When NASCAR drivers get behind the wheel at this summer time’s race in Chicago, will probably be a pointy detour from the oval speedways the place they usually compete.
As an alternative, they may roar by way of the twists and turns of Grant Park and down stretches of DuSable Lake Shore Drive on the primary avenue course in NASCAR’s 75-year historical past.
The Chicago Avenue Race, which is anticipated to attract 100,000 attendees throughout July Fourth weekend, guarantees to be a possible tourism boon for town, however the occasion may very well be much more pivotal for NASCAR.
Confronted with declining scores, dwindling attendance and rising home competitors from the Method 1 worldwide racing collection, which provides a number of city avenue programs, NASCAR is in search of new roads to construct its fan base.
“NASCAR must compete now with a really subtle Method 1, a minimum of right here in america,” mentioned Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports activities advertising marketing consultant. “They should up their sport, and the Chicago Avenue Race is one instance of doing that.”
NASCAR can also be trying to broaden past its Southern roots, and the Chicago Avenue Race might assist the racing group make inroads in Northern city markets, Ganis mentioned.
Julie Giese, president of the Chicago Avenue Race, mentioned 71% of tickets to the Chicago occasion have been bought by prospects new to the NASCAR database. Tickets have been offered in 48 states and 12 international locations, with nearly 40% coming from exterior of the Chicago space, she mentioned.
“The Chicago Avenue Race is about increasing our viewers in a key marketplace for NASCAR,” Giese mentioned.
However whether or not or not a profitable race in Chicago is sufficient to rejuvenate NASCAR stays to be seen.
Victor Matheson, a sports activities economics professor at Faculty of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, mentioned the Chicago Avenue Race will make for fascinating viewing, however it could not resolve all of NASCAR’s issues, and it might create some for town.
“There’s nothing guaranteeing that going to a avenue race relatively than an oval goes to assist your numbers,” Matheson mentioned.
NASCAR held its first race on the sands of Daytona Seaside, Florida, in 1948, spawning banked oval tracks throughout the south that made inventory automobile racing a rabid regional sport. In 1979, CBS televised the primary flag-to-flag reside protection of the Daytona 500, elevating NASCAR to nationwide prominence and making star drivers equivalent to Richard Petty a family identify.
Whereas nationwide TV contracts, geographic enlargement and more and more subtle 200 mph race vehicles fueled progress, including tracks in locations like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, half of NASCAR races nonetheless happen within the Southeast.
The inventory automobile circuit has additionally seen declining attendance since peaking twenty years in the past. NASCAR even eliminated seats at some tracks in order that occasions look much less empty on TV.
NASCAR, which turned a non-public firm upon completion of its $2 billion merger with Worldwide Speedway Corp. in 2019, doesn’t disclose attendance figures, however it has offered out solely three of its 15 Cup Collection races this yr, a spokesperson mentioned.
NASCAR is nearing the ultimate lap of a 10-year, $8.2 billion TV rights cope with Fox and NBC that’s set to run out on the finish of the 2024 season. Rankings this yr are averaging 3.54 million viewers, down from 4.19 million in 2022, in accordance with Nielsen.
As NASCAR’s progress has stalled, fortunes have begun to rise for European-bred Method 1, which options smooth 200 mph open-wheeled vehicles in two dozen races held in locations like Monaco, Azerbaijan and, more and more, america.
In 2017, Colorado-based Liberty Media purchased the racing group for $4.4 billion and put in former Fox govt Chase Carey as CEO. A brand new TV contract with ESPN and a 2019 Netflix documentary collection known as “Method 1: Drive to Survive” helped generate surging curiosity amongst youthful followers and massive scores for Method 1 race broadcasts.
This yr, Method 1 will host three U.S. races, together with an inaugural avenue course on the Las Vegas Strip in November, an October race in Austin, Texas, and the second annual Miami Grand Prix, which just lately drew 270,000 attendees for its glitzy three-day occasion.
On Sunday, the Miami Grand Prix aired concurrently with NASCAR’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, providing channel-flipping viewers a sneak peak of the racing mashup coming to Chicago.
Whereas winged F1 race vehicles sliced by way of a 19-turn, 3.4-mile course in entrance of celebrity-packed grandstands, suites and trackside cabanas, souped-up inventory vehicles ran 267 laps round a 1.5-mile banked oval for die-hard NASCAR followers within the heartland.
It was a fairly shut race for TV scores.
Almost 1.65 million viewers watched Method 1 chief Max Verstappen win his third race of the season in Miami on ABC, whereas about 2.35 million viewers noticed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin notch his first victory this yr in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri, on Fox, in accordance with Nielsen.
Past the TV scores, the fledgling F1 occasions within the U.S. have drawn enormous crowds, one thing NASCAR hopes to duplicate for the Chicago Avenue Race.
“Every occasion has turn into a occurring,” Ganis mentioned. “It’s not fairly the Tremendous Bowl, however it’s actually massive.”
Considering exterior the oval with the Chicago Avenue Race may very well be transformative for NASCAR, Ganis mentioned.
However Matheson isn’t so positive.
Matheson mentioned the NASCAR model nonetheless carries a “Southern redneck” stigma that may be “slightly bit poisonous” in blue markets like Chicago. A Method 1 race can higher span the pink/blue divide with each quick vehicles and European sensibilities, he mentioned.
As avenue races acquire traction within the U.S., Matheson questioned whether or not attendance will wane when the novelty wears off. Enthusiastic boosters may additionally be discounting collateral financial harm, he mentioned.
“The massive drawback with any form of open street race is that it’s wildly disruptive,” Matheson mentioned. “I definitely wouldn’t wish to be in downtown Chicago in the event that they closed down the Loop to do this one race. You would possibly get some racing followers, however what are you chasing away from that exercise on the identical time?”
NASCAR’s earlier foray into Chicago doesn’t essentially bode properly, Matheson mentioned. He pointed to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, which started internet hosting Cup Collection races when it opened in 2001, however has been idled since NASCAR acquired the 1.5-mile oval in 2019.
The Grant Park 220, a televised Cup Collection race on July 2, will function a 12-turn, 2.2-mile course, with NASCAR drivers navigating closed-off streets lined with non permanent fences, grandstands and hospitality suites. Speeds could high 100 miles per hour on straightaways, with slowdowns at turns and visitors bottlenecks, in accordance with the race web site.
A separate Xfinity Collection race is about for July 1. The weekend’s festivities embrace full-length live shows headlined by Miranda Lambert, the Chainsmokers and the Black Crowes.
NASCAR is investing $50 million within the occasion, which is anticipated to pack Chicago lodges with out-of-town guests and fill town’s tax coffers with tens of millions in income.
Giese declined to reveal ticket gross sales, however mentioned the occasion was on monitor to satisfy its objectives.
“We’re happy with the place we’re at from a gross sales perspective,” mentioned Giese, 45.
Underneath the phrases of a three-year deal to rework the Grant Park environs into a brief racecourse, NASCAR can pay the Chicago Park District a $500,000 allow price this yr, $550,000 in 2024 and $605,000 in 2025, with an choice to renew for 2 years.
As well as, NASCAR can pay the Park District a $2 price per admission ticket, and an escalating fee for meals, beverage and merchandise offered on the occasion.
The course will begin on Columbus Drive in entrance of Buckingham Fountain, taking in stretches of DuSable Lake Shore Drive and South Michigan Avenue because it winds round Grant Park. Grandstands, suites and clubhouses will spring up throughout the northern half of the course, whereas normal admission will enable ticket holders to roam trackside at Hutchinson Area on the southern finish.
Tickets vary from $269 for two-day normal admission to $3,000 for premium hospitality suites perched above the pit street on the Buckingham Fountain begin/end line. A number of sections of reserved seats are already offered out, in accordance with the race web site.
“A giant goal for us with this occasion is to drive tourism to town of Chicago and based mostly on ticket gross sales, we’re seeing that taking place, and I’d anticipate these numbers to proceed to develop,” Giese mentioned.
The biggest exterior markets for ticket gross sales have been New York, Charlotte, Orlando and Detroit, mentioned Giese, who didn’t immediately reply to a query about Method 1 competitors.
A research commissioned by NASCAR and carried out by CSL, a Texas-based sports activities and leisure consulting agency, tasks almost $114 million in complete financial affect from the inaugural occasion, together with 24,000 resort room nights in Chicago.
The occasion is projected to generate almost $9 million in tax income, together with $3.2 million for town, in accordance with the CSL research.
Lynn Osmond, president and CEO of Select Chicago, town’s tourism arm, is trying to the road race to spice up Chicago as a journey vacation spot, and burnish town’s picture, which has been battered by pandemic disruption and the notion of rising crime.
“It is a probability to indicate that we are able to do giant occasions safely, efficiently, and actually showcase town to the world,” Osmond mentioned.
Chicago, which was chosen final month to host the 2024 Democratic Nationwide Conference, might use some wins. Town, which had 61 million guests in 2019, is slowly “clawing again” to pre-pandemic ranges, with 54 million guests projected this yr, Osmond mentioned.
Osmond mentioned some hoteliers are already seeing a perceptible bump from the road race for July Fourth weekend, significantly amongst operators situated close to the racecourse.
Past the direct financial affect, Osmond mentioned the NBC broadcast will function a three-hour industrial for Chicago, with town’s skyline, lakefront and Museum Campus offering a telegenic backdrop to the road race.
“This occasion reveals the great thing about our metropolis,” Osmond mentioned. “We’re having an enormous commercial for town of Chicago.”
Including a layer of problem, NASCAR should additionally construct the precise course, a course of that’s properly underway. That features 2,000 concrete obstacles being poured in a Chicago-area facility, and tire packs being put collectively on the idled Chicagoland Speedway, which can additionally function a staging space for the race groups, Giese mentioned.
The Paddock Membership, a premium two-level elevated deck overlooking the beginning/end line, was custom-built in Germany and can arrive in Chicago within the subsequent few weeks. Rented fencing and grandstands are additionally on their method, Giese mentioned.
In a plan finalized with town final month, visitors closures will start with parking restrictions on June 2, adopted by street closures within the weeks main as much as the race weekend.
“You’ll begin to see obstacles go into place beginning round June 17,” Giese mentioned. “The bigger buildings will actually begin to take form a few weeks previous to the occasion.”
Afternoon Briefing
Every day
Chicago Tribune editors’ high story picks, delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
One other potential bump within the street for NASCAR is Chicago’s mayoral transition. The three-year deal was struck with outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot, however when the inexperienced flag drops, Brandon Johnson might be in cost.
Giese mentioned the appointment of Wealthy Guidice, the previous head of the Workplace of Emergency Administration and Communications, as Johnson’s chief of workers ought to ease the transition.
“Wealthy has been closely concerned within the planning up up to now with us by way of his position at OEMC,” Giese mentioned. “So we’re simply wanting ahead to working with the brand new administration to execute this occasion.”
A Wisconsin native who beforehand headed the Phoenix Raceway, Giese opened the NASCAR Chicago workplace in November. She has since employed 15 full-time workers, whose efforts have netted McDonald’s and Blue Cross as promotional companions for the Chicago occasion.
Whereas advertising and ticket gross sales are anticipated to speed up because the occasion attracts nearer, the outcomes of NASCAR’s Chicago experiment received’t be evident till the race performs out reside on nationwide TV.
“It’s going to be spectacular,” Giese mentioned. “We’re actually wanting ahead to it.”
