Skip Barber Racing School graduates won races in the NASCAR Cup Series and USF2000 while finishing in the top five of the NTT IndyCar Series and USF Juniors. As rain descended on the streets of Chicago, eyes turned first to the skies, then to the clock as the race approached its 8:20 pm curfew. Alex Bowman, at the front of the field, fended off fellow Skip Barber graduate Tyler Reddick to secure his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Seven of the 16 drivers currently in the playoffs are Skip Barber Racing School alumni, including Joey Logano and Austin Cindric who are locked in courtesy of wins earlier in the season. The aforementioned Reddick was second in Sunday’s Grant Park 165 while graduates Michael McDowell (5th), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6th), and Kyle Busch (9th), also finished in the top ten. Two Skip Barber alumni finished in the top ten of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race: Austin Hill (7th) and Logano (8th). At the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course, it was open-wheel racing that took center stage as five different series shared the 2.4-mile circuit. Among the many standout performances from Skip Barber Racing School graduates were alumni Max Taylor’s pair of wins in USF2000, top-five finishes from Sebastian Wheldon and Jack Jeffers in USF Juniors, and three-consecutive top-ten finishes for Hudson Schwartz in USF2000. Former Skip Barber Race Series driver Jeshua Alianell finished 11th in Race 1 of the USF Juniors weekend, an improvement of three places from where he started the race. “Jeshua is getting comfortable and starting to hit his stride in his first year in USF Juniors – I expect this trend of continued acceleration in performance to continue into the second half of the season," Skip Barber Racing team manager Joe Monitto said. Four drivers in the top ten of Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series race were Skip Barber Racing School alumni with Colton Herta (4th), Alexander Rossi (5th), Kyle Kirkwood (8th), and Santino Ferrucci (10th). Next weekend, NASCAR will travel to the Tricky Triangle of Pocono, the NTT IndyCar Series will visit Iowa Speedway for a doubleheader on the bullring oval, and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will travel north of the 45th Parallel to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.