When NASCAR announced the Chicago Street Race, it was considered a big deal, literally and figuratively, which it must’ve been and it was. The sport has been doing all it can to broaden its wings and tap into markets and areas it’s never been to before.

So overall, it was a win-win for a sport that wants to have a bigger audience, racing in a city that’s known as a sports-loving community of different kinds of people.

However, in a recent interview, Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins suggested that NASCAR and Chicago City’s deal was perhaps a mismatch.

“It’s embarrassing. … They got fleeced, absolutely. The NASCAR people probably went and lit a big cigar and laughed after they signed the contract,” he said according to journalist Adam Stern.

Naturally, this led to reactions from the fans, some of whom made a point of agreement with Hopkins, while some didn’t necessarily share his views on the subject of a stock car race on the streets of Chicago.

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NASCAR feels there’s no better place than Chicago to stage the street-course race

In a press release after the announcement of the event, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing development and strategy, Ben Kennedy described how there’s perhaps no better place than Chicago to experience stock car racing on the streets.

“Really excited about announcing that for the first time with our national series that we’ll be bringing it to a street course, and what better place to do it than downtown Chicago, such an iconic city,” he said.

Kennedy mentioned the history of sports, the iconic monuments and facilities around Chicago, and the support that they’ve had around Chicago, which when mixed with the great racing that has been on display in the Next Gen era, will result in “a very special moment” next summer.

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