Last year’s inaugural NASCAR street race in Chicago race famously was held during one of the worst weather weekends of the NASCAR season.There were many doubters and naysayers last year, in large part because many streets in the city were shut down for an extended period.Lessons learned, organizers say, from the 2023 experience are expected to reduce build time of the track and improve the overall fan experience.
Although last year’s event drew high marks for NASCAR’s first street race, Giese’s biggest regret is that fans didn’t get the full impact of the weekend because of weather disruptions.“For us, this was a racing and music festival, and it is a racing and music festival,” Giese said. “We didn’t get to have as much music as we wanted last year.” Also dumped last year, because of the rain, was an event planned to introduce the Cup drivers on the huge festival ground.