NASCAR Pulling Out All the Tricks to Cater Potential Money Maker in the Chicago Street Race

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

Before the 2023 Chicago Street Race took place, the city administration and NASCAR had to endure a lot of backlash. With a union of cyclists protesting outside the city council and several alder-persons criticizing the decision, it was a challenging execution. With NASCAR set to return for another race, Downtown Alderman Bill Conway, 34th, has more concerns to elaborate on.

According to Conway, Brandon Johnson’s decision not to consult with the City Council or analyze the effective expenditure of money for the race implies a deficiency of responsibility. Pre-race road closures and traffic diversions were issues for another day, as Conway criticized the verbal nature of the agreement as well.

He stated,

“It’s also not clear that $2 million will cover the cost to the city,” after claiming it is “irresponsible for a municipality to do a multimillion dollar deal with a large organization and not get that in writing.” To ease the situation, NASCAR has promised to reduce the setup and takedown time by six days in 2024. The reduction of almost a week means the city can save considerable overtime expenditures.

However, will that cover the costs this time? That is for time to tell. Adding to the opportunities the event will present, NASCAR announced that it aims to expand the street race to the small businesses of Chicago, which are searching for an audience to offer their product. NASCAR wants to introduce these business owners to the street race in 2024 to appease the public.

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Like every street race course, Chicago has had its complaints and resolutions. Despite the backlash and inclement weather, NASCAR successfully organized its first-ever street race. Will that continue in 2024? Maybe or maybe not. Let’s hope everyone is satisfied this time around.