“A City Ashamed of Itself!”: NASCAR Loyalists Slam Chicago Pushback as Street Race Future Hangs in the Balance

Sunday’s Cup Series race in Chicago was a huge success, as its earlier two versions had been in 2023 and 2024. With spectacular racing, huge economic boosts, and a highly satisfied fandom, there is little reason for the love story between NASCAR and the Windy City to end. Despite this, a renewal contract that would bring stock car racing back to the streets hasn’t been signed yet. So, why the hesitation?

While nearly every party has been pleased with NASCAR’s annual visit, not all of the city’s residents have been. This subgroup views the massive motorsports event as detrimental to its quality of life and an unnecessary venture. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Steve Greenberg published an article recently that explained the issue from a common Chicago resident’s point of view.

He spoke about how all the blocked roads and the loud noises were an unwelcome annoyance. He further delved into how the city is more into sports such as baseball and football rather than car racing. Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern shared this news story on his X handle for all his NASCAR followers to see. One doesn’t have to guess what kind of responses the post garnered.

One fan wrote, “Never seen a subset of city based reporters bitch and moan about a clearly successful event like this in my life.” In 2024, the economic impact of NASCAR visiting Chicago was $128 million. It cannot be denied that criticisms can be a tad softer when such numbers are on offer. Another fan picked apart specific words from Greenberg’s article and slammed back hard.

They commented, “The subtext in the article is what is funny. Also, other than in parts of NC and Indiana, who speaks ‘motorracing?’ It’s called tourism, exposure, commercialism, and big events coming into a big city. The age-old street course complaint, ‘I have to take a different road’, is tiresome.” And it did not end there. 

One fan who’d flown in from Australia had been left sorely disappointed. He shared his underwhelming experience, “Flew from Australia & found a city totally disinterested. On track – brilliant event. Off-track, no excitement, stores shut & the Congress Hotel … for a low number of staff, they had rude & unprofessional. Expected a proud 4th July celebration, got a city ashamed of itself!” Another said, “This sounds like it was written by a 15-year-old girl.”

All these dynamics lead to the thought that NASCAR would be better off not visiting Chicago in the future, even if the opportunity were presented. Multiple other cities, such as San Diego, Toronto, and Philadelphia, have expressed interest in holding street races. Perhaps, it is time for the promotion to cut things off for good and get into a healthier relationship.