four deaths, which is still ongoing.
Brugada told the press that there will be free entry to the Monument to Independence, popularly known as the “Angel,” and the Zócalo on Sunday, but with limited capacity for everyone’s safety.
Mexico City’s Secretary of Public Security, Pablo Vázquez, announced that only 25,000 people will be allowed access to the Angel monument, a popular spot for fans to celebrate team victories. Once that limit is reached, fans will be directed to other locations along the Paseo de la Reforma, where multiple screens will be set up to watch the game and the celebrations.
A similar procedure will be followed at the Zócalo, the city’s main square, where access will also be closed once capacity is reached. Visitors will then be asked to go to one of the more than 50 designated viewing areas throughout Mexico City to watch the game.
Security will be reinforced along Paseo de la Reforma with 6,000 officers, double the number deployed on June 30, Vázquez explained. There will be 7,500 police officers around Azteca Stadium, while 3,300 will be deployed in the Zócalo.
Vázquez explained that a security perimeter will be established in the areas near the Angel of Independence to control the flow of people. Street vendors and delivery drivers will not be allowed. Strategic closures of the metro and Metrobus lines near Paseo de la Reforma will also be implemented.
Mexico City’s Secretary of Government, César Cravioto, announced that from the early morning of July 5 until the following day, the sale of alcoholic beverages will be prohibited on the streets of the city center. Consumption will only be permitted in banquet halls, restaurants, hotels, private clubs, movie theaters, theaters and auditoriums.
The city’s Secretary of Civil Protection, Myriam Urzúa, urged fans to avoid the crowd games that have become popular, including “Want to Fly!,” where people are thrown into the air and caught by the crowd, and “Shall We Swim!,” where the crowd advances in unison to the song popularized by the character Dory in the Disney movie “Finding Nemo.”
Follow AP's World Cup coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Soccer fans gather for a watch party for the World Cup soccer match between Mexico and Ecuador, at the base of the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
Soccer fans get revved up at a watch party on Reforma Ave., near the Angel of Independence monument, for the World Cup soccer match between Mexico and Ecuador, in Mexico City, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
Soccer fans get revved up at a watch party for the World Cup match between Mexico and Czechia on Reforma Ave., near the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
Soccer fans get revved up at a watch party for the World Cup match between Mexico and Czechia on Reforma Ave., near the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
