NASCAR history will be made in Chicago this weekend.
For the first time in the sport’s history, stock cars will race through a makeshift street course. Lake Shore Drive, Columbus Drive and Michigan Avenue are among the streets that will be used for the NASCAR Cup Series’ Grant Park 220 on NBC this Sunday.
While this is the first street race ever in NASCAR, the city of Chicago is no stranger to racing. NASCAR made its first trip to Chicago for a race in 1956, and the area has hosted dozens of races in the years since then.
Here’s a full look at the tracks in the Chicago area that have held NASCAR races:
Santa Fe Speedway, 1954
Located about 20 miles southwest of Chicago in Willow Springs, Santa Fe Speedway hosted one Cup Series race way back in 1954.
The race, held on July 10, 1954, was won by Dick Rathman driving a Hudson Hornet. Rathman led 154 of 200 laps in the race, taking home the prize money of $1,000. Several NASCAR Hall of Famers competed in the event, including Lee Petty, Herb Thomas, Hershel McGriff and Buck Baker.
Santa Fe Speedway held its final local races in 1995 before being torn down in 1999. Today, the former track site is home to an upscale housing development.
Soldier Field, 1956-57
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That’s right, the Chicago Bears’ home stadium once hosted NASCAR races.
In 1956, three NASCAR-sanctioned races were held at Soldier Field – one NASCAR Cup Series race and two NASCAR Convertible Division races. The Cup Series race was held at the quarter-mile, paved track inside the stadium on July 21, 1956. NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts won the race, earning $850 by crossing the finish line first.
The Convertible Division returned for one final race in 1957 before NASCAR went away from Soldier Field for good. In the last two years, the Cup Series has raced inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, so perhaps a return to Soldier Field some day isn’t out of the question.
Chicago Motor Speedway, 2000-01
At the turn of the century, NASCAR briefly returned to the Windy City.
Chicago Motor Speedway, located less than 10 miles west of the city in Cicero, held two NASCAR Truck Series races at the 1.029-mile oval. Joe Ruttman won the inaugural race on Aug. 27, 2000, while Scott Riggs won the second and final race on Aug. 18, 2001. Ruttman won $49,040 in prize money and Riggs took home $45,260.
The track, which was built by a group including legendary racing owner Chip Ganassi, closed in 2003 and was demolished in 2005. The site is now occupied by a Walmart and Wirtz Beverage Group on the western side of the track and a public park on the eastern side.
Chicagoland Speedway, 2001-19
NASCAR’s most recent trip to the Chicago area was in 2019, when Chicagoland Speedway hosted its 19th Cup Series race.
From 2001 to 2019, an annual NASCAR race was held at the 1.5-mile tri-oval speedway. Located in Joliet, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago, the track hosted the opening race of the NASCAR playoffs from 2011 to 2017. For the final two years at Chicagoland, the race was moved to Fourth of July Weekend. Alex Bowman won the final race at Chicagoland on June 30, 2019.
The race was scheduled to host a race in 2020, but it was canceled due to the pandemic. Chicagoland didn’t return to the NASCAR schedule in 2021, though, and it remains off the calendar. While NASCAR doesn’t race there anymore, the SuperMotocross World Championship will be held at Chicagoland this September.
