Chicago Street Course
LocationChicago, Illinois
Time zoneUTC-6 (UTC-5 DST)
Coordinates41°52′33″N 87°37′14″W / 41.87583°N 87.62056°W / 41.87583; -87.62056
OpenedJuly 1, 2023 (2023-07-01)
Major eventsCurrent:
NASCAR Cup Series
Grant Park 165 (2023–present)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
The Loop 110 (2023–present)
Street Circuit (2023–present)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length2.2 miles (3.5 km)
Turns12
Race lap record1:29.914 (New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, 2023, NASCAR Cup)

The Chicago Street Course is a 2.2 mi (3.5 km) street circuit in Grant Park in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It currently hosts the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, with the first races run on July 1–2, 2023. The track was initially a conceptual track on iRacing made for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series in 2021.

History

On March 24, 2021, NASCAR announced that an imaginary street course in the Chicago Loop in Downtown Chicago would be the track for the fifth and final race of the 2021 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. The iRacing event was broadcast live on NASCAR on Fox on June 2, 2021.[1] NASCAR was rumored to be in exploratory conversations with city officials around opening a real version of the virtual course as early as March 2021.[2]

On July 19, 2022, the Grant Park 220 was announced as part of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, replacing the Kwik Trip 250 at Road America.[3][4] A 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship race event was simultaneously announced to fill out the 2023 race weekend, but was later cancelled and replaced with a 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series event.[5][6] Following the announcement, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot faced criticism from Chicago City Council members who claimed to have been left out of the negotiations, including Alderman Brendan Reilly, who represents the 42nd Ward where the course is located.[7]

NASCAR was reported to have negotiated a $500,000 flat fee for the course, plus an additional $2 per ticket sold to the event and 15% of all merchandise, food, and beverage sales. The permit fee was reported to be far lower than the fees for similar major events involving the closure of Grant Park such as Lollapalooza.[8]

Residents critical of the event expressed concerns over the closure of major roads and Grant Park over the Independence Day weekend, noise from the event, and the potential danger to nearby residences and the Art Institute of Chicago. Leading up to the races, NASCAR hosted a number of promotional events with city institutions and neighborhood groups. NASCAR also worked with the Art Institute to ensure that there was no risk to the museum's collections.[9]

On July 1, 2023, the course hosted its first official race, the 2023 The Loop 121. The 2023 Grant Park 220 took place on the following day, July 2. Both races were shortened due to thunderstorms which persisted throughout the weekend.[10] Concerts scheduled as part of the race weekend event, including performances from The Chainsmokers and Miranda Lambert, were canceled due to the weather.[11] A 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship race event which had been scheduled for the weekend was also cancelled.[12]

Chicago's contract with NASCAR is scheduled to cover three years and last through 2025.[7] Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who defeated Lightfoot in the 2023 Chicago mayoral election, stated on July 3, 2023 that the course's future remains under evaluation and that community input is being sought.[13]

Track layout

The circuit is a 2.2 mile (3.5 km) loop through Grant Park, starting and ending on Columbus Drive in front of Buckingham Fountain and including portions of Columbus Drive, Balbo Drive, Lake Shore Drive, Roosevelt Road, Michigan Avenue, Congress Plaza Drive, and Jackson Drive. The course consists of 12 total turns and two bridge crossings over Metra Electric District tracks.[3] The layout is similar to the version used in 2021 for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, with minor differences in the lanes that are used in turns 4, 5, 10, and 11.[1]

As a street course, the track is a temporary fixture along roads that are normally open to regular traffic. The roads the track covers and nearby roads are closed several days in advance of scheduled races to allow for the installation of the track. Roads that are closed for the course fully reopen within the two weeks following the races.[14] The course was first opened for the weekend of July 1–2, 2023, and is expected to reopen for races in 2024 and 2025.[7]

Lap records

As of July 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Chicago Street Course are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent
Street Circuit: 3.444 km (2023)
NASCAR Cup1:29.914[15]Shane van GisbergenChevrolet Camaro ZL12023 Grant Park 220
NASCAR Xfinity1:31.750[16]John Hunter NemechekToyota GR Supra2023 The Loop 121

References

  1. 1 2 Albert, Zack (March 24, 2021). "Sweet home Chicago: Street circuit coming to iRacing, Pro Invitational Series". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  2. ↑ Weaver, Matt (March 24, 2021). "NASCAR, iRacing Tease Chicago Street Course Event". Autoweek. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Chicago to host first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race in 2023". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 19, 2022. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ Pockrass, Bob. "NASCAR replacing Road America with Chicago street-course race". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  5. ↑ Dagys, John (July 19, 2022). "IMSA to Race on Streets of Chicago in 2023 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  6. ↑ McGuire, Mike (October 18, 2022). "IMSA President reveals why Chicago support race fell through". Motorsport Week. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Spielman, Fran (July 20, 2022). "Lightfoot gives NASCAR green flag for three years of races through streets of Chicago". WBEZ Chicago. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  8. ↑ Edwards, Brad; Thompson, Carol (July 1, 2023). "As the NASCAR race speeds into Chicago, how much financial benefit will it have? - CBS Chicago". www.cbsnews.com. CBS News Chicago. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  9. ↑ Smith, Mitch (June 30, 2023). "NASCAR to Start Its Engines Along an Unlikely Course: Downtown Chicago". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  10. ↑ Spencer, Reid. "Cole Custer wins rain-shortened Xfinity race on Chicago Street Course". NASCAR. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Will NASCAR fans be refunded after concerts, part of races canceled?". NBC Chicago. July 3, 2023. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  12. ↑ James, Richard S. (September 17, 2022). "No IMSA series at Chicago for 2023". RACER.
  13. ↑ "Brandon Johnson says city will 'assess' options on NASCAR after Chicago Street Race". NBC Chicago. July 3, 2023. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Map: Latest NASCAR Chicago road closures include DuSable Lake Shore Drive". NBC Chicago. June 29, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  15. ↑ "2023 Grant Park 220 Race Statistics". Motorsportstats. July 2, 2023. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  16. ↑ "2023 The Loop 121 Race Statistics". Motorsportstats. July 1, 2023. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
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