NASCAR Chicago Street Race prevails despite record-breaking downpour

Fourth of July weekend marked a historic occasion for the city of Chicago as the first-ever NASCAR Chicago Street Race took place on Saturday, July 1 and Sunday, July 2. New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen won the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220, despite hectic weather circumstances earlier in the day and a delay to the main event. 

The days leading up to the first-ever NASCAR Chicago Street Race gave the public fun opportunities to take in some of the action, even for those not attending the race. Some of the biggest highlights included NASCAR Night at Navy Pier, Bubba's Block Party, NASCAR Night at Wrigley Field, and Ricky Stenhouse Junior at Mariano's.

On Friday night before the race, NASCAR drivers took to the red carpet at RPM Seafood for the official NASCAR Chicago Street Race Welcome Party. Chicago Star's Candace Jordan and Susan Berkes interviewed team owner Ben Kennedy and driver Andy Lally, who expressed their excitement for taking on the street course.

The NASCAR Track Communications team anticipated the fast and furious race to attract a crowd of approximately 100,000 over the entire weekend. The first day likely reached about 50,000 as fans watched practice and qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The Black Crowes and JC Brooks Band performed concerts on the vast Lakefront Green lawn.

Saturday evening was cut short as storms and lightning moved in, causing the NASCAR Xfinity Series Loop 121 to end two laps short of halfway in the 55-lap race. NASCAR officials announced they would not move the second-tier circuit to Monday and deemed Cole Custer the winner. The Chainsmokers, who were expected to perform Saturday night, were also canceled. 

Sunday’s headcount saw a significant downfall as severe thunderstorms hit Chicago and made national news. Miranda Lambert and Charley Crockett’s concerts were canceled and the Grant Park 220 was delayed for over an hour with no events taking place until 5:30 p.m. 

On Sunday, the National Weather Service reported some areas of Chicago were hit with as much as 9 inches of rain. The downpour caused dangerous flooding to highways, damage to homes, power outages, and closures to parts of the Blue and Pink CTA lines.     

Fans waited for hours in Grant Park during the several flash flood warnings, some expressing their frustration towards the lack of communication from NASCAR officials. Around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, one VIP fan commented, “I had to get out of there. We’ve been waiting since the gates opened but the track kept flooding and we didn’t hear anything about how long it would be. I’m guessing they’ll push it until tomorrow at this point.”

As the rain started to let up, NASCAR officials pushed through the day’s chaos. Originally set to perform outdoors, Uniting Voices sang the National Anthem inside the media center in the Art Institute of Chicago. Also in the media center, grand marshal for the NASCAR Cup Series — Bears quarterback Justin Fields — gave the announcement for drivers to start their engines.

Upon starting, drivers completed several test laps to determine the quality of the previously flooded track before the green flag for racing was finally given. The Grant Park 220 turned out to be well worth the wait with crowds roaring as the drivers picked up speed. Hoards of onlookers without tickets lined the streets around the track to take in the sounds of the cars, which could be heard blocks away. 

NBC covered the race live and posted exciting up-close street race coverage on their Twitter, including highlights like this traffic jam on lap 50. The race was soon cut down from 100 laps to 75 about an hour before sunset and by the end it was sent into overtime. 

Shane van Gisbergen led the way with less than ten laps to go and pulled through in time to win his NASCAR debut while driving the No. 91 Chevrolet under the aegis of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 program. According to NASCAR officials, the three-time Supercars champion is the first driver in sixty years to win his debut NASCAR Cup Series race.