Dale Earnhardt Jr. Isn’t Bothered About the Challenges NASCAR May Face in Chicago: “It’s Going to Be a First for Everybody”

As NASCAR is poised to venture into uncharted territory this weekend with its inaugural street course race in Chicago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his thoughts on what they could face this weekend. Street course racing isn’t exactly a novelty in the motorsports world, as it’s been widely adopted by other sports like IndyCar, Formula E, and Formula 1. These sports have often chosen to host races in closed-off city street sections, bringing the thrill of the race closer to the fans.

Yet, this race format is an entirely fresh concept for NASCAR. Although they have experienced road course racing, where the cars do take right turns. The upcoming Cup Series street race this Sunday promises to be a novel and electrifying experience. With anticipation and intrigue surrounding the race, the former driver recently conveyed his eagerness for the event and shared his thoughts on the challenges it presents.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares his feelings for the upcoming Chicago Street race

In a conversation with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, Junior detailed the elements he’ll be keenly observing as NASCAR embarks on its groundbreaking journey into street course racing in the Windy City this weekend. He also explained the challenges that the teams and drivers will face in this new environment. Further mentioning how that would make the racing even more interesting.

👀 “There are going to be so many unforeseen complications and challenges.” @NASCARChicago

🗣️ @DaleJr describes what he’ll be watching for in @NASCAR’s inaugural venture into street course racing in the Windy City this weekend. pic.twitter.com/GKDwsPlAhp

— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) June 28, 2023

Junior stated, “I’m actually pretty excited about this race. And the reason why I think it’s going to be a great race to watch is because, anytime that NASCAR does anything new, especially something that we’ve never done before. There are going to be so many unforeseen complications and challenges for the teams, the drivers, the cars. And it’s always fascinating to watch them navigate those challenges and that adversity, and so the track will have its challenges…”

“And like I said, every time we introduce something new, whether it’s a new car whatever it may be a new racetrack. It always has the difficult things that crop up during the whole experience that nobody expected. Which makes for exciting television, makes your storyline. We’d love to see these drivers in very very difficult situations.”

“The driver’s job and the team’s job to try to make that role as easy as possible. But when we’re entertained as viewers and broadcasters, that’s when you know when the drivers are the most challenged. That’s when that happens. So this race is going to have, I don’t even know what the problems or challenges may be, but it’s going to be a first for everybody. Typically, that means we’re going to see something we’ve never seen before. And I’m here for it. I’m looking forward to it.”

Junior believes the track will provide for some “messy” racing

Ahead of the race, Junior had the chance to drive down the same streets that would host the race. During his visit he observed and detailed places where drivers would have a tough time navigating the roads of Chicago. Junior claimed that the problems for the drivers will begin right from practice and that things would get messy.

Furthermore. he mentioned that things getting “messy” was good for the fans since they would get a spectacle to watch and keep them entertained. His comments were quite similar to the ones that Richard Childress Racing driver, Kyle Busch, had made earlier. In a previous interview ahead of the weekend, Busch had mentioned how “fans kind of sometimes enjoy calamity.”

Regardless of what transpires on race day, we hope that the show yields some good racing that keeps the fans hooked onto their screens. Once, again it is uncharted territory, valid opinions can only be formed after the inaugural race has been concluded.