IMSA to join in the July 1-2 race weekend that NASCAR calls, 'the boldest change to the schedule.'
Chris GraythenGetty ImagesNASCAR will be racing in the Windy City in 2023,
NASCAR, in a joint press conference in Chicago attended by a group that included NASCAR and Chicago officials and political leaders, made the news of the three-year deal official on Tuesday.
The race, which will include Lake Shore Drive along the waterfront, has been in the works since NASCAR officials first proposed the race a year ago. According to NASCAR, Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, Columbus Drive and surrounding thoroughfares will be transformed into a 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course, with the start-finish line and pit road located along South Columbus Drive directly in front of Buckingham Fountain.
“When we started talking about this opportunity a year ago, the excitement among all of us, and particularly me, about the possibilities, was just off the charts,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “This is a huge, huge sports town, and I think that goes without saying.
“The opportunity to bring something so unique as NASCAR to the City of Chicago on what I think is going to be one of the most iconic race courses—maybe ever—and introduce a whole new fan base to what NASCAR is about in the City of Chicago—we couldn’t pass up that opportunity.”
NASCAR
The race weekend will be July 1-2, 2023 and include IMSA, according to NASCAR’s Ben Kennedy, the series’ Senior Vice President of Racing Development and Strategy. Kennedy said the city street race will be a first for NASCAR in its 75-year history and just the next step in an exciting evolution of the Cup schedule.
“If you look at our schedules over the past couple years, we’ve made a lot of bold changes,” Kennedy said. “We went to the L.A. Coliseum earlier this year. New tracks, we went to World Wide technology raceway about a month or so ago. But I’d say of all the changes, this is our boldest change to the schedule. We’ve said that we want to be bold and innovative as we think about new venues and new concepts that we’re going to.
“It’s going to be the one of the biggest sporting events in our country in 2023.”
“This is No. 1 on the list for us right now. And it’s certainly going to be the most anticipated event of our season and one of the biggest sporting events in our country in 2023. So we’re really excited about it. And you know, as mayor Lori Lightfoot had mentioned, if you think about Chicago, you think about the rich history of sports here. You think about the iconic Skyline you think about the iconic landmarks around the city—Navy Pier, Cloud Gate—and to them actually have our NASCAR cup cars racing around the streets of Chicago is going to be something just incredible.”
NASCAR President Steve Phelps called the move bold and innovative.
“This announcement is obviously unbelievable,” Phelps said. “I mean, the first time I heard that this was a possibility, I’m like, wow, that would be really cool. And getting Mayor Lightfoot and all the community to embrace us is huge for us.
Bubba Wallace has already circled next year’s Chicago race on the schedule
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“But I think it goes past just the schedule. If you think about the car itself, our Next Gen car, and the racing that the new car has put on for us has been fantastic. So our three OEM partners—Toyota, Chevy and Ford—our race teams, our drivers, have given us arguably the best racing in the history of our 75 years, that’s what this car has done for us.
“So we want to continue to be bold and innovative as people think about NASCAR in the future.”
NASCAR Cup driver Bubba Wallace said the unknown is what might just be the most exciting part of the Chicago race.
“This is monumental for our sport,” Wallace said. “You know, there’s a lot of unknowns, and if you’ve been following my journey, for the last little bit, I’ve always said the unknown is what excites me. It excites me and so I don’t know what to expect going into this deal.
“I know that these guys got a lot of work to do and the city does do to get it ready. But it’s exciting.”
Keyword: NASCAR Confirms Much-Anticipated Chicago Street Race for 2023