With a successful return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet over July Fourth weekend in the rearview mirror, NASCAR is already mapping out its course for next summer.
Chicago may figure prominently in those plans.
Advertisement
While nothing is set, NASCAR is not only hoping to bring back the Chicago Street Race after a one-year hiatus, but perhaps add the long-dormant southwest suburban track to its regular schedule as well.
“It could be both,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s chief operating officer and great-grandson of the family-owned racing organization’s founder. “It’s a market that’s strong enough that absolutely we could have two events there in the future.”
Chicagoland Speedway, which hadn’t hosted a NASCAR event since 2019, was packed for Sunday’s Cup Race with 50,000 fans from 31 countries and all 50 states braving the region’s traditional July Fourth rainstorms to watch Chase Briscoe take the checkered flag.
The Joliet venue was added to the schedule this summer to fill the void left by the Chicago Street Race, which was put on hold for 2026 after completing a three-year agreement with the city to turn Grant Park into a 12-turn, 2.2-mile pop-up urban racecourse.
Advertisement
NASCAR said it paused the Chicago Street Race to explore rescheduling the event away from Independence Day and to look for ways to speed up the build-out and breakdown of the temporary track, in response to concerns from the city.
This summer’s street race was held at San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado in June on a one-year deal. NASCAR is in negotiations with Chicago to come back to the shores of Lake Michigan next summer.
“We’re having conversations with the city,” Kennedy said Tuesday.
Last month, the Tribune reported that NASCAR and the city were eyeing Memorial Day weekend for a possible return to Grant Park, according to sources, but Kennedy said no date has been set.
Advertisement
A mayoral spokesperson did not return a request for comment Tuesday.
NASCAR struck its previous deal with Chicago under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot to host the Florida-based racing organization’s first street race, a dramatic departure from the traditional oval tracks that have built a massive following throughout the south.
The idea was to expand its fanbase, particularly in northern urban markets like Chicago.
Despite battling torrential downpours and backlash from some residents and politicos, the nationally-televised street races, which were held between 2023 and 2025, drew significant numbers of new fans to attend and cast Chicago’s telegenic streetscape in a favorable light to millions of viewers across the U.S.
Advertisement
The 2024 Chicago Street Race, for example, generated $128 million in total economic impact and drew 53,036 unique visitors, according to a study commissioned by Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism arm. The nationally televised Cup Series race also generated $43.6 million in media value for Chicago, according to a companion report.
The event was not, however, a direct financial windfall for either the city or NASCAR.
Under the terms of the original agreement, NASCAR paid the Chicago Park District a $500,000 permit fee in 2023, $550,000 in 2024 and $605,000 in 2025, as well as a $2 fee per admission ticket and an escalating commission for food, beverage and merchandise sold at the event. NASCAR also agreed to pay an additional $2 million for city expenses beginning in 2024.
In addition to a different date, the city, which turned a slight profit on the actual race with the advent of the $2 million payment, is seeking a more favorable financial arrangement, according to sources.
Advertisement
While Chicago may be looking for a bigger slice of the revenue pie, Kennedy said the street race has been running in the red since inception. But its value to NASCAR is primarily as a promotional vehicle for the sport, he said.
“It’s lost money over the last three years,” Kennedy said. “But at the same time we also believe that it’s healthy for the sport, healthy for a lot of our partners that we have in the sport, and hopefully we’re bringing new fans into the NASCAR fold as a part of that. I view it as an investment.”
Meanwhile, there’s new life for the Joliet racetrack.
Launched in 2001, Chicagoland Speedway hosted NASCAR’s premier racing series for 18 years. But the 1.5-mile oval was essentially idled after it was acquired in 2019 by NASCAR as part of a $2 billion merger agreement with International Speedway Corp.
Advertisement
In 2022, the Joliet track was used as a parking lot for thousands of Ford SUVs built at the Chicago Assembly Plant and awaiting computer chips during the pandemic-era global semiconductor shortage that disrupted auto production.
The track was rented out for a motocross event in 2023, but hadn’t seen a NASCAR race in seven years – until last weekend. The success of the July Fourth event may have surprised even NASCAR.
“When we went to downtown Chicago, I don’t think the drumbeat was very big on returning to Joliet,” Kennedy said. “Overwhelmingly, a lot of our fans enjoyed watching the race being at Joliet.”
Kennedy said NASCAR in separate discussions with both Joliet and Chicago for next year’s schedule, which he is hoping to put to bed within six to eight weeks.
Advertisement
While several NASCAR tracks such as Talladega, Daytona and Charlotte have more than one Cup Series race each season, if Chicago and Joliet both host races next summer, it would be the only market in the country with two different venues on the schedule.
“It’s an important market for us, somewhere that we would love to be long term, whether that’s Joliet or in the heart of Chicago and downtown,” Kennedy said.
Or maybe both.
Read the full article here