NASCAR Cup Series to race on Chicago's streets in 2023
NASCAR's first street race since Daytona Beach.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NASCAR is blowing into the Windy City.
The Cup Series will hold its first street race of the modern era on a 2.2-mile-long temporary track set up on the public roads around Chicago's Grant Park in 2023.
NASCAR tested the idea with a simulated online iRacing event last year held on a 12-turn virtual circuit – with a start/finish line on South Columbus Drive adjacent to Buckingham Fountain – that will form the template for the actual track.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Like the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, we seized an incredible opportunity to add an unprecedented element to our schedule and take center stage in the heart of another major metropolitan market," Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing development and strategy, said.
NASCAR previewed the track with an iRacing virtual event held last year. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
"It's going to feel new, it's going to feel innovative."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NASCAR raced on the roads and beaches of Daytona in its early years. (ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images)
Some of NASCAR's earliest races were held on the Daytona Beach and Road Course, which was a mix of pavement and sand that was used until the Daytona Superspeedway opened in 1959.
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The 2.2-mile track will be held on the streets near Grant Park. (NASCAR)
The event will take place the weekend of July 1-2 in conjunction with an endurance sports car race held by the NASCAR-owned IMSA series.
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The Cup Series has six permanent road course races on the schedule this year, including Wisconsin's Road America, which was held July 4th weekend the past two seasons and will be replaced by Chicago.
NASCAR is the official promoter for the race, which means it will likely pick up all the costs involved, according to The Associated Press. It's deal with the city of Chicago is for three years.