By David Morgan, Associate Editor
CHICAGO – Will they stay or will they go?
Coming into the third iteration of the NASCAR Street Race at Chicago, the big question hovering over the weekend is whether a fourth year is in the books at the course around Grant Park in the Windy City.
Thus far, the powers that be at NASCAR have been non-committal on the future of this event, with the focus being on this weekend first and foremost before looking ahead to what may or may not lie ahead.
“So, we have those two option years and we’ve had great conversations with the city, but our focus is on July 5th and 6th,” track president Julie Giese said on Friday ahead of the race weekend.
“We have some time after the race to have those conversations, so we’re just going to focus on having the best street race we possibly can.”
Asked whether a change in date may be in the cards should the race remain in Chicago going forward, Giese explained that would be a part of any extension talks with the city.
“So, we’ve talked through that. Obviously, there’s a lot of moving pieces to that and it’s not just what the NASCAR schedule is. It’s obviously also the park schedule, knowing what our build time is. You have a lot of big events in and around the city, not only in Grant Park, so I mean, we’ve had those conversations.
“It’s certainly something we’ll continue to look at. It will just have to be how the calendars line up.”
Among the driving corps, one of the most outspoken drivers in favor of keeping the street race in Chicago has been Denny Hamlin, who implored the powers that be to do what they can to make Year No. 4 a reality.
“I mean, I personally would like to see them do everything they can to keep it here,” Hamlin said.
“I’d like to see the city rally behind this race. I could just tell you that non-racing fans at the hotel I’m staying at are talking about the race. I think that it’s certainly got some sort of economic impact to the city itself. We’re certainly exposing some new fans to this. I think it’s very important.
“I think you try everything you can to get this thing back here in Chicago, because I believe it is an important place for us.”
Hamlin continued, explaining that the known commodity of racing on the streets in Chicago should outweigh the unknown of a possible street race anywhere else. He added that his experiences in downtown Chicago in the days leading up to the race have been proof positive that the street course experiment here has been paying off.
“I mean, what’s the alternative? Until we know the alternative, I don’t know whether they’re ones better or worse than this,” Hamlin added.
“I just feel like this is a bigger event than what, you know, some of the ovals that we go through simply because of the atmosphere of where it’s at. The exposure to new fans that are here casually in the city.
“I can only speak from my experiences in the casual people that, you know, for instance, I go shopping yesterday. I go all these different stores, ‘what are you in town for?’ ‘Oh yeah, there’s a race.’ ‘We were talking about going to that.’ ‘We didn’t go last year because the rain, but we’re thinking about going.’
“That’s kind of what you want. These are younger people that, they’re not going to travel to Chicagoland to go to race, you have to have it right here where they can walk to it.
“I don’t know if anyone shares the same sentiment I do, but I don’t run the series, I don’t make the decisions. But it just seems like from my standpoint, there’s more excitement around the venue itself than what a normal NASCAR race venue has.”
Tyler Reddick, who drives the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing – the team co-owned by Hamlin and Chicago sports icon Michael Jordan – provided his perspective on keeping the race here with the ties between his team and the city.
“I know we’re based out of Charlotte, but, you know, this is like a home race for us,” Reddick said.
“You know, Michael’s done so many legendary things in the city. We walk in here feeling like it is home. Just everything that our partners do here. McDonald’s is based out of here. A lot of our partners love activating in Chicago, so it is a big race for us and our partners, even more specifically our owner Michael.
“So, it is a really important one to run well and all four of us will be trying everything we can to win.”
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