As NASCAR returns to Chicago with road race, here's a look at the city's racing history
On July 15, 2001, Kevin Harvick won the first modern-day NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway while driving for team owner Richard Childress during his rookie season.
The notation of “modern-day” lends to the fact that NASCAR raced in the Windy City previously: It was 45 years before Harvick crossed under the checkered flag at a place known far more in national football circles than auto racing.
With NASCAR returning to Chicago for this weekend's Grant Park 220 road race, here's a look back at the history of racing in Chicago.
In 1956, NASCAR’s Cup Series, then the Grand National division, visited Chicago for a single event on a half-mile paved oval on Soldier Field. In 1971, the Chicago Bears began calling the iconic landmark their home.
Andy Granatelli, later known for his role with STP Corporation in open-wheel Indy Car and NASCAR ventures, promoted the 1956 race and worked with NASCAR’s founder Bill France Sr. to bring the race to Chicago.
NASCAR superstar Glen "Fireball" Roberts won the 1956 event while driving a Ford for team owner Pete DePaolo. Ralph Moody ran third in another DePaolo car, with the three Dodges of owner Carl Kiekhaefer—driven by Speedy Thompson, Frank Mundy and Buck Baker—finishing fourth through sixth. Moody also was known as the second half of the famed Holman-Moody factory operation that built turnkey race cars for Ford Motor Co.
NASCAR’s Cup Series presence was short-lived at Soldier Field but three of NASCAR’s Convertible Series races were held there. In 1956, Chicago native Tom Pistone won the first of those races over NASCAR legend Curtis Turner.
Turner outran Joe Weatherly on the half-mile oval later that year for the second convertible win on the track. Then in 1957, Glen Wood, longtime owner and founder of Wood Brothers Racing, won the third of his five career Convertible Series victories, beating Possum Jones in a close finish.
JIMMIE JOHNSON FAMILY TRAGEDY: NASCAR driver's in-laws, nephew killed in possible murder-suicide in Muskogee
WHO'S WINNING? Kyle Busch, William Byron, Martin Truex surge as NASCAR Cup draws closer to playoffs
History of Chicagoland Speedway
As far as the history of Chicagoland Speedway, a who’s who of Cup Series drivers collected victories there through 2019, with Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports taking the final checkered flag in 2019. Harvick, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr. topped the win column with two wins each in the 19 Cup Series races held there, starting in 2001.
This weekend, NASCAR will hold its first-ever street course race overlooking Lake Michigan. The course includes South Lakeshore Drive and will turn onto East Roosevelt Road through its fourth turn before heading north onto South Columbus Avenue, past the finish line for the Chicago Marathon.
Reviews among drivers are mixed as to how the cars will perform on the street course. Some are in favor of the idea, while others are skeptical and cautious. Only time will tell as to how it will all play out in NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series competition scheduled for July 1-2. The festivities include concerts from a variety of nationally known performers, driver appearances and fan entertainment venues in downtown Chicago.
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Racing Ford, noted that changes have come in recent years. This may be one of the biggest to date.
“It’s not been 15 years of the same tracks over and over,” Logano said as part of a NASCAR release on the race. “It’s something fresh. Whether it’s the car or schedule changing, a lot of the stuff has changed. It’s always important for us to keep in mind what got us here or what’s the roots.
“I think we’ve done a good job, but (we’re) also evolving with the times. Our sport has always evolved and changed. We need to continue, and I think we’ve seen a lot of success for our sport—going to venues that we’ve never been to before.”
Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Front Row Racing Ford, has competed in IndyCar at Surfers Paradise in 2005, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series at Long Beach in 2006, and the Grand American Road Racing Series in 2006 in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada. It’s believed he may have the most street course experience among the Cup drivers entered.
“… There has been a lot of hype going into this weekend, and we definitely feel that this is a great opportunity for us,” McDowell said. “… It’s going to play into the hands of guys that have done races like this, and that adapt quickly. We are talking about the best drivers in the world, so they’re going to figure it out really fast. I don’t think I have an ‘advantage.’ I just feel like my comfort level is a bit higher than the majority of the guys that haven’t seen a street course before.”
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 RCR Enterprises Chevrolet, feels the street course has many challenges the 38 drivers in the field will have to deal with on the 12-turn course throughout the 100-lap, 220-mile race.
"It’s really rough. It’s bumpy. It’s slippery,” Busch said. “There’s some corners that are very challenging ... some blind ones at that. When you’re going around the Bean on the left-hander, that’s really, really slippery and there’s a huge bump going through (turn) nine before you get into (turn) 10. ... It's going to be a tight street course.”
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NASCAR Chicago road race and history at Chicagoland Speedway
