NASCAR’s Attempts at Wooing Chicago After Experimental Weekend Leaves Fans Unsatisfied

It has been months since the inaugural Chicago Street Race took place as part of the 2023 Cup Series season. Hailed by many as a big step forward for the sport, it was also ridiculed for a few aspects of failure. Mostly attributed to poor logistics and terrible weather, the critics were even calling for a premature termination of the city’s three-year agreement with NASCAR. Though the racing promotion has undertaken a multitude of social well-being initiatives over the course of the year, the efforts don’t seem to have appeased many fans.

In a recent series of tweets on his “X” handle, Rob Elgas, a reporter for ABC7 Chicago threw light on all the good work that NASCAR has been involved in to elevate the Chicago community.

NASCAR keeps at its attempts to earn the goodwill of Chicago residents

Months before the Chicago Street Race, in February, NASCAR rode into Chicago with a special initiative for the city’s public schools. It was announced that a new curriculum and design competition would be set in motion that would promote career paths in the STEM fields. The competition was to challenge 22,000 K-12 students to design a racing helmet. The winners got tickets to the street race.

Later in the year, the promotion once again partnered with the schools and organized a NASCAR-themed academic challenge at the Field Museum in May. Now that the race is long over, the promotion continues to make its mark where it can. Rob Elgas opened up on his support for NASCAR and reported their latest move on his “X” handle.

The news that Elgas reposted from his channel’s page reported NASCAR’s donation of bikes to the schools in Chicago. With a total of 200 bikes set to be given to eight schools in the city, Julie Giese, the president of the street race said, “For NASCAR, for us, it’s about being a part of the community 365 days a year. So programs like this are one of the many we are involved in and contributing to.” Despite the relentless moves of goodwill, a certain section of fans don’t believe that NASCAR is doing enough for the community.

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Fans left unsatisfied with NASCAR’s latest donation to Chicago schools

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NASCAR’s first-ever street race was an enjoyable watching experience for sure. But it was a lot messier than anticipated. With thunderstorms, traffic issues, and noise complaints filling the sky, many were left seething after the weekend. Amongst them was the Alderman of the 34th ward, Bill Conway. As per CBS News, he said about the possibility of a future race, “As we take a look at this going forward, we are going to have to take a look at the cost-benefit analysis. We did receive some complaints, the noise of the cars and we did hear complaints regarding traffic issues.”

Following the question hanging over the return of the race in the future when the contract ends, the continued grunts of dissatisfaction don’t mend a lot of problems for NASCAR. Responding to Elgas’s post, one fan wrote, “Wow..  they really donated all those bicycles.. c’mon man..really… that’s nothing. That’s like dropping $0.25 cents into a donation bucket when you got hundreds of crispy $20s-& $ 100s.” Another continued, “How about they just pay up?”.

Though the general consensus was not against NASCAR’s efforts, views were that more could be done by a promotion that is so huge. Despite their issues with the race, one follower commented, “It had a really bad timing days after that whole Canada smoke week and then it rained the majority of the time. So close to July 4th weekend isn’t ideal, especially for the people who live (like me) really close to where the track was.”

NASCAR will get a second shot in 2024 to correct their mistakes from the first run. Should they be able to keep up with their communal efforts, run the race without the hindrances of 2023, and prove the economic benefit without doubt, there’s no reason why the city would not extend their agreement.

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