Chicago To Host First-Ever NASCAR Cup Series Street Race In 2023
NASCAR has announced the NASCAR Cup Series will race on the streets of downtown Chicago on July 1–2, 2023.
The first-ever NASCAR Chicago Street Race will take place July 2, and be preceded by an IMSA-sanctioned race, which will run July 1. The specific IMSA series will be announced at a later date.
Officials will transform Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, Columbus Drive, and surrounding thoroughfares into a 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course, with the start-finish line and pit road located along South Columbus Drive in front of Buckingham Fountain. The course will pass through Grant Park, as well as approach the northern edge of Soldier Field—home to the Chicago Bears and the site of the only other Cup Series race to take place in Chicago in 1956.
The course layout was first developed on the iRacing platform, which was used in the 2021 eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series.
The Chicago Street Race will replace Road America on the Independence Day weekend schedule, as confirmed by Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing development and strategy.
For more information, visit nascar.com.