NASCAR race fans want to know if the F1-style rumors are true and if they’ll see a checkered flag on some city’s streets soon.
According to AutoEvolution, the future race could be a reality next year in Chicago. Besides, it’s the next logical move for the pro racing league. They did the wild Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum exhibition race last month.
Why not take racing back to the third-largest metro area in the United States?
Why Chicago? Chicagoland Speedway’s gone. Races started there in 2002, but the NASCAR-owned suburban Joliet track lost its 2020 race due to the pandemic. Then, the track missed out on its annual race for the 2021 season. But NASCAR organizers still think the area could be a fertile fan base for NASCAR.
Sports Business Journal reporter Adam Stern broke the news that NASCAR stakeholders could be looking into Windy City area racing again.
But at the same time, NASCAR couldn’t get a track in New York City or Washington state. So, there are certainly a lot of risks involved.
Many wondered when NASCAR hosted an iRacing event through the virtual streets of Chicago if that was a sign of things to come. Well, the future looks a little clearer now.
NASCAR Taking A Backseat To F-1 Racing?
Formula One and IndyCar racing have successfully headed to the city streets. There’s been successful F-1 racing in America for years at Long Beach and Detroit.
Shoot, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott are fans of the sport.
According to NBC, the drivers are constant watchers of Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” docuseries.
Soon, Miami will get its next shot this year.
The inaugural Miami Grand Prix is coming to Miami Gardens, Florida. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross’s track runs around the Hard Rock Stadium. It’s right down the road from Homestead, where NASCAR wraps its long seasons.
NASCAR Fans Take To Social Media To Wonder
Fans wondered about the Chicago race, posting to the Sports Business Journal story. Many Chicago outsiders like to take to social media to call the city a warzone for its numerous gun murders throughout the year. In two months, the large city had 88 shooting deaths, while last year had at least 800.
One asked which current NASCAR race would get booted off the schedule. When another said Texas, another fan came to the speedway’s defense. Mike Gomesoa noted, “Texas is going to completely reconfigure that track and will announce it this year or next.”
Gomesoa openly pondered racing in Chicago in a later Tweet.
“Chicagoland Speedway isn’t anywhere close to downtown Chicago,” the Twitter user said. “It’s a different culture out there. You have that race downtown near the lake in the middle of summer. That is a spectacle. The racing will suck, but NASCAR will have a show.”
