MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Thursday afternoon’s announcement that the NASCAR Cup Series will race in the streets of Chicago next July 1-2 is the latest evidence that NASCAR officials are not satisfied with the status quo.
The sanctioning body that will celebrate its 75th anniversary next season has torn up its playbook in recent years and has taken a risky approach addressing the future of the sport.
This new strategy can best be seen in the approach to scheduling that has taken the series to new markets such as Los Angeles and St. Louis and in the debut of the Next Gen car this year.
According to Ben Kennedy, senior vice president, racing development & strategy, and NASCAR President Steve Phelps, the two things have come together to bring NASCAR to the streets of Chicago.
Ben Kennedy (Leon Halip/Getty Images Photo)
“If you look at our schedules over the last couple of years, we’ve made a lot of bold changes,” Kennedy said. “We went to the L.A. Coliseum earlier this year. We went to World Wide Technology Raceway about a month or so ago. Of all the changes, this is our boldest change to the schedule.
We have said that we want to be bold and innovative when we think about new concepts and new venues that we are going to. This is No. 1 on the list for us right now and it is certainly going to be the most anticipated event of our season and one of the biggest sporting events in our country in 2023.”
There’s little doubt the NASCAR street race in Chicago is being modeled after successful NTT IndyCar Series races in the streets of Long Beach, Calif., St. Petersburg, Fla., and Nashville.
And Kennedy is already selling it as an event.
“The race will be on July 1-2 next year. One of our IMSA sanctioned series will be competing on Saturday. Our NASCAR Cup Series will be competing on Sunday,” Kennedy explained. “We really want to create an event-driven atmosphere around it. We want it to be fun. We want it to be a great atmosphere for people to come out and get to enjoy music, get to enjoy racing and get to enjoy a lot of great things that the city of Chicago has to offer.”
Phelps believes the race is the latest “first” in a recent surge for NASCAR.
If you think back to 2020, to be the first sport back competing after a COVID world was important for us,” Phelps said. “To be the first sport back competing in front of fans was important for us and the country, to get back in a rhythm that people were familiar with. I think it was unexpected. We have done a lot of things that were unexpected.
“The stance we took on social justice, our efforts at diversity and inclusion have been very important to our sport. Schedule creation — we had our boldest schedule ever in 2021,” Phelps continued. “The changes that we made were significant, followed up by the Clash at the Coliseum and going to World Wide Technology Raceway. We continue to have changes to the schedule. This announcement is unbelievable. The first time I heard this was a possibility, I thought, ‘Man, that would be really cool.’”
Phelps applauded the Next Gen race car and the racing it has produced this season.
“If you think about the Next Gen car, the racing it has put on for us has been fantastic,” Phelps said. “Our three OEMS — Toyota, Chevy and Ford — leading our race teams, our drivers and arguably the best racing in our 75 years. That’s what this car has done for us. It’s important. We want to continue to be bold and innovative as people think about NASCAR in the future.”
Keyword: NASCAR Officials: Chicago Is Latest ‘First’