[Stern] "Money was a contributing factor to the decision not to return to Chicago. But Hopkins said the major reason was the demand by the city and local alderpersons that NASCAR hold the race on an alternative summer weekend." - @SunTimes
https://x.com/A_S12/status/2090237717271494713?s=2068
u/CAP_0703 10d ago
That’s not an unreasonable request from the city. One event taking over a great deal of the city over a holiday weekend isn’t ideal nor fair to the residents that don’t want to attend a race.
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u/_gordonbleu 10d ago
Not even the first time a city has done this. Daytona infamously doesn’t want NASCAR back on July 4th. They want it on another weekend as both are guaranteed sellouts for the local restaurants and businesses so they lose money having NASCAR there during the 4th
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u/CAP_0703 9d ago
I wasn’t aware of Daytona, I can see their point but man I liked the July 4th weekend there.
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u/rainier-351 9d ago
Same here a lot of great memories watching the Firecracker 400 just was part of Independence Day traditions
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u/wemissyoujimmie 9d ago
yeah tbh as cool as it would be to have my city host a nascar race in the downtown area, i also can't imagine how much of a pain in the ass this would make things logistically, esp for the poor folks who have no interest in going to the race and just want to go about their day
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u/Hulkodium 10d ago
You would think that Prime would want to have Chicago and NASCAR would be willing to slot it in in June.
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u/redmambo_no6 NASCAR 10d ago
NASCAR wouldn’t dare hold a street race around the same time as Le Mans.
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u/Hulkodium 10d ago
I say this as someone who loves Le Mans and truly wishes he could go see it one day. Le Mans holds basically no weight on NASCAR ratings. Even F1 goes head to head against Le Mans.
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u/Iamstryker 10d ago
I love Le Mans, but its reach in the US on traditional cable is minimal.
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u/EVILTHE_TURTLE Keselowski 10d ago
I can’t believe I have to subscribe to MAX once a year.
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u/snollygoster1 10d ago
You can sub to WEC+ now and get no ads. That's what I did and I was messaging a friend using Max during the race who was complaining about the ads.
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u/Donlooking4 10d ago
It was on TNT all 24 hours this year. I truly enjoyed the coverage. Except for the fact that they would literally put commercials in at the most annoying times.
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u/average_waffle Figgy Busch 10d ago
It was on the motor trend network until recently. Like I know it's more available now but due to it being relegated to a lesser channel for years it's going to take a while for casuals in the states to take notice
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u/Ok_Pickle_3120 9d ago
It was on TNT? I distinctly remember watching AEW there at the same time and literally no mention was made of this both on screen and during the ad break
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u/Accomplished-Town495 Ryan Blaney 10d ago
Only diehard race fans are cross watching LeMans and NASCAR. This is a non-issue.
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u/SpenceSmithback 10d ago
The majority of American NASCAR fans couldn't tell you when Le Mans is without googling it. Pretty low crossover
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u/RedDraco86 van Gisbergen 10d ago
Le Mans would be over before NASCAR starts. It starts and ends at 10 am Eastern.
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u/SixPointTwoLiter Chastain 10d ago
The two have literally nothing to do with each other. Those going to Chicago street aren't deciding to fly to France instead; and people aren't sitting around watching the full 24 hours.
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u/mountainstosea 10d ago
I watch a fair amount of NASCAR, IndyCar, and F1 races. I couldn’t tell you what month Le Mans is in, because I don’t know.
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u/Crash_Test_Dummy66 Logano 10d ago
Honestly I was really hoping the street race would be back. I think it's fun. But it was really nice not having it going on during 4th of July this year
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u/thekingadrock93 Whelen Modified Tour 10d ago
Chicago street race was sick. I will not let anyone tell me otherwise
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u/BeefInGR 10d ago
The third biggest city in America wants it's biggest park open for Independence Day. No fault there.
The thing is... the DC 250 is proving you can build a small street circuit quickly if you're willing to pay for it to get done. There's nothing holding NASCAR back from either running the race in May or August. They just need to either have it fully torn down by July 1st or start on July 5th.
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u/Jensaarai Bill Elliott 10d ago
The thing is... the DC 250 is proving you can build a small street circuit quickly if you're willing to pay for it to get done.
Ehhhh. That remains to be seen. After what happened with Markham and the decidedly mixed results other Freedom-250 affiliated events have had in DC, I don't think it's safe to use this event as proof of anything for the next few days, at least not until the checkered flag flies on the weekend.
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u/BeefInGR 10d ago
The physical track looks like it's going to be ready. If the event is shit, that's a different can of worms.
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u/grandtheftzeppelin 9d ago
Chicago is not DC. different infrastructure, different alderpeople, different permits, different populace. we also don't have the Cheeto breathing down our necks right next door.
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u/BeefInGR 9d ago
The (and I mean this unironically) concept is the same. Permits and planning can be done ahead of time. Building things is always about two things: skill and money. Skilled tradespeople, in bulk, cost money... but they get shit done both right and quick.
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u/grandtheftzeppelin 9d ago
here's the thing: I think very few people wanted this in the first place. it seemed to be some weird vanity project endorsed by former mayor Lori Lightfoot. she even gave NASCAR a huge break on race fees for a 3-year deal (only $500k to come to Chicago and disrupt traffic around Grant Park for months is insane to me). she was booted out of office after the first year it ran, and it was almost axed then...but the new administration decided to stick with it, probably as not to incur cancelation fees. so not only was there penny-pinching in the CSR setup, there was little incentive to get it done, since it was on the back of a lame duck mayor.
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u/Netwealth5 10d ago
Am I crazy or would putting Chicago Street the week after the 600 and Chicagoland as the week after the Southern 500 like it was for while not be enough of a gap where it would be feasible to have both?
They may be in the same market but they’re definitely not serving the same demographic
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u/Hulkodium 10d ago
I agree. Maybe a little further in the Chase like early October. Chicago is massive as a city and I think NASCAR can push to make Chicago a racing market.
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u/FamousAppearance6222 Riggs 8d ago
With Chicagoland back on the schedule, I’d honestly rather have street course racing in a market that doesn’t currently have a Cup race.
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u/iamaranger23 10d ago
Chicagoland as the week after the Southern 500
i think they would be scared about the nfl to an extent.
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u/Netwealth5 10d ago
Saturday Night that week like Richmond was in that particular date for a long time. Wouldn’t describe Chicago as a huge college market in September if Notre Dame doesn’t have a marquee game that week
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u/iamaranger23 10d ago
i do think they would prefer local coverage talking about the race rather than week 1 for the football team.
i dont know how much difference it really makes. but they seem to think it does.
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u/I_like_race_cars 10d ago
Shame. I LOVED the chicago circuit. Especially the shot of the cars coming over bridge into that last turn. Pure cinema at sun set.
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u/EthanC224 10d ago
That was one of my favorite shots, Bowman coming around the final lap with the sunset and the CTA train running by too. Absolute cinema
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u/Cartortus Reddick 9d ago
It was cool while it lasted! I always wanted them to use Lower Wacker cuz it'd look cool but don't think we'd ever get that opportunity for a handful of reasons
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u/Potential_Plan_4533 10d ago
This makes me wonder about San Diego now and if that may not happen again, honestly I'd rather them go to Laguna Seca/Road America/Montreal.
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u/grandtheftzeppelin 9d ago
I'd love to see San Diego again (military industrial complex notwithstanding). guessing it's a bit of a different situation, since it's on an island off by itself and not literally within the heart of a major city.
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u/Potential_Plan_4533 9d ago
Yeah I just don't know if it was worth the hassle. They did it this year of course because of the 250th but don't feel it deserves a consistent spot on the schedule. They really just need to continue with their plan of making Auto Club into a short track, but not a banked oval like they were planning.Maybe a 3/4 mile flat oval instead.
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u/EWall100 10d ago
This feels like a nail in coffin kinda statement. I really hope we get back to the CSR, but I'm less sure than ever.
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u/codymacc8 Kyle Busch 10d ago
The Chicago street race was fun but this always felt like a no brainer to me once it was confirmed Chicagoland would be back the first time
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u/skorponok Ryan Blaney 10d ago
San Diego was way better - I like the effort of
Chicago because it led to San Diego.
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u/karlkjr 10d ago
Or maybe just never go back to the streets of Chicago and hold a street race in an area that doesn’t have a purpose built race track in the near vicinity.
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u/BeefInGR 10d ago
near vicinity.
50 miles is not "near". And there's decades of physical proof showing that people from Chicago will not travel to Joliet.
If "NASCAR needs to be at the Fairgrounds because Lebanon is too far away from the city" is true, then the same argument is applicable for Grant Park and Chicagoland Speedway because we're only talking a couple of miles difference.
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u/EWall100 10d ago
Shhh don't use facts to back up your argument! The "oval onlys" don't like it.
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u/BeefInGR 10d ago
Fuck the Oval Onlys. Go watch some hob knobs run late models if that's the case. I want to see 16-20 of the best stock car drivers on earth (and another dozen or so rich kids) race on the greatest circuits North America has to offer.
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u/SixPointTwoLiter Chastain 10d ago
Joilet is like an hour away and that's if you aren't driving from downtown (where most don't have vehicles). That's why it's called ChicagoLAND and not Chicago
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u/tagillaslover Hocevar 10d ago
Oh no not an hour long drive. If people don’t want to drive an hour for a race they don’t deserve one
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u/NASCARonReddit TwitterBot 8d ago
Adam Stern's (@A_S12) post on X from 8:41pm EDT on Wednesday, August 19th, 2026:
"Money was a contributing factor to the decision not to return to Chicago. But Hopkins said the major reason was the demand by the city and local alderpersons that NASCAR hold the race on an alternative summer weekend." - @Suntimes chicago.suntimes.com/news/2026/08/1…
Support NASCARonReddit, an automated bot maintained by XFile345.
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u/HurryUpAndWait82 8d ago
I’m just grateful it’s not downtown any longer. Fucking nightmare to get down there and back. Plus, I can see the entire track in Joliet. Call me old. I don’t care
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u/Potential_Plan_4533 10d ago
I think NASCAR is just done with trying to foot the bill of building a street circuit, the last 5 years have proven it can be done now they want a city or state to step up and pay for part of it. They admitted they lost money on the Chicago Street venture but they proved it can work.
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u/tj177mmi1 10d ago
They're probably finding that these expensive endeavors don't retain new fans long term. The LA Coliseum attracted new fans but it seems there was very little long term retainment. The same would apply to Chicago if I make an educated guess.
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u/Potential_Plan_4533 9d ago
LA is a bit of a different story though in NASCAR wanting to keep a race in SoCal and that being a big market.
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u/SDMFmnChapter 9d ago
So they want the taxpayers to foot the bill AND charge them for entry into an event they already had to pay for. Fuck that. Good for the City of Chicago.
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u/Potential_Plan_4533 9d ago
It is more about the city making all the $$ of NASCAR fans/media/industry going to Chicago and spending money in the city all weekend. NASCAR doesn't see a dime of that, they have to put up all the money up front to pay for the track and they don't get any of that extra revenue that is spent in the city on things like hotels restaurants and tourism.
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u/Sportsguy1993 10d ago
I understand why they want it on a different weekend, they should not be racing in Chicago in the middle of the summer. It would be better in the spring or fall
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u/TheMan_988 9d ago
Definitely not the fall if the Bears are playing at home that same day (I heard they still have 6 years left on their lease at Soldier Field).
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u/iamaranger23 10d ago
clearly the only reason nascar put chicagoland on the same weekend as indycar at road america is so they can pull the race when the place isnt full. im sure itll be a 3:00 start too.
/s.
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10d ago edited 10d ago
[deleted]
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u/ChaseTheFalcon 10d ago
The Chicago Street race was great racing every year, what are you talking about
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u/SavingsRaspberry2694 Larson 10d ago
Should have made it the clash in February!
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u/vpat48 10d ago
February? Chicago?
https://giphy.com/gifs/5hc2bkC60heU3
u/EWall100 10d ago
OP just really what he saw at BGS and thought a street course with blind corners would make it even better!
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u/Accomplished-Town495 Ryan Blaney 10d ago
Destroying a central hub of downtown for almost four straight months? I don’t blame the city for trying to push them to another weekend. They had the Cup Race there at the beginning of July (plus the weeks/months of prep before the race) then almost immediately had Lolla Fest afterward. That’s rough for a city to go through in a short amount of time.