* The Athletic…
NASCAR will return to Chicagoland Speedway in 2027 and will not race on a street circuit in downtown Chicago next year, sources familiar with the development have told The Athletic.
The league could make an announcement as soon as Tuesday.
The decision follows protracted negotiations between NASCAR, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, with all parties seeking to bring back a premier Cup Series race on a street course constructed along Grant Park, as NASCAR did from 2023-2025. When that three-year contract ended, the parties were unable to agree to an extension for the 2026 season, then turned their attention to bringing the race back in 2027. […]
With the Chicago Street Race not a viable option, NASCAR is turning again to Chicagoland, located in nearby Joliet, Ill. Throughout the negotiations, the 1.5-mile oval owned by NASCAR was viewed as the de facto backup plan should a return to the downtown circuit not materialize. Chicagoland hosted races for NASCAR’s three national series from 2001-2019, before the league shifted the race weekend elsewhere. The track then went largely dormant.
* Crain’s…
Despite broadening its fan appeal into a major metropolitan area, the Chicago Street Race has been a financial loser for NASCAR. The organization sought and at one point appeared poised to receive a $15 million state tourism grant to help defray costs of a 2027 Chicago race, knowledgeable sources tell Crain’s.
But instead, the Illinois General Assembly in its spring session appropriated only $5 million, the same amount NASCAR got for its 2025 race.
The revamped 2027 race would have been held not at mid-summer like the previous versions but shortly after Memorial Day. That would have allowed NASCAR to share some setup and teardown functions with the Sueños music festival, shortening the period in which Grant Park would have been off-limits to the public and limiting street closures.
Both sides spent several weeks trying to resolve the financial and related issues, but ran out of time, with NASCAR needing to finalize its 2027 national schedule, insiders said.
Thoughts?
- DS - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 12:21 pm:
Brandon should run ads about telling Nascar to take a hike. Doesn’t even matter if it’s true. Chicagoans hated that event from the moment it was announced.
- Remember the Alamo II - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 12:22 pm:
Its probably for the best.
- JoanP - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 12:24 pm:
Excellent news.
- Alton Sinkhole - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 12:26 pm:
Terrible event in a market that really doesn’t care too much about NASCAR in the busiest season of folks wanting to access downtown and lakefront. And not helped by bad weather so they never really got a “full weekend.”
I’m a fan of motorsports and not exactly broke but ticket prices were obscene, even by the standards of this Ticketmaster era.
Just a terrible idea from the start followed by bad execution, and cursed with awful weather luck as the cherry on top .
- Just Me 2 - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 12:26 pm:
I was sort of a fan for NASCAR in Chicago because it showed the beauty and capabilities of Chicago to a demographic that has repeatedly been told the City is awful by certain opinion leaders, and that in turn was helpful for economic purposes.
- Matty - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 12:41 pm:
I will attend any NASCAR event in Illinois regardless of where it’s located. I absolutely LOVED the street race for countless reasons, but Joliet is also a great facility. It was nice being able to take the Red Line to a track in our beautiful city, while also showing the wonderful skylines to the world, but I’m kind of indifferent to this. I’ll be at the 2027 event regardless of where it’s held.
- Northsider - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 12:42 pm:
Good riddance.
- Save Ferris - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 12:54 pm:
It’s moving to Hammond.
- Lurker - Tuesday, Aug 18, 26 @ 1:17 pm:
I’ll miss this more than I’ll miss the Bears