- NASCAR and the City of Chicago are still in discussions beyond 2025
- Wet weather, street closures, and scheduling remain key challenges
- Julie Giese and Jason Lee highlight positives—but no extension yet
Julie Giese is busy. As president of the Chicago Street Race, her focus is squarely on getting the 2025 edition of NASCAR’s most ambitious urban event across the line. But while concrete barriers are going up and fan zones are being built, the long-term future of the event remains anything but certain.
The three-year agreement between NASCAR and the City of Chicago, first signed in 2022, expires after this July’s race weekend. Two mutual options exist to continue the event, but neither side has committed.
“So really right now the focus is on let’s execute a really great 2025,” Giese said. “We’ll continue to have the conversations with the city. But right now, honestly, the more consistent conversations are the planning conversations.”
Jason Lee, senior adviser to Mayor Brandon Johnson, said talks are ongoing, but no decision has been made. “We remain available to have any conversations about the future,” Lee said Monday. “I know they’ve been laser focused on executing this year’s event because there are lessons they’ve learned that they want to apply. And I think some of that, whether you successfully do that, will play a role in how they want to proceed.”
One possibility being considered is a date change. “It may make more sense to move that event to a different weekend where we don’t have as many demands on our law enforcement and other emergency personnel,” Lee told the AP. “And so that’s definitely something that we’ve contemplated, but there is also some constraints in terms of other events in the city of Chicago and the NASCAR schedule.”
Meanwhile, there are growing rumors of a new street race in Southern California. The Athletic reported in June that NASCAR is nearing a deal for a race in the San Diego area, possibly beginning as soon as next year. Giese wouldn’t confirm or deny that move, saying: “We have multiple road course races on the schedule. So I mean … I’ve not ever heard where it has to be one or the other. I mean there is room. This event, we went into it that first year knowing full well it was a proof of concept. And we showed that it is possible.”
The Chicago event was designed to replace NASCAR’s former Chicagoland Speedway date, which ended in 2019. Its location in the heart of downtown, alongside Grant Park and Lake Michigan, was selected to appeal to both long-time fans and a new, urban audience. “This is a top-three market for us, worldwide frankly, for NASCAR fans,” NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy said when the event was announced in 2022.
Street closures and public resistance remain issues. Some local businesses and residents continue to push back against the summer disruption, though the race organizers have taken steps to reduce the impact. The construction schedule has been cut from 43 days in 2023 to 25 this year. The viewing experience has also been tweaked, with a relocated concert stage and improved fan zones. Kids 12 and under get in free on race days.
Giese believes those changes have helped. “This was very different. But now it’s fun to see and hear from people in the industry that are coming in early, and they’re going to just enjoy the city for a few days,” she said. “The one piece that I hear from our drivers, especially, is they love just staying right at a hotel right across the street. They’re walking across Michigan Avenue and they’re at the course.”
That ease of access is appreciated—especially when it rains. Wet weather has affected both previous editions. Torrential rain nearly cancelled the first race in 2023, and last year’s Cup race was shortened after delays and fading daylight. But the action on track has been impressive. Shane van Gisbergen pulled off a thrilling Cup debut victory in 2023. Last year, Alex Bowman broke an 80-race drought with a win.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin sees the potential. “I think they’ve been up against it as far as conditions are concerned,” he said. “The track has been good, it’s been racy and has passing zones and the scenery is fantastic as far as the backdrop we are racing in. There’s a lot of positives for the Chicago Street Race. It will probably move around in the future, but it’s in the mold in which I would like to see any street race they continue to implement in the future.”
For now, all eyes are on July’s race weekend. What happens next for NASCAR in Chicago will be decided after the checkered flag falls.
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