Throughout the last several NASCAR seasons, the sport’s governing body has made some drastic changes to its schedule to spice it up with things like more road courses, a dirt race and the Clash at the Coliseum.
Those changes continued into the 2023 season, as NASCAR celebrates its 75-year anniversary, with a new street race in the heart of the Windy City this weekend.
The NASCAR Cup Series is returning to the Chicago area — it hasn’t raced at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois since 2019 — for Sunday’s Grant Park 220 (5:30 p.m. ET, NBC), which will have drivers racing on the city streets rather than on an oval or road course. It’s expected to be the first of three Chicago street races.
NASCAR is making history this weekend, so ahead of its debut in downtown Chicago, here are a few things to know about the race.