Chicago Street Race and NASCAR Officials Under Political Scrutiny

What’s Happening

Adam Stern reported from a Chicago Business article by Justin Lawrence that a Chicago alderperson wants a hearing with NASCAR officials. The alderperson wants to question NASCAR officials about traffic and impact of street closures on the residents of the city. This comes amidst the recent election of the new mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, whom Lawrence reports is an ally to this alderperson.

• An alderperson in Chicago is one of 50 elected officials who represent different districts in Chicago. Alderpersons serve four year terms, and serve on the Chicago City Council. The alderperson in asking for this hearing is Daniel La Sparta.
• NASCAR is now one month away from hosting its’ first ever street race for its’ top series. The event has been met with both excitement and concern from fans. The political support for the race has become less clear since the election of new mayor Brandon Johnson.
• Fans reacted to this news in a few different ways. Some fans called for NASCAR to return to Chicagoland or other tracks, and others asked for NASCAR to move to other street courses. Still some others expressed that the traffic complaints are not valid.

In the Stands

Iiiiiiiiiit’s an option.

Not much Kyle. Not much.

Rowdy believes this is a political ploy.

Go Chase9 says that NASCAR should look at a new market for a street race.

SuperiorGenerations says that this is not unlike any traffic issue Chicago has had before.

A certain track names Chicagoland Speedway exists.

G Vac, a local resident, notes that he has not seen much local promotion.

The Chicago Street Race is still a mystery in terms of whether or not the event will succeed. No event on the current NASCAR schedule has gone through as much scrutiny as this one has. Time will tell whether or not this becomes a tradition or a one and done.