On Tuesday, NASCAR announced a landmark deal that would bring a Cup Series race to the streets of Chicago beginning in 2023. Reports of a street race in Chicago have been floated for the past month while NASCAR experimented with the idea over a year ago when racing simulator iRacing built a track using the roads around Grant Park. This real life course will be the same as the virtual one.
On hand for the announcement was Chicago officials like Mayor Lori Lightfoot, various NASCAR officials, and Bubba Wallace. Wallace, one of the more well-known NASCAR stars, had a bit of fun driving his #23 McDonald’s Toyota through the streets to promote the race.
Take a drive around @NASCARChicago with @BubbaWallace! https://t.co/waX1HRyHeb
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 19, 2022
Casual drive through downtown Chicago in the @McDonalds Toyota Camry TRD #TeamToyota #McDPartner pic.twitter.com/IQGuSTlXwB
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) July 19, 2022
Crusin down the street in my 23 🎶 pic.twitter.com/y92WR1BFSZ
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) July 20, 2022
Apologies for the tire marks @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/l3v0JdGN1J
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) July 20, 2022
It’s not every day that a 670 horsepower stock car just heads down the street. Obviously, this is a carefully planned promotion and Bubba didn’t just go on a joyride Fast and the Furious style. There was a police escort and Bubba kept to the speed limit. It’s not like he was doing burnouts or weaving in and out of lanes against oncoming traffic. But if this race is meant to bring NASCAR to the people, this is one way to give the people of Chicago a taste in preparation of the real thing next year.
The NASCAR Cup Series and IMSA will be racing in Chicago on the weekend of July 1-2.
[NASCAR/23XI Racing/Bubba Wallace]
