Chicagoland Speedway

Just southwest of Joliet, on land that was corn country a generation ago, sits one of the newer major speedways in American motorsport. Chicagoland Speedway opened in July two thousand one, a one-and-a-half-mile tri-oval built to bring NASCAR's top series to one of America's largest and most historically underserved racing markets. Chicago had been a center of American automotive culture since the early twentieth century, but the metropolitan area had never had a superspeedway of its own.

The inaugural Winston Cup race at Chicagoland was held on July fifteenth, two thousand one. Kevin Harvick, driving for Richard Childress Racing, won the Tropicana four hundred and in doing so wrote the first chapter of what would become an intense competition-specific history on this track. Harvick's victory was only his second career Winston Cup win, and it came in the inaugural running of a race that would draw some of the largest crowds in Midwest motorsport history through the two thousands.

Chicagoland was designed by the same architectural team behind other modern superspeedways of its era, optimized for side-by-side racing with progressive banking in the turns. The track hosted NASCAR's top two series and the Indy Racing League in its opening season alone, a remarkably broad portfolio for a brand-new facility.

The track became known over the years as a place where tire management and late-race strategy mattered as much as raw speed. Drivers who could make their tires last were rewarded here. The long straightaways gave plenty of room for drafting and positioning. Champions were made and playoff races run here through multiple eras of the sport.

The speedway also brought an economic shot to Will County, generating hospitality and service jobs across the Joliet corridor during race weekends. In a metropolitan area of nearly ten million people, Chicagoland finally gave the region's racing fans a home track. The crowd on any given race weekend proved the market had always been there.