NASCAR expanding to a new track always comes with a lot of conversation, with the LA Coliseum and the North Wilkesboro Speedway being the recent points of reference. Unsurprisingly, this weekend’s race in Chicago has been shrouded with discussions, aided by the fact that it is the first Street Race to be part of the NASCAR calendar. Stewart Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick recently gave his two cents on what he feels about the sport’s big bet and spoke largely on the same lines as Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Harvick, who is set to retire from full-time racing at the end of the season, has been around the sport for more than two decades and has probably seen more than any driver currently in the garage.
Kevin Harvick believes NASCAR is on the right track with races like Chicago
When asked how he personally feels about the race in Chicago this week, Harvick said, “I look back at the Busch Clash last year at the L.A. Coliseum and, before we left for that race, everybody thought it was going to be a complete joke and we thought we were going to look like complete fools, but it was probably the best event of last year.”
The 2014 Cup Series champion also feels that NASCAR coming to Chicago is a win-win for everyone involved, expressing, “Chicago’s obviously a huge market for anything with all the people and eyeballs, and I’m all for events, great events – I love great events – and Chicago is going to be an event. It’s in a great setting, and I think everybody’s looking forward to the challenge of the course and trying to do everything we need to do to put on a good show.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on how this race is important for NASCAR’s future
Riding through the street circuit in the passenger’s seat, Dale Jr. said, “I have long been excited about street course race in NASCAR and just didn’t know where or when it might happen, or if it would ever happen.”
Earnhardt has also repeatedly emphasized how this race is critical for NASCAR in the larger scheme of things, believing, “It is really ambitious. I was, uh, not surprised by NASCAR wanting to do something ambitious. We’re celebrating our 75th year as an industry and so, we’ve had some firsts honestly in the last few years. Racing at the Coliseum in LA and all of those ideas have sort of gave this kind of new confidence to NASCAR.”
While many have pointed out the dangers of a street race in stock car racing, no one can deny the efforts NASCAR is taking to open up the sport to new audiences. Only the response and ratings on Sunday will tell us if the Chicago experiment was a success.
