Battling through protests and backlash, NASCAR managed to deliver a good show in Chicago. With the weather conditions working against them in the form of a pre-race thunderstorm, the threat of the race being suspended was ever-present. But all until the race started.

Shane van Gisbergen winning the first-ever street race in NASCAR history was the icing on the cake that rounded up a great race for the fans overall. Celebrating the event, the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson has let out a few words to acknowledge the successful race. But the fandom has not shown a liking to his comments that seem a bit repulsive to the idea of bringing the street race back again next year.

Mayor of Chicago Acknowledges NASCAR and Its Efforts in the Chicago Street Race

NBC journalist Nate Ryan’s recent tweets have conveyed Mayor Brandon Johnson’s statement which says,  “We’re grateful despite the extreme weather that NASCAR was able to deliver with very minimal disruption. Like everything that I inherited, I’ll assess and grade it in an open process.” 

The statement from the looks of it expresses skepticism over the organization of the event. The ‘minimal disruption’ is directed at the effects of race on the city. Having a street race in the city meant a lot of accommodations, and adjustments had to be made. Road closures, traffic diversion, the building of pavements, safety barriers, and other infrastructures that will further facilitate the event implied that certain factions had to experience some inconvenience.

But one of the notable takeaways from this is that Mayor Johnson was not in charge of the city at the time of the agreement with the City Council. Ex-Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot was responsible for striking a three-year deal with NASCAR that sees them bring races to the city with much more in revenue through cultural and entertainment events. Mayor Johnson probably refers to the same when he speaks about things that he inherited. Lightfoot’s initiative is what he has to carry on in the future and ensure the smooth conduction of the race and uphold the agreement.

If anything, the race proved that Chicago can be a great venue for the NASCAR schedule and brings in a different, never-seen-before element to the NASCAR races. The estimated revenue and turnout was also estimated to be close to the annual event of the festival Lollapalooza. The fans completely affirm this and have directed a lot of criticism at Johnson for his words. Accusing him of bringing politics into something positive for the city, they have gone quite harsh on him.

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“We Need to Go Where We Are Respected”: Fans Slam Chicago Mayor for His Comments on the Chicago Street Race

If anything, the involvement of politics in sports doesn’t always end well. With NASCAR looking at Chicago as an opportunity to expand their roots in the country, political hindrances can really hurt their plans to establish a bigger fanbase. But the fans have been thoroughly against it. Showing their admiration for the event, they have affirmed their interest in a street-race return next year.

Criticizing Johnson for taking credit after only taking the helm recently, one fan said, “Well it was cool but it wasn’t MY idea…..lemme see if I can put my own name on something here”.

Another fan was shocked at the statement as he tweets, “Seriously, mayor.” A fan was quick to decode Johnson’s words as he comments, “In Chicago political talk that translates to “My administration is waiting on the delivery of a few plain brown envelopes, to see if is worth while continuing the event”.

“Listening to him, you’d think he was talking after a natural disaster not a successful sporting event.”, “That is his way of saying it wasn’t his decision and he doesn’t like it.” were some of the other comments as the pattern continued.

A fan had a heartfelt message and quite an insightful one as well. Showing the need of Chicago motorsports fans to be able to avail of such events, he said, “Other series aren’t your enemy. If they can’t go back to Chicago why not talk to Indy Car about joining the street race weekend in Nashville or F1 about joining their street race weekend in Miami. They already have street courses set up for those weekends. Why not use them?”

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