Chicago and NASCAR, a strange couple with high expectations, take to the streets
On a rainy holiday weekend, the city of Chicago and the sport of NASCAR celebrated the most unlikely of marriages with a lakeside ceremony.
Chicago handled the decorations, with its towering skyscrapers as a backdrop, as well as the catering, with Vienna Beef hot dogs, Garrett popcorn, and Lou Malnati’s deep-dish wedges for sale.
NASCAR sent its drivers like a wedding party, roaring at speeds of up to 140 mph toward the Field Museum before storming Michigan Avenue, booking music for the reception, though the summer monsoons meant The Chainsmokers and country singer Miranda Lambert were canceled.
The years of engagement had been rocky at times, and there were plenty of doubters. After all, NASCAR’s top series had never raced on the city streets. And Chicago residents, many of whom care little about racing, were concerned about blocking much of downtown and grumbling traffic for days. Still, for richer or poorer and through soaking rain, Chicago gave its streets to NASCAR to race, if only for the weekend.
“I was certainly pessimistic when it was first announced,” said Denny Hamlin, a longtime driver who said he had warmed to the idea and who was the fastest qualifier for Sunday’s feature race. “When you see the fans walking around here on Saturday, their excitement of just seeing a NASCAR race car up close, taking pictures, I mean, it’s kind of like this is what we’re supposed to be doing.”
But the unyielding rain, which moved in on Saturday evening and continued to fester through Sunday, dampened the festivities. Tarra Laux, a resident of Chicago’s South Side and first-time race-goer, said she enjoyed watching qualifying with her family on Saturday. But she was disappointed to see Mrs. Lambert’s concert canceled, and she had doubted she would come back for Sunday’s race.
“We were hoping to get down here first thing this morning and get in there and spend a whole day,” Ms. Laux said. They decided to go to the race anyway, but said the rain “more or less dampens everything”.
The NASCAR-ification of downtown Chicago—where stacks of fresh Goodyear tires rested on sidewalks, concrete barriers stood in front of bus stops, and the world-famous Art Institute served as the site for pre-race interviews—was a calculated risk.
NASCAR, which usually competes on racetracks with straights and left turns, is looking to diversify its fan base and introduce its sport to urban residents. Chicago, whose downtown has struggled with the coronavirus pandemic, is looking to bring in new visitors and fill hotel rooms.
While the potential benefits were obvious, so was the cost of the 12-turn, 2.2-mile circuit along some of Chicago’s most iconic roads. Arterial roads were closed for days, disrupting commuter traffic and turning the Loop into a maze of barricades and traffic congestion. Large parts of the park were off limits to the public. Downtown residents were serenaded lap after lap by the trembling screams of three dozen race cars.
“It’s not even the race days, it’s the week before and the week after where everything is still still,” said Mary McNally, who works in marketing and lives near Grant Park. “It’s really inconvenient and forces you to switch supermarkets and things like that.”
Many other Chicagoans decided the race was a miscalculation. Rick Morrissey, Chicago Sun-Times columnist, announced last week that “we are not the people or the city” for this event.
“This is cultural more than anything,” he wrote, suggesting that a southern city with more racing history might be a better location. “Maybe it’s something blue/red.”
In the course, where tickets started from $269, fans attending their first race got into action alongside NASCAR die-hards whose T-shirts were true to their favorite drivers.
Audrey Prince, who lives on Chicago’s West Side, said she’s been following NASCAR for years but has never been to a race. Even in the midst of the downpour, she said it was too unique to see stock cars zipping up DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
“They’re racing on the real streets I’ve ridden and walked on,” she said, “so it’s exciting just there.”
The weekend included tragedies and misfortunes. A track contractor was electrocuted and died on Friday while final preparations for the race were underway. On Saturday, the first of the weekend’s two races was postponed at the halfway mark due to lightning, then declared amid a sustained downpour on Sunday that once again shook up plans.
NASCAR’s visit to Chicago had been the subject of intense local debate since Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced it last summer without involving residents or city councilors in the negotiations. The event’s future became more uncertain when Ms. Lightfoot was voted out this year. Although NASCAR’s contract with Chicago includes three years of racing, the new mayor, Brandon Johnson, could decide to cancel the deal.
Whether the city files for divorce will depend in part on statistics that are not yet fully known. NASCAR officials said they expected up to 50,000 people a day at the event, and they believed about 80 percent of ticket buyers were first-time race-goers. But the race organization did not provide data on ticket sales and tickets were still on sale as of Saturday afternoon.
Several NASCAR drivers said they were aware of the city’s disruption, but hoped the race would be seen as a win. Driver Bubba Wallace, who hosted a free race-themed party on the South Side last week, said he enjoyed his time in Chicago.
“You can kind of walk the streets and not be recognized, so I hear a lot of conversations,” said Mr Wallace. “And a lot of people are confused about it. But you also hear a lot of excitement.”
Robert Chiarito reporting contributed.