Until 2023, NASCAR stars were used to racing on tracks surrounded by pretty plain landscapes. All the venues were more or less in a similar setting, a long drive away from the closest city or town. And then, the Chicago Street Course popped up. Drivers have been racing through the dense streets of Chicago for the last two years, and Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott, for one, loves it.
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The 2020 Cup Series champion was alongside his fellow competitor Bubba Wallace in an interview with Fox32 when he opened up on how different the weekend in Chicago was from others. He said, “Just walking out of the hotel room, walking to the pits, and getting in the car going to race or practice is such a departure from the norm.”
“I think that kind of fuels the fire of having something different on our schedule. My friends that have come to the race are like, ‘Man, that’s the coolest thing ever.’ It is such a different experience. I think it’s nice to spice that up on our schedule.” Surely, he doesn’t mind the challenge of competing in diverse atmospheres either.
In 2023, he finished the street course race in third place. In 2024, he fell to 21st place. Elliott’s love for road courses is no secret. He is one of the best road course racers in the active field currently. He continued to explain how racing on Chicago’s streets has been different from the typical road course.
Chase Elliott explains the differences between Chicago and other road courses
The most crucial point to note, according to Elliott, is that there isn’t a lot of room for error in a narrow street course. “A lot of the normal road courses you go to, you can get away with a mistake. If you’re in practice and you wanna find your limit, you typically have some room to run off track or whatever. But here, there is no room to run off the track.”
Barriers constrict the track on its sides and prevent drivers from going over the lines in Chicago. Maximizing his limit in such trying conditions is what Elliott feels has been his biggest challenge. However, he admitted that it might not be the same for his competitors. NASCAR will race in Chicago for the third time this year.
The future of the race is still uncertain, considering the promotion’s contract with the city comes to a close this season. An update on the same is expected over the coming months.
