NASCAR’s stint on Chicago’s downtown streets has always been a gamble, and not just because of its course layout. The inaugural races featured relentless rain, soggy streets, shortened schedules, and significant delays. With this being year three of their three-year Grant Park deal, organizers are in talks about crossing the finish line of whether this event will continue past 2025, or call it an official finale.

But as preparations rev up and drivers get ready to race this Independence Day weekend, dark clouds loom once more. Weather reports suggest an 80% chance of rain on Sunday, starting at 1 PM CT, just when the green flag is about to be dropped. However, this might not even be the biggest concern on race day, as another pressing road course issue has revealed itself in Chicago.

NASCAR drivers and spotters face a massive disadvantage

Spotters are often the unsung heroes of a clean lap. Perched high above the chaos, they guide drivers through blind corners, incoming traffic, and impending wrecks. Under a normal oval weekend, teams operate with one spotter; the voice in the driver’s ear is perched at a high stand. On-street circuits like Chicago, the number jumps to 3 or more. Each is strategically stationed to cover specific sections. While they handle communication one at a time, the others watch the backstretch, and the high-vantage point of the Symphony Center helps navigate the tricky left and dive from turn 8 through turn 11, a hotbed for pileups.

The Symphony Center is a historic building, and the ninth-floor balcony is a key vantage point that gives the spotters eyes on some of the most complex corners of the grand Park Street course. However, this weekend in Chicago, another key asset is gone. According to The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi, while the historic building will be in use this year, the main spotter’s stand has been moved across pit road, previously being above it. This poses an additional challenge as complaints are coming in of a lack of visibility for the exit of Turn 12 and entry of Turn 1, and trees blocking Turn 6.

The result? Teams are now improvising. Some will shift personnel onto tour buses or rooftops; others might even rely on video boards to fill blind spots, hardly ideal in a race where inches matter. Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger said, “Most of the corners are 90° corners and blind, and you can’t see around them. And as we’ve seen a couple of times, you start stacking cars in there, if this spot is slow to get to it or can’t see it, we all kind of stack in there because you just don’t see the cars wrecked.” This problem isn’t exclusive to Chicago either.

Earlier this year, at Mexico City’s Viva Mexico 250, NASCAR faced similar spot complaints. Drivers like Bubba Wallace called out poor sidelines at turn one, saying spots were placed too low and couldn’t offer crucial input. NASCAR eventually let teams relocate, but not before multiple laps were run in radio silence. Bubba Wallace went on to say, “Spotters into turn one of Mexico. Do you know where they were standing? You can’t see anything. And so if you want to talk about safety and all this stuff, either say we’re not racing with spots or get them in a position and make sure the area is safe for them to operate in to give us the safety and the protocols that we need.” 

The Chicago street race poses the same problems, as primary spotters will often have to stay radio silent while others take control at different sections of the track, and this is not something Wallace’s spotter is particularly fond of. Freddie Kraft, Bubba’s long-time spotter, said, “Well, I’m an egomaniac. I don’t like to share my job with anybody. I want to be in control of everything.” Then, other spotters chimed in on issues with different vantage points on the track.

“You are higher up, so you can see more, even though some of the braking zone into 11 is blocked by the tree, you can at least see when somebody’s setting it up and can give a heads-up,” said Hayden Reeves, who is Legacy Motor Club #43 Erik Jones’ primary spotter. With select spots being blocked by nature, there’s little a spotter can do apart from hoping they don’t miss someone spinning out on Turn 11.

Freddie Kraft agrees, saying it’s nearly impossible to do this track justice with just three sets of eyes. Kraft added, “Chicago is a tough one with a lot of blind spots. You would probably need five or six guys to do it effectively. It’s basically just a positioning thing. You see turn for spotters are standing on top of a damn tour bus. Like, we got someone on Symphony on the balcony. Some guys are in hotel rooms trying to watch Turn 6. It’s very challenging at times. It’s hard.”

The impending chaos, when paired with Sunday’s looming thunderstorm, is a dangerous mix. This change in spotter location could shape the outcome of a race that already teeters between brilliance and disaster every lap. Some drivers, like Joey Logano, are already adjusting their mental game. He said, “You just have to pick it up on the stuff that you may get relaxed on, stuff like relying on your ears a lot. When you get your spot going and all that, you listen to him to make your decisions, and now you have to take a little bit of focus off the road and look at the mirror.” Well, the spotter situation is certainly chaotic, and if they thought visibility would be tough, the weather forecast is not their friend either.

Now, all we can do is pray for a dry race, as spotters collaborate to help the Cup stars give the Chicago Street Race a possible farewell, as talks of an extension have yielded no results yet. With so many issues clouding the race, do you think NASCAR should return to Chicago in 2026? Let us know in the comments!