NASCAR boss reveals MAJOR update on Chicago race

NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell has revealed a major update regarding the schedule’s future and the Chicago street race.

The Grant Park 165 at Chicago Street Course was first held in 2023, and was the first street race contested in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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Shane van Gisbergen and Alex Bowman remain the only two drivers to win in Chicago, and 2025 marks the end of NASCAR’s three-year deal with the circuit.

NASCAR are yet to confirm a contract extension for Chicago, with president Steve Phelps claiming that they have not been able to make a profit on the street race.

Will NASCAR extend their Chicago deal?

When asked if NASCAR were considering a possible extension, O’Donnell asserted that they were focused on the 2025 event being a success.

“For us, we’re just looking at 2025. It’ll be the third year of a three-year run and each year we’ve wanted to build upon the momentum that we have,” O’Donnell said to the Sports Business Journal.

“We’ve learned things each and every year -- it’s our first street race, a lot of learnings came from that. A lot of weather challenges as well. ... We’ve made some tweaks to the event format and continuing to evolve that as well, so we’ll get through the event, see where things are, but concentrating on 2025 and making that event as successful as it can be.”

NASCAR have also been associated with a race in Saudi Arabia at Qiddiya entertainment mega city which opens in 2028, plans that O’Donnell refused to elaborate on.

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“I wouldn’t put it specifically on Saudi,” he added.

“We’ve got a finite amount of content we can bring but I think as you look at NASCAR from an international standpoint, it’ll be more around that Mexico model where we want to look to grow the overall sport and build it within the culture wherever we go.

“So we can certainly take a race from an exhibition standpoint or from a national series but you’ll see it coupled if we do go somewhere with a grassroots efforts as well.”

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