DOWNTOWN — Chicago will once again host a NASCAR street race, with the controversial event set to return for its second year in July.
NASCAR and the city announced Wednesday that NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race series will return July 6-7. It will be the second such professional racing series in the city after this year’s rain-soaked race saw cars speed around Grant Park.
The race will return to the street course that saw drivers snake through around Grant Park including on Michigan Avenue and DuSable Lake Shore Drive. On its website, NASCAR said it will host a two-day event with a “festival-like atmosphere” with headlining music acts.
The first NASCAR event took place over July 4 weekend, but it closed Grant Park and nearby streets for weeks before and after the races. NASCAR and other Grant Park-adjacent mega-events forced the Taste of Chicago to be held in September, caused museums including the Shedd Aquarium to worry it would lose millions over a holiday weekend and caused some Downtown businesses to preeminently close for the races.
The event did not sit well with some Downtown residents; in a survey, many neighbors said they did not want it to return.
Mayor Brandon Johnson was noncommittal about the event’s return, saying in August he wanted a “real community-led process” to review its impact. Following those talks, Johnson’s office said the event will return with some changes to lessen its impact to residents.
“As a result of these conversations, NASCAR has agreed to shorten the event’s setup and teardown windows, reducing travel disruption for impacted communities and other residents,” Johnson’s office said in a statement Wednesday. “NASCAR has also committed to addressing costs incurred by city departments and agencies in facilitating and securing the event as consistent with other large-scale events.”
But Wednesday’s announcement was met with distaste from Downtown aldermen who say, once again, they were looped out of a decision that directly impacts their constituents.
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. No, none of the local aldermen who represent the community areas surrounding Grant Park were consulted or solicited for opinions before this deal was agreed to and announced by the Administration,” said Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) in a statement.
Alds. Brian Hopkins (2nd) and Bill Conway (34th) said they were also left out of the decision-making process and said they were unhappy with the outcome.
“I’m frustrated, again. Mayor Johnson didn’t consult with City Council on renewing the NASCAR deal. That’s no different than what his predecessor Mayor Lightfoot did and it’s no different than the no-bid contract he signed for GardaWorld to provide tents for migrants,” Conway said in a statement.
In July, Conway told Block Club Chicago that the number one request from residents in his ward was to host the street race on a weekend other than the Fourth of July. Conway had also expressed interest in hearing from other departments on the financial impact of the race.
Hopkins also said in July that the mayor’s office had indicated it would “give some added weight to our participation,” which was the opposite of what the former Mayor Lori Lightfoot did, he said.
“He’s being inclusive, where she was exclusive. And he’s being transparent, where she was secretive,” Hopkins said in July.
Hopkins confirmed Wednesday he was not looped in on the announcement.
The city’s tourism bureau released an economic impact statement Wednesday on this year’s NASCAR event, saying it generated $109 million in economic activity and $8.3 million in local and state taxes. That’s $4 million less than what was predicted earlier this year, according to a February report from the Sun-Times.
Without a public vetting of the impact study, Reilly and Conway have their doubts.
“NASCAR’s economic impact study is suspect at best — it hasn’t been presented to the City Council or taxpayers for a public vetting — yet this Administration is accepting it as gospel,” Reilly said in a statement.
“As for the deal taxpayers are getting on this, I haven’t read the Choose Chicago analysis that came out this afternoon. I just hope the Mayor and his team did,” Conway said in a statement.
As part of negotiations with the mayor’s office, NASCAR has also pledged to grow its “investments in Chicago communities” and expand the small, minority and women-owned business vendors that partner with the professional racing organization.
“This is a win for Chicago taxpayers, as the original agreement did not include provisions for such costs,” the mayor’s office said in the statement.
NASCAR has a three-year contract with the city of Chicago.
The only event organized by the Chicago Sports Commission to bring more economic impact dollars was the 2020 NBA All-Star Game held at the United Center, according to Choose Chicago. The Chicago Sports Commission was formed in 2011 by Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism arm.
Nearly 25,000 non-locals came to Chicago to attend this year’s NASCAR races, according to Choose Chicago. Over 47,000 people in total attended the event. Race officials had expected the event to host 50,000 people each day, according to previous statements.
“From the very beginning, our objective was to drive global attention and tourism to Chicago while introducing motorsports to an entirely new fan base, and by both measures, 2023 was a resounding success,” Julie Giese, Chicago Street Race President, said in a statement. “NASCAR is honored to be a part of the Chicago community 365-days a year, and we look forward to building upon the incredible foundation we established this year.”
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