NASCAR announces the Chicago Street Race Weekend for 2023

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — NASCAR announced Tuesday it will be hosting a street race in downtown Chicago the first weekend of July 2023.

The NASCAR Cup Series will take a 12 turn, 2.2 mile street course on Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, Columbus Avenue and other streets July 2.  A to-be-determined IMSA series will join the NASCAR Cup Series to race at the temporary track July 1.

“Like the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, 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,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing development and strategy.

Chicago and Illinois officials applauded the announcement.

“I am thrilled to welcome our partners at NASCAR to Chicago for an event that will attract thousands of people to our city,” Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot said at the event. “Chicago’s world class entertainment and hospitality industries, coupled with our city’s history as a conduit for sports talent, make us the perfect hosts for this unique event.”

“Welcoming yet another NASCAR event to Illinois just weeks after the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 Cup Series race is a testament to the strength of our tourism industry from Chicago to Metro East,” said Governor JB Pritzker.

This is the first time the NASCAR Cup Series will be racing in downtown Chicago since 1956, when the series raced at Soldier Field.

Tickets for the weekend will go on sale later this year.  The race will air on NBC.

The Chicago Street Race Weekend replaces Road America on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, which was a replacement of the Independence Day Daytona night race. The announcement was long anticipated after NASCAR Cup Series drivers took part in an iRacing event at a virtual Chicago street course that aired on FS1 in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

NASCAR said the rest of the 2023 schedules for the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and IMSA will be announced at a later date.