NASCAR in Chicago a Resounding Success - Despite Rain

With the race scheduled to start at 4:00 P.M, I approached the Chicago Athletic Association to pick up my pass for the NASCAR event around 3:30. Walking on Michigan Ave., right across the street from the entrance into Grant Park; I am in a pool of water that takes up the entire sidewalk, the rain begins to pick up even more, and people begin giving up on walking in the rain to take shelter under whatever roof they can find.

I call a work colleague who is amongst those in the city who did not purchase tickets to the event, waiting outside the fences hoping to get a glimpse of the cars driving during this historic event, he tells me people are beginning to clear out, as it is starting to look like there was no chance that racing would take place that day.

I walked into a completely flooded Grant Park with no expectation that I would be able to witness any racing that day. Throughout the next hour, the rain did not look like it was going away anytime soon. It looked as though NASCAR would need a miracle to avoid a generational debacle.

Yet, around 5:19 P.M, a mere 80 minutes after the original starting time, the pace car came out to a crowd that seemed to have forgotten the fact they have been sitting in the rain for several hours, and racing was about to start.

Despite all the uncertainty and rumors that were going around the crowd during the delay, after the first car turned its engine on, any regrets race goers may have had beforehand seemed to be quelled.

What started off as an expectation of the worst, turned out to be one of the best sporting experiences I have ever been apart of. I had been to a NASCAR race previously back when Chicagoland Motor Speedway was a regular on the circuit, but the experience of the race in the streets of Chicago exceeded whatever I had expected it would be beforehand.

The details of the race itself are irrelevant, anybody that loves the city of Chicago would have fallen in love with what they had witnessed at the race. Between the turn onto Lake Shore Drive with the Field Museum in the backdrop (pictured above), the final stretch of the course on Michigan Ave. with the El continuing its regularly scheduled drop-offs, to the main concourse of the event surrounding Buckingham Fountain, it was truly a special event for the City.

I thought the concept of having a street race in Chicago was something a little unique, but as a one and done situation originally. After witnessing the inaugural weekend, I believe this is an event that can become a staple of our city for years to come, much like Lollapalooza or Tase of Chicago. I encourage anybody who has an opportunity to see this event in the future to do so. As somebody who had to deal with the craziness that took place during the rain, I encourage the city and NASCAR not to let the noise disrupt plans to have this event continued for years to come. It truly was a special experience I would recommend to anybody with a special place in their heart for Chicago. Looking forward to reporting my experiences next time!