When NASCAR announced its intentions to race on the streets of Chicago, it received a mixed response from the community. While some were excited and encouraged by the first-ever street course race in NASCAR history, some city residents were concerned about the effect it would have on them, including traffic diversion and noise pollution. However, the Chicago city council was mainly keen on the race’s economic impact, which was its most attractive aspect.

In October last year, Mayor Brandon Johnson revealed that the city and NASCAR were already working on a return to Chicago in July 2024. With the financial numbers not delivering as expected by NASCAR, the city has taken an economic hit, albeit a small one. But would that demotivate Johnson from allowing NASCAR to return with the Grant Park 165? Not with the prospect of an influx of $2 million in sight.

What does NASCAR’s return have in store for the city of Chicago?

As per Brandon Johnson, the initial deal might have left some room for complaints but was profitable for the city overall. Johnson has also promised that the second iteration of the Chicago Street race will require less time for road closures, event setup, and preparations for the event. One of the main reasons behind it is to have a cost-cutting effect that comes with a reduced normalization time.

Going by the open records, the new verbal deal between the decision-making body of Chicago and NASCAR promises an income of an extra $2 million in 2024. However, that number pales when compared to what the administration spent on overtime costs in the 2023 race. Last year, as per a Chicago Tribune report, the city council had to pay $2.16 million through the transportation department to set up the street track roads and about $1.4 million for the police officers working overtime.

However, the $2 million is an increase from the $620,000 fee that NASCAR paid the Chicago Park District. Last year, NASCAR proposed to pay the management $500,000 to create a street race course around Grant Park. A 2.2-mile asphalt strip would need more than $500,000 from the city council. NASCAR also paid $120,000 for the arrangement of tickets, food, and merchandise sales.

To add to these numbers, the stock-car racing governing body revealed that it paid the Chicago administration around $1.8 million in amusement taxes, which added with the other miscellaneous fees, turned out to be $2.5 million. This number is expected to rise to more than $5 million in the 2024 Chicago Street Race.

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All in all, the street race produced about $109 million in revenue. Surprisingly, that figure is still lower than what NASCAR promised: a projection of $113.8 million. With these many factors affecting the situation, it isn’t easy to please everyone.

The street race has divided Chicago’s residents

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