{"id":37178,"date":"2025-07-04T04:49:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T04:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/37178\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T04:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T04:49:10","slug":"nascar-continues-impact-on-south-and-west-sides-with-speed-and-sound-fest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/37178\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR continues impact on South and West Sides with Speed and Sound Fest"},"content":{"rendered":"

In addition to getting ready for this weekend\u2019s Cup Series and Xfinity Series races, drivers in Chicago this week have spent time attending community events \u2014 including some meant to introduce NASCAR to underrepresented areas that might not other-wise pay much attention to the sport.<\/p>\n

One of the last events before the third annual Chicago Street Race extravaganza was the Speed and Sound Fest on Thursday at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side, where NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace \u2014 one of three Black drivers to win a national series race \u2014 had previously held his \u201cBubba\u2019s Block Party\u201d event in 2023. The fest, which included food trucks representing a variety of local businesses, exposed attendees to NASCAR through a live simulator, a car show and a demonstration of the technology behind constructing a NASCAR car.<\/p>\n

This week, NASCAR also hosted an immersion day in partnership with After School Matters, a NASCAR Family Fest with hands-on activities and a NASCAR-themed field day at the South Side YMCA.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Nascar drivers Alex Bowman and John Hunter Nemechek speak Thursday during the NASCAR Speed & Sound Fest at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side.<\/p>\n

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\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Latresha Flowers wins a tote bag by a turn of the spin Thursday during the NASCAR Speed & Sound Fest at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side.<\/p>\n

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\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Rashaun Crockett and Rose Dorsey looks at the Corvette 2992 LT-1 with a horror movie theme during the NASCAR Speed & Sound Fest at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side on Thursday.<\/p>\n

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\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Everett Berry and son Conway Berry with the Corvette \u201cShockwave Speedy\u201d Grand Sport during the NASCAR Speed & Sound Fest on Thursday at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side.<\/p>\n

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\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Kelly Simmons and Makayla Colbert and Mustang GT 1999 on Thursday during the NASCAR Speed & Sound Fest at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side.<\/p>\n

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\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Nascar drivers Alex Bowman and John Hunter Nemechek speak to attendees with Chicago historian Shermann \u201cDilla\u201d Thomas during the NASCAR Speed & Sound Fest at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side on Thursday.<\/p>\n

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\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Attendees enjoy the NASCAR Speed & Sound Fest at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side on Thursday.<\/p>\n

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\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

Mora Thompson and Mia Kay Berry and Todd Heggemeier with the 2023 C8 Z51 R Corvette during the NASCAR Speed & Sound Fest at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on the South Side on Thursday.<\/p>\n

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\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was something that we have said from Day 1 \u2014 that we want to be in the communities 365 days a year,\u201d said Julie Giese, president of the Chicago Street Race. \u201cWe want to be present. We want to be authentic. And so bringing NASCAR to all of [these attendees] is important to us. We want to give back. We want to make a positive impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driver Alex Bowman, who won last year\u2019s Grant Park 165, the Cup Series portion of the Chicago Street Race, attended the fest at DuSable and the event at the South Side YMCA. Bowman\u2019s sponsor, Ally Financial, provided shoes for children in attendance, who got to observe a pit crew demonstration.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big part of this weekend is what we\u2019re doing [Thursday] with all the stops we\u2019re making, just exposing NASCAR to different communities,\u201d Bowman said.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Drive for Diversity program was established in 2004 to identify and develop drivers from diverse backgrounds, also well as open lucrative opportunities in pit crews. Last year, Briana Daniels became the first Black woman to join a NASCAR pit crew \u2014 just the sort of example NASCAR hopes to highlight when it showcases the sport in non-traditional communities.<\/p>\n

Shermann \u201cDilla\u201d Thomas, a Chicago historian who has worked with NASCAR starting with the first Chicago Street Race in 2023, said he has been pleased with the investments on the South and West sides, areas often overlooked by visitors when they travel to Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re leading the pack,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cNASCAR Chicago hits the South and West side purposefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas wasn\u2019t familiar with NASCAR himself before the Chicago Street Race.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I] didn\u2019t know any terminology, and now I\u2019m a full-fledged fan,\u201d he said. \u201cThis [event] is helpful for some exposure. Once you\u2019re exposed, you can learn about jobs and different careers. Somebody\u2019s son might love flying a drone, and there\u2019s stuff for them in NASCAR.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those sorts of opportunities matter more than complaints about street closures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we Chicagoans don\u2019t want NASCAR closing down our streets for nothing, but the amount of money that NASCAR generates for Chicago .\u2009.\u2009. it\u2019s hard to argue against,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In addition to getting ready for this weekend\u2019s Cup Series and Xfinity Series races, drivers in Chicago this…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-37178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114793168968849890","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37178","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=37178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}