Last NASCAR Chicago Street Race wraps up in Grant Park. Do Chicagoans want it to return?

CBS News

06-07-2025

The checkered flag has been waved for potentially the last NASCAR Street Race weekend in Chicago.
The final races wrapped up right as rain showers rolled into the area.
For an event plagued by heavy rain the past two runs, the weather held until after the checkered flag on Sunday. This left many racing fans with a very sunny review of the event's success.
Crowds in attendance on Sunday, most from the Chicago area, said this was their first-ever NASCAR event.
When asked their thoughts on the event, they gave nothing but praise. It may be a hometown advantage thing, but each person also thought the event should continue in Chicago.
"I would love for it for to stay here. I'm really excited for Foret to be here. So I think this is something that would bring people back," Tay'Hiana Welch said.
"They need to come back again. They really do. I think it's a… It's very entertaining. If you look, you got people who have never been to the races before," Bruce Walker said.
"I cannot see it in any other city, honestly. Chicago is the best," Aishah Hasan said.
The Chicago Sports Commission estimates that more than 53,000 people attended last year's street race, about 6,000 more than the inaugural event.
Of the people who came last year, more than half were non-local who came to Chicago primarily for the event.