Kevin Harvick Urges NASCAR to Replace Chicago Street Race with Forgotten Iconic Venue 

The NASCAR garage is at Chicago this weekend for the third edition of the Street race, amidst uncertainty over it’s future. The contract the sanctioning body has with the city ends this season, and there have been multiple rumors about the future of street racing in the sport. 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick has given his take on the situation.

The ex-Stewart Haas Racing driver sees this as an opportunity to bring back the iconic Chicagoland Speedway, that has been abandoned since 2019, when it hosts it’s last NASCAR race week. In the latest episode of his podcast, Kevin Harvick asserted that the street race has built a lot of enthusiasm, and the sports should take advantage of it for the worn out 1.5-mile track.

Anything that’s old is new again. Chicagoland was really worn out. Has the enthusiasm for the Chicago Street Race created some re-energized enthusiasm for Chicagoland Speedway? Because with the NextGen, I believe that mile-and-a-half race, on that worn out surface, with all those bumps, would be really good in Joliet.

Kevin Harvick said via Happy Hour Podcast.

The abandonment, the changes the track had due to absence of events, had made some significant changes to the track that can impact racing positively. The shape of the venue and the bumps at the track, alongside the new Next-Gen car makes it a perfect combination for the entertaining race for every fan involved.

I think that the Chicagoland Speedway, with the way that it’s shaped, with the bumps and the way that — the fact that the asphalt has just been sitting there. I just believe that taking these NextGen cars back to Chicagoland Speedway would be a great race.

Kevin Harvick said.

Kevin Harvick reveals the big plus with Chicago cup race

In the same podcast, the future Hall of Famer Kevin Harvick has shared his thoughts on how the event has changed the sport for the better. He really appreciates the engagement it brings, as he was lucky enough to race in the inaugural edition of the event before he retired. Not every track in the current schedule attracts that much attention.

The thing that I always liked about the Chicago Street race is just the engagement, that everybody there knows what’s happened. That’s not the case when you go to all the racetracks and but when you go to the Chicago Street race, you might not be there for the race, but you know it’s happening.

Kevin Harvick said.

He then talked about rumors regarding NASCAR plans to host street races in cities such as San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, that is capable of creating more fuzz like Chicago. It’s not these cities; NASCAR has created a product/project with the street race where they can host great events in any good market racing has.

Now you’ve got that model to take to San Diego, to take the Los Angeles, to take to San Francisco, wherever you want to take it. You can take it in a stadium. You can take it in a in your city, the street, course. And I love it. I love how unique it is. And I think you can take it anywhere, and that’s that’s a huge plus for our sport.

Kevin Harvick added.

The future Hall of Famer kelvin Harvick made some great points regarding the race and the good future that is ahead of the idea. It would be interesting to see if NASCAR will choose to remain at Chicago or move to different venue in 2026.

Also Read: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hates ‘Drafting Track’ Branding on Atlanta Motor Speedway