As the dust settles on a historic Grant Park 220 in Chicago, it almost seems like a guarantee that NASCAR will return to the circuit in the coming years. And with good reason. Most, from the teams to the drivers, were in awe of what NASCAR was able to pull off on Sunday. Chase Elliott certainly was. The 2020 champion had only positives to take from the race and is already looking forward to more such expansion plans by the sport.
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Many were left wondering if more street courses will be added to the calendar, considering the expansion plans already in store. Hopefully, Sunday provided some answers.
Chase Elliott hails NASCAR on Chicago achievement
Elliott was impressed by how NASCAR had prepared for the weekend, especially considering the amount of scrutiny that comes when an experiment of this scale occurs. The Hendrick Motorsports driver said, “The way this was put together and just me looking at the track, walking out there and seeing just the fab work on the walls and just how nice it is — that really speaks volumes (about) everyone involved.”
Chase Elliott said he wasn’t even pushing it on his first lap on slicks when he had his incident while some good fortune on the pit strategy helped boost him to a third-place finish. Elliott admitted that SVG put on a clinic for the Cup drivers. pic.twitter.com/y3tjdXCyOE
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 3, 2023
Elliott also thinks that the future is bright for NASCAR when it comes to opening new doors in new cities and tracks, saying, “I’m really impressed with that. It gives me a ton of confidence going forward that if other cities are interested in having us … we can go and pull this off somewhere else, too.”
NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell has bigger targets in mind
After the race, during the media session, NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell joined and spoke on the historic weekend and how it may potentially shape NASCAR’s expansion strategy in the future.
O’Donnell said, “We’re all confident at NASCAR that we could take the Cup Series anywhere we want. I know the race we put on today would sell and would be embraced globally for sure.”
A successful foray into street racing is a big boost to the sport, considering most countries have street circuits that can be used as prospective race tracks. The only thing that remains to be seen is if the NASCAR faithful embrace the very concept of street course racing.
