NASCAR's Street Race Will Return To Chicago In 2024

CHICAGO — Less than three months after NASCAR took a test drive on Chicago and a first-ever street course format, officials with NASCAR and Brandon Johnson’s office announced that the race weekend will return to the city in 2024.

NASCAR unveiled its 2024 schedule on Wednesday, which included two races in a weekend schedule on July 6 and 7. NASCAR will host a Cup Series event and a Truck Series event, which will again run through the streets of downtown Chicago.

However, the return of street racing will come with changes, Johnson’s office announced. The announcement of NASCAR's return comes after the initial deal to bring racing to Chicago was struck by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Under the agreement, both the city and NASCAR had the option to pull out of the deal after one year.

Despite rain over the race weekend, many fans gave the event a thumbs up while other residents complained about the obstacles that the event presented due to the lengthy setup that closed local streets in advance of the inaugural race weekend.

“At the conclusion of last year’s race, the Johnson administration began conversations with NASCAR with the goal of addressing concerns raised by residents, alderpeople, and stakeholders while acknowledging NASCAR’s contribution to the city’s economy and communities,” the mayor’s office said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Johnson said as a result of those conversations, NASCAR has agreed to shorten the event’s setup and teardown time, which will reduce travel disruption for residents and communities. The mayor also said that NASCAR has also committed to addressing costs incurred by Chicago city departments in facilitating and securing the event with other large-scale events.

NASCAR has also agreed to grow its investment in Chicago communities as well as expand opportunities for businesses owned by women, people of color, and minorities, the mayor’s office said.

“This is a win for Chicago taxpayers as the original agreement did not include provisions for such costs,” Johnson said.

Choose Chicago and the Chicago Sports Commission released the findings of their independent economic impact report, which showed that the inaugural Chicago Street Race Weekend exceeded initial economic forecasts despite historic rains, delivering a total economic impact of $108.9 million for Chicago.

This is in addition to another estimated $6.2 million in economic investment from attendees who said that the event was equally important as other attractions in their decision to travel to Chicago, officials said on Wednesday.

“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,” said Julie Giese, Chicago Street Race President. “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.”

According to the economic impact report, 52 percent of 2023 racegoers traveled to the race from outside of the city, spending money in local restaurants, shops, and hotels as a result. Of those visitors, 77 percent of these visitors said they would recommend Chicago as a travel destination going forward, and 64 percent of last year’s visitors said that they plan on returning to Chicago.