If NASCAR returning to Chicagoland Speedway was predicated only on the racing product, there would be no doubt that the 1.5-mile track in Joliet, Ill., would be back on the 2027 schedule. 

Sunday’s eero 400 saw multi-groove racing, a thrilling finish and drivers pushing their cars to the edge and occasionally over it, a la Kyle Larson.

But whether or not races return to the NASCAR schedule is not solely based on the racing product. There are politics involved, especially in regard to Chicagoland given that the Chicago Street Race could return in 2027 and beyond. 

Fan experience and turnout is also a major factor. Sunday’s race saw a sold-out crowd, the sixth in the last seven NASCAR Cup races and a far cry from the dwindling attendance that may have had a hand in NASCAR leaving Chicagoland after 2019. 

Unfortunately for that sell-out crowd of over 47,000, logistical issues, mainly with traffic, plagued their experience. It’s a tragic tale and one that has been told before. 

Not the first time traffic has given NASCAR problems

In 2011, as NASCAR prepared to hold the first-ever Cup race at the Kentucky Speedway and host over 100,000 fans, many of them were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate 71. Driver Denny Hamlin was briefly part of the traffic jam. Some fans were turned away when they got to the speedway after the green flag because there weren’t enough parking spots. 

In short, the inaugural Cup race at Kentucky was a logistical nightmare. The track remained on the schedule until 2020, but poor racing and dwindling attendance led to it not holding another NASCAR race since. 

Like any major sporting event, NASCAR Cup Series races almost always feature traffic jams and require patience from fans. But at Kentucky in 2011, there was less of a traffic jam and more of an unmitigated disaster, in which Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR seemed somewhat callous towards those affected.

In fairness to Chicagoland on Sunday, traffic congestion and parking problems were not a fault of the city of Joliet or the speedway itself. Heavy rain on Friday and Saturday turned many of the designated grass parking lots into muddy swamps more suitable for pigs than cars. Nine lots at the track had their plans “adjusted” due to “excessive rainfall.”