Matt Johnson
NASCAR is back at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend for the first time since 2019. Saturday night’s O’Reilly Series race delivered plenty of excitement and there’s a sellout on Sunday night for the eero 400. Now the question is, will NASCAR be back in Chicago in 2027?
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Cup Series race on Sunday at Chicagoland, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said the market remains “very important” to the sport whether that means Chicago holding a street race or oval raace in 2027.
Related: NASCAR Predictions for Chicagoland
“Looking at a potential sellout on Sunday, which is fantastic, so that market remains very important to us, be it a street race or on the oval [in 2027].”
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell on racing in Chicago, 2027 plans (via Adam Stern)
Sunday night’s Cup Series race at Chicagoland sold out entering the weekend. While the O’Reilly Series race had significant issues with parking, as spectators struggled to get their cars out of the mud-filled lots, the race itself was beloved both by those in attendance and fans watching at home.
What’s slightly surprising is that NASCAR only intends to have one race in Chicago next season. Dale Earnhardt Jr indicated earlier this week that the buzz around the sport was that there could both be a Chicago Street Race in 2027 and a race at Chicagoland.
Evidently that no longer seems to be in the plans. In NASCAR’s defense, the sport has seen attendance be negatively impacted at multiple spots around the country when there are two points races in a single city in one season. When fans have two chances to attend a Cup race, regardless of the reason, the costs for travel and tickets can often result in them choosing just one race to attend.
If there is only going to be one NASCAR race in Chicago next season, it seems likely that executives would choose the Chicago Street Race. NBC 5 Chicago reported in June that NASCAR and the city were already in talks to bring the street-course race back in 2027.
There’s also another reason to think that NASCAR won’t be back at Chicagoland next season. As Denny Hamlin shared a few weeks ago on Actions Detrimental, a street course race is apparently a part of NASCAR’s contract with Amazon Prime. So, if the sport doesn’t return to Naval Base Coronado in 2027, it stands to reason there would one in Chicago next summer on Amazon Prime.
What could happen, hypothetically, would be NASCAR having the Chicago Street Race around the Fourth of July weekend in 2027. The following year, they could return for an oval race at Chicagoland with the street race potentially taking place at Naval Base Coronado, giving San Diego and the Navy two years to prepare for it.
One thing that is clear, fans have demonstrated that an annual race in Chicago can consistently deliver sellouts while millions of fans tune in to watch the broadcast and most times there will be an exciting race.
