NASCAR is taking to the streets of Chicago

Here's a map of the layout, Lake Michigan is in the top of the rendering. It's a 12 turn, 2.2 mile course located 3 blocks south of the Chicago River. This race will replace the road course race at Road America on next year's schedule.

What do you guys think?

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I’m not a NASCAR fan, but this is the type of change that could make me one.
 
Road America was the worst road course on the schedule, so good to get it gone, but I’d rather go to Gilles Villeneuve or Mosport. Stock cars aren’t meant for narrow street courses. I think it’s gonna be a bigger disaster than it would be if F1 tried to take on Bristol
 
Terrible idea. The cars are too big and not nimble enough for street circuits. Also, look at that layout. Most of those turns are almost 90 degrees. A bulky stock car on a layout like that is just begging for disaster and shit racing.
 
hopefully, they'll put some pylons
in front of the bldgs -
yeah, that'll do it -
 
MagicTaco said:
Eliminate turn 1 and 6 and make it a true figure 8 course and I'm in.
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Nothing physically preventing them from actually doing this. It could be done! It SHOULD be done!


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Bayou Tiger said:
Nothing physically preventing them from actually doing this. It could be done! It SHOULD be done!


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Far too dangerous unless they prop up some jump ramps in one direction. Let’s make this full on hot-wheels. Maybe add a loop too.
 
Gatorchip said:
Far too dangerous unless they prop up some jump ramps in one direction. Let’s make this full on hot-wheels. Maybe add a loop too.
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But I’m guessing this will be NASCAR’s first street course since the 50’s with the Daytona Beach course that was partly on the beach and part on the highway
 
I like the idea, but not the course selection or layout.

The street is too narrow, it's going to be a NASCAR version of Monaco, mostly follow the leader with few overtakes or passing.
 
rsw626 said:
I like the idea, but not the course selection or layout.

The street is too narrow, it's going to be a NASCAR version of Monaco, mostly follow the leader with few overtakes or passing.
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It won’t be like Monaco. They’ll use the bumper to pass because it’ll be like the old Bristol where it’s the only way you can pass.
 
rsw626 said:
I like the idea, but not the course selection or layout.

The street is too narrow, it's going to be a NASCAR version of Monaco, mostly follow the leader with few overtakes or passing.
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Chicago wouldn't have been my first choice for an event like this, but there will be places to pass if your car is fast enough. I get that this isn't the most imaginative layout, but the narrowest street on the course is 4 lanes wide with several 6 lane wide roads. The best passing zones will include Lake Shore Dr between turns 2 and 4 is (four lanes wide) and coming out of turn 5 you head down S. Columbus Dr. which is 7 lanes wide. Even after putting up jersey barriers you still only lose one lane per section.

I would have also preferred heading up to Montreal to run on the Circque Gilles Villeneuve, but Covid/vaccine issues would prevent that from happening. Too many unvaccinated drivers and team members for that to happen until sanity prevails.

My dream road race would be to send these guys out to Laguna Seca where men are men and the boys end up wrecking at the corkscrew.
 
Rex Racer said:
Chicago wouldn't have been my first choice for an event like this, but there will be places to pass if your car is fast enough. I get that this isn't the most imaginative layout, but the narrowest street on the course is 4 lanes wide with several 6 lane wide roads. The best passing zones will include Lake Shore Dr between turns 2 and 4 is (four lanes wide) and coming out of turn 5 you head down S. Columbus Dr. which is 7 lanes wide. Even after putting up jersey barriers you still only lose one lane per section.

I would have also preferred heading up to Montreal to run on the Circque Gilles Villeneuve, but Covid/vaccine issues would prevent that from happening. Too many unvaccinated drivers and team members for that to happen until sanity prevails.

My dream road race would be to send these guys out to Laguna Seca where men are men and the boys end up wrecking at the corkscrew.
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Images released of chicago street course car
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Kurt Busch is can’t race today. Guess he got a concussion after his qualifying crash or something, but Ty Gibbs is making his Cup debut
 
This race is going to be a disaster.

I give NASCAR credit for trying new things and shaking things up in a sport that didn't like to shake things up for the better part of 4 decades. But this is just silly.

There will be little to no quality passing

It will be slow because these cars aren't built for this style of racing

Nevermind the cars, the drivers aren't accustomed to this style of racing

If I want to watch city/street racing, there's a number of series and platforms that do it better, with cars and drivers equipped to do it in an exciting way. NASCAR isn't, and never will be, that. I'll probably tune in, but only because I rarely miss a race, and I'm genuinely interested to watch the debacle unfold.
 
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