NASCAR Chicago Street Race: What to know about the 12-turn, 2.2-mile course around the city in July
CHICAGO — Welcome to the new rush hour in Chicago.
The city will transform the Grant Park environs into the first NASCAR Chicago Street Race on July 2, with separate events on July 1 as well. The televised Cup Series event will have NASCAR drivers weaving through the park on closed-off streets lined with temporary fences, grandstands and what promoters hope will be thousands of fans.
Here’s everything you need to know about the race — including the course map, road closures and how to watch (or avoid) it all.
Has Chicago hosted a NASCAR race before?
Yes, Soldier Field hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race in July 1956.
A quarter-century later, an ambitious plan by then-Mayor Jane Byrne to hold a Formula One race on Lake Shore Drive in summer 1981 never made it to the starting line.
This time, the course will stay north of Soldier Field and south of the infamous S-curve on DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
