The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season will see the sport visit the streets of Chicago for the third time to conduct one of stock car racing’s most unique events. The Chicago Street Race has been one of the best examples of a changing stock car racing landscape since its introduction in 2023, complete with a new winner in the series during the inaugural year.
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However, the unique event on the streets of Windy City has seemed to run its course as NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell did not confirm its return for the 2026 season. Chicago City, much like the LA Memorial Coliseum hosting the Busch Light Clash has a three-year deal with the governance which is set to end in 2025.
“We’re just looking at 2025. It’ll be the third year of a three-year run and each year we’ve wanted to build upon the momentum that we have,” said O’Donnell of the event.
“We’ve made some tweaks to the event format and continuing to evolve that as well, so we’ll get through the event, see where things are, but concentrating on 2025 and making that event as successful as it can be,” he added on the possibility of contract extensions, giving away no details in the process.
The senior executive’s cryptic response to the future of the event also ties into how the Chicago Street Race has been unable to turn a profit for the sport despite major investments. The first year marked an expenditure of approximately $50 million from the governing body to make its racing debut on the streets of a city, which is likely to have been followed by a smaller yet similar amount the following year.
Even more thrills await these streets.
JULY 5-6, 2025 | #NASCARChicago
— NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend (@NASCARChicago) August 29, 2024
Amid the hazy future of Chicago as a future street race venue, talks surrounding San Diego hosting NASCAR’s second iteration of a race on a city’s streets take chances further away from Windy City and its return in 2026.
With the sport’s continued interest in the southern Californian market especially after the shutting down of Auto Club Speedway, it could be possible that drivers and teams are heading to San Diego come 2026.
“We are certainly interested in California and the Southern California market, and that will continue to be a focus for us, but nothing to confirm at this point,” elaborated O’Donnell on the topic.
NASCAR has already laid down the marker for newer venues and their longevity on the schedule, with the Busch Light Clash also shifting to Bowman Gray Stadium for 2025 after three years at the LA Memorial Coliseum.
One thing is for certain, the Chicago Street Race and the concept of racing inside a city as a phenomenon allowed NASCAR a breakthrough into a newer audience and has also helped cement interest with future broadcast partners such as Warner Bros. Discovery and Prime Video, as accepted by President Steve Phelps himself.
