{"id":32328,"date":"2025-07-02T10:20:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T10:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/32328\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T10:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T10:20:10","slug":"nascar-chicago-street-race-puts-city-back-on-national-tv-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/32328\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Chicago Street Race puts city back on national TV stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The annual NASCAR Chicago Street Race is upon us, and the forecast calls for a 50% chance of thunderstorms and 100% chance of flooding the airwaves with shots of The Bean, the beach, skyscrapers and deep-dish pizza.<\/p>\n

But as the street race enters its third and possibly final run through Grant Park this July Fourth weekend, it may be time to take stock of a hard to quantify but potentially invaluable benefit: a seemingly endless loop through the Loop on national TV.<\/p>\n

Beyond tens of thousands of expected attendees, Chicago\u2019s telegenic lakefront and skyline will once again serve as a live backdrop to race cars careening around an urban circuit for millions of viewers during the better part of Saturday and Sunday afternoon, creating one giant commercial for the city.<\/p>\n

By the end of the weekend, tiny Balbo Drive, which is at the center of the pop-up street course, may be as famous as Mr. Beef, the setting for the hit TV series \u201cThe Bear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the NASCAR event goes well, and hopefully the weather will hold up, it gives the city a huge amount of attention, and that is very, very hard to replace,\u201d said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University\u2019s Kellogg School of Management. \u201cThe city doesn\u2019t have enough money to ever spend on advertising to generate that type of reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chicago is set to host the street race on a 12-turn, 2.2-mile course through Grant Park, down DuSable Lake Shore Drive and up Michigan Avenue. The Xfinity Series Loop 110, which features mostly younger up-and-coming NASCAR drivers, will be broadcast Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on the CW Network and local affiliate WGN-TV. The Grant Park 165 Cup Series race will air Sunday at 1 p.m. on cable channel TNT.<\/p>\n

While the street race navigated everything from Canadian wildfire haze to record rainfall during its first two years, it proved to be a very successful TV event for previous host network NBC.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the inaugural Cup Series street race averaged nearly 4.8 million viewers<\/a> despite a torrential rain delay. Last year, the Grant Park 165, broken up by nearly two hours of programming filler during a steady summer rain, averaged 3.87 million viewers<\/a>, according to Nielsen data.<\/p>\n

TNT is in the first season of a new seven-year rights agreement with NASCAR, carrying a five race \u201cin-season challenge\u201d that began last weekend with the Quaker State 400 from Atlanta. The Chicago Street Race on Sunday is the second and biggest stop on the network\u2019s NASCAR tour.<\/p>\n

The cable network, which last hosted the NASCAR Cup Series in 2014, averaged 1.6 million viewers for its return covering Saturday night\u2019s wreck-filled race in Atlanta, which included a massive 23-car pileup and a 25-minute rain delay.<\/p>\n

\"AA pedestrian walks past barricades and scaffolding near East Congress Plaza Drive on June 30, 2025, that are set up for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race this weekend. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Navigating Chicago\u2019s streets may make for an even more unpredictable race. Last week, the city shut down Balbo and Columbus Drive earlier than planned to repair a massive pavement buckle<\/a> caused by the recent heat wave.<\/p>\n

To cover the Chicago event, TNT began setting up Monday in Grant Park, bringing in a tech crew of 260 people, along with a 20-person production staff and 10 announcers, working out of six mobile units and an office\/trailer. A broadcast studio will be located next to the start\/finish line at Buckingham Fountain.<\/p>\n

TNT will employ 50 cameras around the track to capture the race and environs, including 10 robotic cameras, six in-car cameras, and a helicopter, drone and Goodyear Blimp for aerial shots of the most unique setting for any NASCAR race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys are going to be on the track, and they\u2019re going to navigate this very, very, very narrow racetrack,\u201d said Shannon Spake, a NASCAR broadcast veteran who hosts the pre-race and post-race coverage for TNT. \u201cBut this is the weekend for the city of Chicago to shine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early forecasts, however, predict the city might once again not be shining during Sunday\u2019s race, with a 50% chance of afternoon thunderstorms.<\/p>\n

If that happens, it will fall upon Spake and her colleagues to try to keep the audience tuned in during any delays, a challenging task at best, as Chicago Street Race viewers in 2023 and 2024 can attest.<\/p>\n

\u201cRain fills are like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute,\u201d Spake said. \u201cSometimes there\u2019s no commercial breaks, you don\u2019t know who\u2019s coming up to the desk. It\u2019s very much like free falling, but it\u2019s so much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WorkersWorkers put up barricades and scaffolding on South Columbus Drive on June 30, 2025, in preparation for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race scheduled for this weekend. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the CW, which is also new to the Chicago Street Race, is hoping for a ratings boost from Saturday\u2019s Xfinity Series broadcast, rain or shine.<\/p>\n

The CW Network began carrying NASCAR\u2019s 33-race Xfinity Series this year, the first of a seven-year agreement. The Loop 110 will air in Chicago on Nexstar Media-owned WGN-TV, which reclaimed its CW affiliation last year after a nearly decade-long hiatus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is certainly a race that pops on the schedule,\u201d said Brad Schwartz, a media veteran who was named president of entertainment for the CW network in November 2022, one month after it was acquired by Nexstar, the nation\u2019s largest local TV station ownership group. \u201cAnd so I would expect to see one of the highest ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n

While NBC also carried the Loop 110, most Xfinity Series races last year aired on the network\u2019s USA cable channel. Ratings are up this year, with 14 of 16 Xfinity races reaching more than 1 million viewers, according to the CW Network.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2006, the CW has long aspired to be the fifth major broadcast network, banking initially on young adult scripted dramas like \u201cGossip Girl\u201d to build its audience. Under Nexstar, the CW has been beefing up its sports programming with everything from LIV Golf and ACC college football to WWE wrestling and PBA Bowling.<\/p>\n

Sports now represent 40% of the CW\u2019s programming schedule, Schwartz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past two years, we\u2019ve gone from zero hours of sports to 500 hours of sports (per year),\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone from zero viewers ever watching sports on the CW to now we\u2019ve had over 40 million people watching sports on the CW.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DriversDrivers race down Balbo Drive during the NASCAR Chicago Street Race in Grant Park on July 7, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

WGN-TV, which was an inaugural affiliate of the CW Network when it launched in 2006, has seen strong ratings for the Xfinity Series this year. Seeking to leverage the hometown connection, it is heavily promoting the Chicago Street Race this week, including on-air driver interviews, promotions and a perfunctory Chicago hot dog taste test.<\/p>\n

While it is the first year for both TNT and the CW to carry the Chicago Street Race, there is some question as to whether it will be the last. This year\u2019s race completes an inaugural three-year agreement with NASCAR. The deal, struck during former Mayor Lori Lightfoot\u2019s administration, includes a two-year renewal option.<\/p>\n

\n

DePaul partners with Spire Motorsports ahead of NASCAR Chicago Street Race<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

NASCAR is reportedly in negotiations to hold a street race in San Diego<\/a> next year, which may be in addition to Chicago, or perhaps will replace the Chicago one.<\/p>\n

Mayor Brandon Johnson didn\u2019t answer directly when asked Tuesday if he wants the NASCAR race to continue beyond this weekend, saying \u201cit\u2019s about having conversations to make sure we\u2019re getting the most out of this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson also nodded to the rain that has plagued recent editions of the Chicago Street Race. \u201cFirst of all, we\u2019re just hoping this year there\u2019s good weather,\u201d he said at a City Hall news conference. \u201cIt looks like Saturday we\u2019re going to be OK. Sunday is a little iffy, a little cloudy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the street race generated $128 million in total economic impact and drew 53,036 unique visitors, according to a study commissioned by Choose Chicago, the city\u2019s tourism arm.<\/p>\n

The nationally televised Cup Series race also generated $43.6 million in media value for Chicago, according to a companion report.<\/p>\n

If the city loses the street race, filling the marketing void won\u2019t be easy, Calkins said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way you replace this event is with another big event,\u201d Calkins said. \u201cAnd big events aren\u2019t easy to come by, and they can be very expensive and complicated for a city to put on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chicago Tribune\u2019s Jake Sheridan contributed.<\/p>\n

rchannick@chicagotribune.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The annual NASCAR Chicago Street Race is upon us, and the forecast calls for a 50% chance of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32329,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,21890,5386,1818,1406],"class_list":{"0":"post-32328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-chicago-street-race","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-illinois","12":"tag-nascar"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114783140257907508","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}