Why NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race Is Looking Like A Bit Of A Disaster

NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary during the 2023 season.

Which means that the series doesn’t exactly have a lot of “firsts” with regards to races and events.

This weekend, however, its making a bit of history.

The series heads to Chicago for its first ever street race, with a temporary course built around legendary Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue in the heart of the city.

NASCAR, which traditionally races on oval tracks and purpose-built road courses, has wanted to try the idea for a number of years.

It’s a momentous moment for the sport and if it works, it could completely change the game going forward.

But at the moment, it’s looking like a bit of a disaster.

For one, Chicago residents wanted no part of the race to begin with.

The race and its associated preparation and tear down closed historyGrant Park for an extended period of time.

“This NASCAR race is going to have a major impact on the neighborhood,” Jim Wales, vice president of the Grant Park Advisory Council, told NBC Chicago. “We know parts of the park could be closed for 40 days, and that’s unacceptable when you look at the money generated, at least on paper, by NASCAR.”

And Shedd Aquarium alone says it will lose out on up to $3 million because of the NASCAR race.

Former mayor Lori Lightfoot almost unilaterally made the decision to hold the race.

Residents have also dealt with excessive amounts of traffic on top of the traffic they normally face. But that was just the start of the issues.

On Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series (One of NASCAR’s minor leagues) held a race on the track. Only, there was one massive problem.

The race began after four o’clock locally. So when thunderstorms rolled in and NASCAR had to stop the race and ask spectators to leave the stands, problems arose.

For one, security told fans that they had to leave the venue entirely due to the storms and that the race had been canceled. NASCAR and race organizers, however, disputed this.

Ultimately, darkness set in and even with street lights the race could proceed. It was set to resume at 10 a.m. local time on Sunday.

However, thunderstorms and rain pushed that start back as well. Certain NASCAR races can be conducted in light rain with rain tires. But they cannot race in heavy rain due to visibility problems.

As of noon local time, the Xfinity Series race had not began and there was no sign of starting anytime soon.

Additionally, the NASCAR Cup Series race was scheduled to begin at 4:05 p.m. local time. That race also appears set to face either delays or postponement and would have faced similar issues should a storm have popped up late Sunday afternoon.

The race would then be pushed to Monday, during which the weather forecast in sunny. But it then runs into the problem of people in the city needing to return to work.

Overall, the idea of street racing in NASCAR is undoubtedly creative. But it presents a unique set of problems that feels destined turn a once-cool idea into an unqualified disaster.

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