After three years of racing on the streets of Chicago, NASCAR and the city of Chicago are taking a break for the 2026 NASCAR racing season.
NASCAR has yet to announce any plans for that weekend that for many years hosted the annual summer race at Daytona International Speedway – the Firecracker 400/Coke 400.
NASCAR has also not made any statements about plans for racing in Chicago the 2026 season in regards to street races or Chicago.
But Chicago city officials and NASCAR are “at the table” working on a return for NASCAR. The original contract was for three years.
New Zealand racer Shane van Gisbergen dominated the street races in Chicago with winning two of the three Cup Series races and two Xfinity Series races. Alex Bowman won the second race of the series with SVG winning the first and third races. SVG was the first driver in 60 years to win his first race in NASCAR.
Speaking on the street races in Chicago van Gisbergen said, “this place has changed my life. I’m going to have special memories of this place forever.”
A statement on social media reads, “following the success of the first three years, the Chicago Street Race will hit pause in 2026 to afford us the time necessary to work collaboratively with the City of Chicago to explore a new potential date and to develop a plan that further optimizes operational efficiencies, with a goal to return to the streets of Chicago in 2027.”
It continues, “together, we have built and grown an expanded community of fans that consists of longtime NASCAR enthusiasts and first-time racegoers from around the globe, and for that, we are immensely grateful.”
While there won’t be a race on the streets of Chicago next year, NASCAR has committed to continuing their support for Chicago, especially the youth and local businesses.