JOLIET, ILL. — The roar of racing engines returned to Chicagoland Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday as several NASCAR drivers took to the track for Goodyear tire tests.
The 1.5-mile tri-oval had been idle since 2019 with NASCAR racing taking place locally on the streets of downtown Chicago the past three years.
A reported crowd of some 1,000 fans was on hand Tuesday for the tests under sunny skies with Wednesday’s closed-to-fans test held under cloudy conditions.
Cup Series drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney took part in the two-day test with O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers Illinois’ Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones testing on Tuesday only.
“It was cool to get out there and try to remember what it was like,” said Larson. “It hasn’t been that long since we’ve been here. We’ve raced so much between then and now. I didn’t remember a whole lot other than bump in (turn) one and the bumps in three and four and they are all still there. The surface is better than I expected. It is really fast – a lot of fond memories and good battles.
“The tire we are going to run is the same tire we’ve have been running everywhere. The conditions are quite a bit different than what we’ll see in July. It will be better. We’ll lay more rubber on the surface and be off the throttle to make tires live longer. You’ll be able to move around the track as the pace slows down.”
“It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years,” said Blaney Wednesday. “The place really looks in good shape. I didn’t know what to expect. The surface has held up really nice. The tunnel bump between (turns) three and four is massive and has gotten bigger. It adds character. The surface is well aged, and we are going to use the whole racetrack (to race). We should put on some good races.”
“Chicagoland is always great,” said Allgaier on Tuesday. “Adding this race track back to schedule is really important to me. It’s been a great racetrack. I’ve won some races here. Most importantly, it’s my home state of Illinois. I’m excited to get back.”
“Testing didn’t go so well,” added Allgaier who calls Springfield home. “We made contact with the wall (in turn four).”
Holding its first NASCAR Cup Series race in 2001, the speedway saw 19 Cup races held with Tony Stewart, winner of three races at Chicagoland, being the all-time winner among 13 different drivers.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the 75,000-seat Chicagoland raceway to fall from the NASCAR schedule in 2020 after Alex Bowman won the last race held in 2019. For the record, Kevin Harvick won the inaugural race at the speedway on July 15, 2001.
NASCAR racing returns to the Chicagoland Speedway July 3-5 with the ARCA Menards Series also on the schedule.
