NASCAR Returns to Chicagoland Speedway for First Time Since 2019 offers some perspective on the legendary track’s return to action this weekend. By Reid Scearce
For three consecutive summers, the thrills of NASCAR have been brought through downtown Chicago and the 90-degree turns of Grant Park. However, this Fourth of July weekend, race fans can look forward to the highly anticipated return of Chicagoland Speedway.
NASCAR Returns to Chicagoland Speedway
The move pauses NASCAR’s experimental, downtown Chicago Street Race, in favor of returning to a fan-favorite track that has delivered some of the most compelling racing in the sport. When the green flag drops for the eero 400 on Sunday, July 5, it will mark the first time in seven years that the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, Illinois, has hosted a NASCAR race.
After 18 years of action, Chicagoland Speedway closed following the 2019 NASCAR season, largely due to declining grandstand attendance, despite remaining a fan-favorite track known for its consistently exciting racing.
Three years after abandoning the Chicago market, NASCAR launched the Chicago Street Race which ran from 2023 to 2025. It was a spectacle event developed by NASCAR to introduce American motorsport fans to street racing, and the likes of world-class racers such as New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen, who won the inaugural race in his debut.
Nevertheless, the event’s very nature meant it always had limited permanence, being both a logistical nightmare and highly dependent on the weather. Thus, if race fans want to experience the street race once again, the city of Chicago will have to endure the operational headaches of shutting down major city arteries during Fourth of July weekend.
Chicagoland Speedway’s revival is part of NASCAR’s effort to reward its most loyal fans, while still managing a foothold in the important, lucrative Chicago market. The surrounding campgrounds will be at nearly full capacity for the holiday weekend, as Cup Series tickets are 95% sold out, according to Brake Hard.
“Our fans have been asking for a race in Joliet for the past several years,” Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer, noted when the 2026 schedule was first unveiled.
The return to the oval not only satisfies fans’ nostalgia, but the timing couldn’t be more perfect for the track’s debut of the Next Gen car on the venerable multi-groove surface. The eero 400 serves as the second leg of the TNT Sports In-Season Challenge, where drivers face off in a tournament-style bracket format over five races to determine the winner of a $1 million prize. The intermediate 1.5-mile tracks have become the absolute sweet spot for the current car blueprint, routinely producing breathtaking, side-by-side racing and heavy tire degradation.
Fourth of July Celebration in a Full Weekend of Action
Denny Hamlin holds a one-point advantage in the regular season standings over his employee driver, Tyler Reddick. Hamlin is one of the few active drivers with accolades at Chicagoland, having won the race back in 2015.
Tyler Reddick comes into this race with a chip on his shoulder, chasing redemption after a devastating mechanical failure last week at Sonoma stripped him of a season-long points lead.
Drivers with strong dirt-racing backgrounds like Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson are viewed as favorites to excel on Chicagoland’s wide racing surface, where drivers can run anywhere from the bottom apron right up against the outside wall.
The long-awaited multi-day festival started Friday night, with the ARCA Menards Series Ashley Furniture 150 under the lights. Connor Mosack brought home the trophy with his victory for Pinnacle Racing Group. The action intensifies on Saturday, July 4, with the Cuervo 300 (NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), before Sunday’s main event.