NASCAR will conclude its initial three-year agreement for the street race held in Chicago in July and has not yet committed to holding the event beyond 2025.
“For us, we’re just looking at 2025. It’ll be the third year of a three-year run, and each year we’ve wanted to build upon the momentum that we have,” NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell told the Sports Business Journal. “We’ve learned things each and every year — it’s our first street race, a lot of learnings came from that.”
If NASCAR does not renew the Chicago event, there has been speculation that the series could look to stage a street race in San Diego. O’Donnell did not confirm nor deny whether the series’ interest in a San Diego race.
NASCAR has “a number of folks who are interested at looking at NASCAR from a street race [perspective],” he told the SBJ. “We are certainly interested in California and the Southern California market, and that will continue to be a focus for us, but nothing to confirm at this point.”
Street race specialist Shane van Gisbergen won the inaugural Chicago race in 2022, while Alex Bowman won a rain-shortened Grant Park 165 last July.
O’Donnell also did not provide details on whether NASCAR has plans to eventually hold a race in Saudi Arabia but said that interest in the series remains strong in the United States and internationally.
Saudi Arabia’s planned Qiddiya entertainment mega city could target a NASCAR race for the Speed Park circuit under development that is scheduled to open in 2028.
The Cup Series will hold its first points race outside of the United States in 67 years when it visits Mexico next year.
“I wouldn’t put it specifically on Saudi,” said O’Donnell, adding that there has been interest from Europe and Asia, among other global markets. “We’ve got a finite amount of content we can bring, but I think as you look at NASCAR from an international standpoint, it’ll be more around that Mexico model where we want to look to grow the overall sport and build it within the culture wherever we go.
“So, we can certainly take a race from an exhibition standpoint or from a national series, but you’ll see it coupled if we do go somewhere with a grassroots efforts as well.”