{"id":39615,"date":"2022-07-19T16:54:45","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T21:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=39615"},"modified":"2022-07-19T16:54:45","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T21:54:45","slug":"nascar-officially-announces-chicago-street-course-for-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/19\/nascar-officially-announces-chicago-street-course-for-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR officially announces Chicago Street Course for 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Holly Cain<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

For the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, stock car\u2019s biggest show is set to take place on the streets of downtown Chicago alongside iconic American backdrops like Lake Michigan and Grant Park.<\/p>\n

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This image was computer generated in-game) James Davison, driver of the #15 Chevrolet races during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Chicago Street Course on June 02, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

NASCAR\u2019s top executives and driver Bubba Wallace came to sunny downtown Chicago Tuesday afternoon and alongside Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and a large contingent of local officials, formally announced the unprecedented addition to the sport\u2019s schedule revealing the NASCAR Cup Series will make its street race debut there Sunday, July 2, 2023; with an IMSA-sanctioned race held that Saturday, July 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonumental day in the history of our sport at NASCAR,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Development Ben Kennedy said, noting the first ever street race will come as the sport marks its 75th anniversary in 2023.<\/p>\n

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This image was computer generated in-game) James Davison, driver of the #15 Chevrolet races during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Chicago Street Course on June 02, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cLike the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum [in Los Angeles], we seized an incredible opportunity to add an unprecedented element to our schedule and take center stage in the heart of another major metropolitan market,” Kennedy said, referring to other bold new additions to the series schedule that included the hugely popular pre-season race held in the LA Coliseum this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the ideal setting for the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race. The NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars and the IMSA machines will race along the shores of Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago, marking a truly historic moment for our sport.”<\/p>\n

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This image was computer generated in-game) Cars race during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Chicago Street Course on June 02, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The race course, which will use parts of Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive on its 12-turn 2.2-mile layout will feature a start-finish line along South Columbus Drive against the backdrop of the famed Buckingham Fountain. The course will include portions of Grant Park and even approach iconic Soldier Field \u2013 home to the only other NASCAR Cup Series race in downtown Chicago back in 1956 \u2013 navigating against famed skylines and beautiful lakeshore.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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,” Lightfoot told the enthusiastic and sizeable crowd gathered downtown for the announcement. \u201cThis is a huge, huge sports town. I think that goes without saying.<\/p>\n

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This image was computer generated in-game) James Davison, driver of the #15 Chevrolet races during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Chicago Street Course on June 02, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to bring something so unique as NASCAR to the city of Chicago and I think it\u2019s 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\u2019t pass up that opportunity.”<\/p>\n

\u201cBold\u201d and \u201cinnovative\u201d were the words used most frequently by the speakers on stage Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say of all the changes, this is our boldest change in the schedule,” Ben Kennedy said. \u201cWe\u2019ve said, and it\u2019s been pretty synonymous when we announced the schedules, that we want to be bold and innovative, and we think about new venues and new concepts that we\u2019re going to. This is No. 1 on the list for us right now and it\u2019s certainly going to be the most anticipated event of our season and one of the biggest sport events in our country in 2023.”<\/p>\n

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This image was computer generated in-game) Cars race during the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Chicago Street Course on June 02, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWhen 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, a handful of them \u2013 to actually have our NASCAR Cup Series cars racing around the streets of Chicago is going to be something just incredible.”<\/p>\n

Kennedy confirmed that the Chicago race \u2013 which is a three-year deal \u2013 will replace Wisconsin\u2019s Road America road course event on the schedule next year but was open to a return to that popular Midwestern track in the future.<\/p>\n

After the formal announcement, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace drove his No 23 Toyota around the city in a ceremonial \u201cfirst lap\u201d drawing cheers from people on the sidewalk and from balconies as he zoomed by. Afterall, his race team co-owner Michael Jordan is a Chicago icon following his NBA Hall of Fame days playing for the city\u2019s Chicago Bulls.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, the majority owner of our team has done a lot for this city and knowing how much he means to city of Chicago I\u2019m proud to carry that,” Wallace told the crowd before his lap behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

And he added with a smile, \u201cThis [race] has fun written all over it.”<\/p>\n

Tickets for the 2023 NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend will go on sale later this year at NASCARChicago.com<\/a> with additional details of the event announced in coming months.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

NASCAR Chicago Street Race Announcement with Steve Phelps, Ben Kennedy, Lori Lightfoot, Bubba Wallace and Kara Bachman – <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/NASCARChicagoStreetRaceAnnouncement.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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NASCAR Chicago Street Race Announcement – Zoom Press Conference w\/ Ben Kennedy and Lori Lightfoot –<\/p>\n<\/div>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/ChicagoAnnouncementZoomPresser071922.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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  By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service For the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, stock car\u2019s biggest show is set to take place on the streets of downtown Chicago alongside iconic American backdrops like Lake Michigan and Grant Park. NASCAR\u2019s top executives and driver Bubba Wallace came to sunny downtown Chicago Tuesday afternoon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":39618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-39615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Chicago_iRacing_07192022-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1269&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-aiX","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39615"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39626,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39615\/revisions\/39626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}