Story By: Sol Tucker and Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Chicago, IL–
After a day of excitement that many had been waiting months for, the Chicago Street Race, went from sizzle to dud pretty quickly after an afternoon of storms and lightning ended the Xfinity race just short of its completion.
The day was supposed to conclude with the Xfinity Series race at 4 p.m., followed by a performance from The Chainsmokers. But lightning forced organizers to cut the race short (it’s slated to resume at 10 a.m. Sunday) and cancel The Chainsmokers’ show.
Some people we talked to at the Roosevelt Road end of the course who decided not to leave, were told by security you had to leave that it was a park rule, not NASCAR’s rules. This seemed to leave a bitter taste in a lot of people’s mouths who may not have gone to an event in the confines of Grant Park before, but since many of these people had gone to NASCAR events before, this was a bit disappointing for quite a few people that also said they paid just to see the amazing concerts.
We spoke with several people who were within the Paddock Club who were told to stay inside since that was the best place to be, then all of a sudden, they were told they had to leave and told since the structure was made of metal poles, they also had to find a place to go.
While we agree this is the first race in the city and hopefully the next two under contract will occur, there is no control of the weather and NASCAR while initially was said to have done a poor job communicating to fans what was going on, they ultimately didnt not have the call to restart or not.
With rain forecast all morning long, expect some delays and pack your patience if you have any left after last night and enjoy the Grant Park Cup Series race which also has been moved up 50 minutes to 5:05pm EST start.
