NASCAR in Chicago was ‘a commercial for the city,’ but is it worthy of a 2024 repeat?
CHICAGO — The NASCAR Chicago street race was shaping up to be a disaster.
After lightning cut part of Saturday’s programming short, a torrential rainstorm the next day submerged roads across the city — including the improvised downtown track that was set to host the main event and the end of the previous day’s race.
By 4 p.m. Sunday, three of the scheduled concerts had been canceled and NASCAR representatives began hinting of a refund system as the pace of the downpour worsened still, threatening the biggest race of the weekend: the Cup Series Grant Park 220.
But one hour later, the spigot miraculously shut off. Drivers and fans walked back to the tracks under the first clear sky of the afternoon, repacking the stands to their fullest yet. Viewers from across the world marveled as sleek cars zipped — and sometimes slid — on the racecourse below the gleaming Chicago skyline.
It was a photo finish that marked the end of a controversial buildup to
