The Chicago Street Race is still unusual for NASCAR drivers.
Instead of being hours away from the nearest city, they’re sequestered in the heart of the third most-populated city in the United States. Drivers can walk outside their hotel room and be minutes away from the course, which is very abnormal.
“It’s weird for us,” NASCAR driver Chase Elliott told the Sun-Times. “I’m walking from the hotel to the track, and some people were there for the race, and some people were just going to work, or some people were just hanging out. It’s such a wide variety of people.”
And that’s always been the goal of the street race. NASCAR wants to expose its sport to people who are not familiar with it. One way to attract more eyeballs is by making the event more cost-effective.
NASCAR announced on Jan. 23 that it would be reducing prices. A single-day Grounds Pass starts at $99 (33% less than last year). Kids 12-and-under can also attend for free on Saturday and Sunday. NASCAR also shortened the time needed to build the course around Grant Park by a week.
“It’s big,” Bubba Wallace told the Sun-Times of the reduced ticket prices. “NASCAR does a pretty good job of trying to do that. When they listen and hear the people, they adjust accordingly. That makes you feel like they care.
“It’s important to keep moving that needle and making it more welcoming for everybody.”
Wallace’s Bubba’s Block Party is a pre-race event that was held at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. in 2023 and Douglass Park last year. The event features a DJ, local food trucks and a live pit-stop demonstration.
Wallace has been outspoken about NASCAR increasing its reach and being more diverse. He believes that events like his party and the street race are helping NASCAR widen its reach.
“It’s been a really big, positive outreach for the local communities here in Chicago,” Wallace said. “Just seeing a different face show up, having a good time and being exposed to our sport in NASCAR has been really huge. A lot of people inside the industry enjoy it as well, and that’s big. It’s just a matter of getting those people to come out to the race and buy a ticket.”
The street race increased its attendance numbers from the inaugural race — rising from 47,405 in 2023 to 53,063 in 2024. NASCAR holds races at 42 different tracks in the United States and Canada. Aside from the street race, the closest track to Chicagoans is in Joliet at the Chicagoland Speedway.
But the goal of the street race is to attract viewers and spectators initially, and then hook people in after they experience how thrilling a race can be.
“The goal for the industry was to get in front of people that might not necessarily have either ever been to a race, or maybe didn’t know a lot about it,” Elliott said. “We want people to see us compete, and we hope that draws people to another track that would be somewhere close or worth traveling to watch.
“The more we can do, the better because NASCAR has much to offer, not just in the street course here, but in the other venues.”