NASCAR, America’s premier stock car racing series, just wrapped up its second street race in Chicago, Illinois, and a promising weekend unfortunately turned sour when the Cup Series race was forced to end early on Sunday night.
No, it had nothing to do with the racing, which was genuinely exciting when conditions allowed. Instead, the big problems really arose on the organizational front, which fortunately means NASCAR will have a great opportunity to continue honing its street racing credentials.
Mistake 1: A late start, a sharp cut
The main problem with NASCAR street racing in Chicago is its scheduling.
The green flag for the race was scheduled for approximately 3:30 p.m. local time… but because the track is not equipped with a robust lighting system, the race necessary will end at 20:20 local time.
On a normal day, NASCAR would have easily been able to complete its entire 75-lap race around Grant Park with ease, but unfortunately, Sunday was no normal day.
The start of the race was delayed due to weather as NASCAR gave its drivers plenty of opportunities to observe the racing surface and switch from rain tires to slicks, or vice versa. Then, when the race finally began, heavier rain forced a lengthy red flag period.
Soon, it was no longer a battle to complete the race distance; it was a battle to beat the clock.
Part of the problem stems from the fact that, as many other series have done, NASCAR’s street racing in Chicago is not… only A race is a full-on entertainment event, replete with concerts and other non-motorsports activities. The goal is to introduce NASCAR racing to audiences who might otherwise never interact with the sport, in an effort to develop a new fan base.
At most other tracks, NASCAR would move the start of the race up to avoid weather events that could disrupt the race, such as the storm that hit Chicago on Sunday. But because NASCAR knew it was addressing a crowd unfamiliar with its weather protocols and because Keith Urban was scheduled to perform just before the start of the race, the series stalled. It couldn’t change the start time.
Unfortunately, that meant the race had to be shortened to fit the 8:20 p.m. time cutoff.
If NASCAR continues to strengthen its street circuit program, it will need to work with its venues to create contingency plans for future events like this. Otherwise, it risks appearing totally unprepared.
Error 2: Yellow, yellow, yellow!
When the Grant Park 165 race resumed after its red flag period and several accidents led to yellow flags, it was clear that the event was being governed by a clock, not the scheduled distance. And yet, NASCAR maintained an unnecessary procedure that results in a lengthy yellow flag.
You see, NASCAR races have something called “stages.” In an effort to bring more excitement to the races, the series divided its races into three (or four) segments by scheduling two (or three) mandatory caution periods at each event. Unfortunately, NASCAR opted to keep its stage break cautions, even while battling the clock.
While I commend NASCAR for not making sudden changes to the race format that could have caused serious problems for active strategies during the race, it should have been clear before NASCAR ended its red flag period that unnecessary extra cautions would reduce its chances of completing the scheduled distance. Eliminating stage breaks at that point would have been possible and preferable.
Instead, NASCAR kept the stage breaks in place, even when race control threw out multiple yellow flags for on-track accidents. This resulted in an amateurish feel to the race, which was stopped again and again before it really picked up.
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Mistake 3: A track surface that is difficult to dry…
The biggest cause of frustration on the Chicago street track during the two NASCAR weekends so far? Rain.
There’s not much NASCAR (or any of us, really) can do about the rain. Wet tracks have impacted racing action at most of the stock car series’ 2024 races, to the point where it can sometimes feel like a rain-free weekend is a rarity. Fortunately, the street layout meant the series was actually able to compete in the changing conditions, something it wouldn’t have been able to do on a larger oval.
But the street circuit format presents a major problem: it is difficult to dry.
This type of problem is common on many street circuits. Because street circuits are inherently narrow and require heavy concrete barriers as a lining for that narrow track surface, drainage can become an issue. If it rains, there is simply nowhere for the water to go.
On oval tracks, rain can easily be pushed off the track and into the interior. On many circuits, there is abundant runoff into which standing water can be removed.
But on a street circuit, the water has nowhere to go. NASCAR deployed a fleet of jet dryers and vacuum trucks to help displace the water, but it was a much more tedious process than usual.
In addition, the painted areas of the track also remained particularly slippery compared to the unpainted asphalt sections. Add to that more standing water and you have a slippery recipe for many crashes.
This is one of the frustrations of hosting a street race, and it’s not entirely NASCAR’s fault that a street track is difficult to dry. However, when combined with the scheduled late race start followed by the race delay, current Due to the poor weather, the race started with a feeling as if NASCAR and the Chicago street race organizers had been caught completely off guard, which is especially damning considering the weather also impacted the 2023 race.
It would be expensive to implement new drainage systems, but NASCAR and Chicago should sit down and look at other ways to reduce pooling or running water on the track, including analyzing particularly wet sections of the track over the past two years and installing vacuum trucks outside those turns to collect the water before it reaches the track.
Mistake 4: …And inexperienced drivers racing in the rain
Most full-time NASCAR drivers have little experience racing in the rain, as NASCAR has long avoided doing so. Even with wet-weather tires available, it is too dangerous to race on high-speed ovals when the surface is wet. So, while NASCAR has begun experimenting with more rain racing in 2024, many drivers remain inexperienced.
NASCAR’s move to race in the rain deserves praise; it’s a much-needed evolution in the sport. But the “trial by fire” attitude, where drivers learn to race in wet conditions on the fly, can lead to very frustrating races, riddled with rookie mistakes that put a damper on any potentially great race.
For example, one of the highlights of the weekend was the on-track performance of Shane van Gisbergen, a former Australian Supercars racer who has moved up to full-time NASCAR racing after his successful debut on the Chicago street circuit last year. Part of what made him so compelling to watch is his experience in both street racing and wet-weather racing. Van Gisbergen was able to make moves that no one else thought possible.
Motorsports is great when we get to see really talented drivers show off their skills for the world to see. Van Gisbergen was a pleasure to watch for that very reason, but he made the rest of NASCAR’s field look a little ridiculous in comparison.
Unfortunately, there’s no real way to quickly train a whole group of experienced oval racers in new and unique forms of competition, especially since it’s impossible to simply schedule a wet-weather test. But for unfamiliar events like Chicago, NASCAR may need to consider a greater amount of practice to help its drivers perform at their best.
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