MOORESVILLE, N.C. \u2014 Since its debut in 2001, Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, has hosted 94 races across seven series on its 1.5-mile oval. None, however, have been in the last seven years.<\/p>\n
When the checkered flag waved on June 30, 2019, to mark the end of the Camping World 400 NASCAR Cup Series race, it also marked the end of racing on Chicagoland\u2019s D-shaped layout. Save for serving as a storage area for pickup trucks awaiting microchips during the global shortage brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and hosting a one-off SuperMotocross event in 2023, Chicagoland has been dormant.<\/p>\n
Scooby-Doo vibes replaced the \u201cBoogity, boogity, boogity, let\u2019s go racing!\u201d mantra made famous by NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and FOX broadcaster Darrell Waltrip.<\/p>\n
This seven-year itch is finally getting scratched, with NASCAR returning to Chicagoland for a Fourth of July event weekend featuring the ARCA Menards Series, the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series and the premier NASCAR Cup Series.<\/p>\n
This gap in Chicagoland\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 means there\u2019s a significant divide between drivers who have experience at Chicagoland and those whose experience is scant. In fact, of the 38 drivers who competed in the last Cup Series race at Chicagoland, only 18 are returning for Sunday night\u2019s eero 400.<\/p>\n
The most tenured in this group is Denny Hamlin. The NASCAR veteran has made 14 Cup Series starts at Chicagoland. The closest drivers behind him are Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, with 11 Cup Series starts apiece.<\/p>\n
Many other drivers\u2019 time at Chicagoland is far more limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have one race to my name at Chicagoland, so I can at least say that I\u2019ve been there,\u201d said Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Super.com Chevrolet for Rick Ware Racing. \u201cIt was a 2014 Nationwide Series race, known now as the O\u2019Reilly Series. Obviously, it\u2019s not going to correlate much to our current Cup car, but it was enough to know that Chicagoland is still a difficult and bumpy mile-and-a-half oval.\u201d<\/p>\n
Technology, specifically time in the simulator, helps bridge the gap between memories from years ago and the Chicagoland of today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sim tells us where the bumps are and how you need to attack the track. Every little input and angle of your steering, your arc on corner entry, how aggressively you\u2019re tipping in and picking up your throttle, all those things matter,\u201d Ware said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might know the layout, but when it comes to understanding the nuances of the track \u2013 how much yaw you can have in the car, figuring out how free you can have the car, and then the overall balance of the car \u2013 that\u2019s where the sim comes in.<\/p>\n
\u201cSim time on ovals is more about making sure you\u2019re precise and as perfect as you can be with consistent repetition, because that\u2019s the only way you can make speed.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin competed in the Cup Series\u2019 debut race at Chicagoland in 2001. He made 13 starts at the track, winning in his ninth start on July 11, 2009 \u2013 a dominant performance in which Martin\u2019s precision allowed him to lead 195 of the race\u2019s 267 laps.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicagoland is a really fun race track,\u201d said Martin ahead of his final start at the track in 2013. \u201cWhen you come across the start\/finish line and you\u2019re up to speed and you head out toward the wall on your entry into turn one, you almost bounce off that wall turning into the corner, and you\u2019re able to usually stay in the throttle and you go off down into what feels like a hole.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe car goes down into turn one before it picks up the banking, and it\u2019s kind of a cool feeling. And then depending on where you run on the racetrack, coming up out of turn two the track tightens up on you pretty quick. So, you really have to have your exit lined up properly to be able to stay on the throttle all the way from the middle-off that corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then turn three, it feels really, really flat like the banking doesn\u2019t come into the car, so the car\u2019s usually really loose trying to get down into that corner. It\u2019s a real challenge to get the kind of arc into that corner that you would like to have.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually, going down the backstretch you\u2019re starting to dread the entry into turn three because it\u2019s so challenging. It\u2019s got some bumps down there in (turns) three and four. That gives it some character and it\u2019s sort of a multi-groove turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen coming up out of (turn) four, it opens back up because of the D-shape of the front straightaway. You\u2019re able to be on the throttle early and for a long time coming up out of turn four.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s detailed recall of a lap around Chicagoland is coveted intel, as memory is what drivers and teams have to go on ahead of NASCAR\u2019s return to the track this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cChicagoland is kind of like turns three and four at Charlotte, but on both ends,\u201d Ware said. \u201cTurns one and two are a little bit worse than three and four, from what I remember the last time we were there. But overall, Chicagoland is a very bumpy, very aggressive mile-and-a-half, and I think it\u2019s kind of morphed into its own thing over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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