Ryan: NASCAR deserves a second lap in Chicago but with some minor tune-ups

Sweet Home Chicago? A large swath of the stock car community certainly thinks so.

The NASCAR industry and much of its fan base need little convincing that The Windy City has earned a spot on the 2024 schedule (and perhaps permanently).

Despite record monsoons washing out the festival atmosphere in Grant Park last Sunday, the chorus of Cup drivers clamoring for a second edition was virtually unanimous.

“One thousand percent yes,” Justin Haley, the runner-up to debut winner Shane van Gisbergen , told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in a Thursday morning interview. “Just being there, it was next level entertainment. Obviously, the weather wasn’t great. Besides that, it was just an awesome event. I can’t say enough about what NASCAR did. They thought of everything. Everything was mapped out for the drivers. The logistics were so well done.

“A few things could be better, but for a first try, I don’t know what you could complain about. I’d love to do it again if I finish last or first. Just the experience of saying I did that is something really cool.”

The most-watched NASCAR on NBC race in six years drew a massive 9.3 local rating (first in U.S. markets ), indicating that Chicago was intrigued, too.

NASCAR has two more years left on its contract with the city, but the deal was brokered with the previous administration.

Mayor Brandon Johnson (who took office May 15) said he is reviewing the race weekend and soliciting input from constituents (some of whom were inconvenienced ) before deciding its future. An exit clause allows Chicago to terminate the deal with six months’ notice and without financial penalty.

The hope here certainly is that NASCAR would be granted another year – if for no other reason than to be given a fair shake at hosting a weekend uninterrupted by the threat of biblical flash floods.

No street race goes off without a hitch. Temporary tracks erected on permanent city streets are always fluid affairs with access points, fan amenities and midway layouts that can vary annually (if not daily).

As the first street race in the NASCAR Cup Series' 75-year history, Chicago came off remarkably well for an inaugural event (aside from the uncontrollable weather that caused three of four concerts to be canceled). And as with any street race, it also produced typical observations and suggestions for potential improvements.

Here are a few while we keep our fingers crossed for next year to be confirmed:

Cars! Cars Cars!

The most striking thing about how well-received NASCAR was in Chicago?

This was a street race lacking the omnipresent sounds and smells that are a centerpiece of any successful counterpart.

Once the spectator gates open in Long Beach and St. Petersburg, the gaps are short between cars constantly pounding the pavement and filling the air with roaring engines and spent fuel.

With IndyCar as the headliner for both, this year’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg hosted five additional series (Indy NXT, USF Pro 2000, USF2000, GT America and MX-5 Cup) as did the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup, Stadium Super Trucks, Historic Motorsports Association, Formula D Super Drift)

The cacophony of vehicles from myriad racing series provides the backing track for these motorsports carnivals that are as much about throwing a party as attending a race.

That seemed to be the initial plan for Chicago, which originally announced an IMSA support series (that was unspecified and quietly disappeared).

Enhancing the schedule with the NASCAR-affiliated sports cars would be a simple option. NASCAR also has talked to other series (including Formula E and IndyCar) about sharing a street course bill.

There would be some issues. Street courses with several series usually run at least three days, and NASCAR was limited to two in Chicago because the closures of DuSable Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue weren’t allowed until Friday night. Because of the course’s proximity to Chicago’s museum district, there also are concerns about noise (though the new Next Gen mufflers largely seemed to address that last weekend).

But there seems room to grow and help build the atmosphere by adding series. Unlike a typically compact street race, the Chicago schedule had no overlap between the concerts and the limited time that Cup and Xfinity cars were on track.

Consider the first year as a “soft open” for a city that knew little about NASCAR, much less street racing. Now that many have been sold on the concept, the focus can tilt more toward cars over concerts.

Have one nightly headliner instead of trying to cram in an extra musical act between Cup qualifying and the Xfinity race (which ended up shortening the Black Crowes’ set to 40 minutes after several incidents while setting Sunday’s starting lineup).

That also brings us to …

Park rules

The one instance in which NASCAR seemed caught a little flat-footed was Saturday night when Grant Park was evacuated during the Xfinity race because of a potential for lightning strikes. The race was postponed , and the postrace concert by The Chainsmokers was canceled — under clear skies.

The inclement weather skirted the area, and NASCAR was left with the jarring juxtaposition of empty grandstands and grounds while sidewalks across Michigan Avenue were bustling with diners and theatergoers.

NASCAR and race officials were aware of the city's severe weather policy, but the messaging confused many in the grandstands, and it raised some questions.

Once NASCAR’s lightning clock had expired, could the Xfinity race have been completed without fans? (Yes, and that also held true when the gates initially were closed Sunday morning for the ultimately doomed rescheduling of an Xfinity race that never restarted.)

What happens to Lollapalooza in these situations? (The music festival's organizers have canceled bands but held to the headliner schedule while waiting for fans to be readmitted.)

NASCAR is accustomed to racing at self-owned tracks under far less regulatory scrutiny. But the sanctioning body doesn’t get to make the rules when racing on downtown public property, which stresses the importance of building relationships with those who make these kinds of calls for the city.

While NASCAR made inroads into the community through charities and youth initiatives, establishing stronger ties with Chicago's bureaucrats have seemed a blind spot for the past year.

Cities with street races generally are incentivized to help organizers. St. Pete wanted the NTT IndyCar Series, and the season opener annually has become part of the city’s fabric with a presence extending dozens of blocks beyond course boundaries. Long Beach’s race is an institution that is as synonymous with the city as Snoop Dogg and the Queen Mary.

When the Detroit Grand Prix was relocated downtown this year, it was anchored at the worldwide headquarters of General Motors and marshaled by Roger Penske’s top lieutenants.

It’s well documented that NASCAR lacked such a groundswell of support in Chicago (especially after the mayoral regime change). The event could use a "fixer” to help navigate the city’s political machine.

Building bridges

There were three pedestrian bridges for fans navigating the Chicago Street Race. The grounds could have used at least one more – particularly in the Hutchinson Field where the concert stage was located. The thousands who attended The Black Crowes ran into a massive logjam trying to cross Balbo Drive back to the grandstand and suite areas in time for the Xfinity race (the wait was at least 15 minutes for those who stayed to the end of the show).

While the bridges could have been wider to help with ingress/egress, the major reasons for the backups were 1) the lack of supervised traffic flow (maintaining one direction on either side of a middle railing); and 2) fans pausing with their phones while above the track.

Both issues easily could be corrected with attentive security and limiting the views from the bridge (generally accomplished by putting obstructive mesh/privacy screening over the fences).

Another date?

Prior to the weekend, there was significant (and understandable) enmity from longtime residents who were unhappy the race had displaced The Taste of Chicago. The longtime food festival had been a July staple in Grant Park for four decades before the pandemic. After a scaled-down version returned to Grant Park last year , the Taste was moved to the Sept. 8-10 weekend this year to accommodate the NASCAR race.

NASCAR’s contract calls for the 2024 race to be held on the July 6-7 weekend . But if it helps in winning goodwill with the mayor and the city, perhaps another (and cooler?) date could be negotiated.

Just make sure the Bears aren’t in town.