NASCAR says it's "pausing" Chicago Street Race
Why it matters: The three-year experiment to bring a major racing event to downtown Chicago streets on the Fourth of July weekend yielded mixed results amid adverse weather conditions, a less established fan base, and residents' complaints about noise and street closures.
Driving the news: A statement from NASCAR says the Chicago Street Race will "pause in 2026 to allow NASCAR to be responsive to residents' and elected officials' feedback."
"We will continue to work together toward a new potential date and develop a plan to further optimize operational efficiencies with the goal of the event's return in 2027," the statement went on to say.
Flashback: Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot negotiated the city's three-year contract with NASCAR in 2022, and some believed Mayor Brandon Johnson would end it when he took office in 2023.
Yes, but: There was well-earned speculation that after this month's race, when the contract expired, Johnson would pull out.
By the numbers: Last year's event generated $128 million in economic impact, according to Choose Chicago and the Chicago Sports Commission.
The race attracted just over 53,000 spectators.
In recent years, the city says, it spent an estimated $3.5 million on road work, staffing and police.
This year, the state kicked in $5 million from its general operating fund to help offset the city's expenses.
NASCAR paid the Chicago Park District $2 million for the race.
What they're saying: "It's disappointing that negotiators haven't been able to move this event off the July 4th weekend — especially given how NASCAR has provided Chicago the opportunity to shine on the world stage," Ald. Bill Conway said in a statement.
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USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports vs. NASCAR lawsuit: Status ahead of Dover race
Sunday marks the 21st race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Chase Elliott lead the championship standings as the drivers prepare for the Monster Mile in Dover. Sunday's race is also the penultimate round of the NASCAR in-season challenge with four drivers still in contention for the prize: Ty Gibbs, Ty Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek and Tyler Reddick. This season's seen plenty of intrigue on-track, most recently with Shane van Gisbergen's dominant run on non-ovals with wins in Chicago and Sonoma. But there's been a recent development in the sports' biggest off-track storyline: 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports' lawsuit against NASCAR. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin co-own 23XI Racing, while Tennessee-based businessman Bob Jenkins owns Front Row Motorsports. Jenkins also owns a number of restaurant franchises belonging to Yum! Brands, including many KFC and Taco Bell locations. It's been nine months since the two teams initially filed a lawsuit accusing NASCAR of restraining fair competition and violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. The two teams and their six drivers – 23XI Racings' Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst as well as Front Row Motorsports' Noah Gragson, Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith – will be racing as open teams for the first time after a recent ruling and the loss of their charter status. There's been a lot of motions, counterclaims, denials, appeals and rehearings since the start of the 2025 Cup Series season. Here's a recap and timeline of all the developements: NASCAR lawsuit latest 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports will be racing as open teams because they were denied a temporary restraining order which would've kept NASCAR from revoking their chartered status. As open entries, the teams are not guaranteed spots on the starting grid because they do not have charter status. Open teams must qualify on time to make each race, unlike charter teams, who still participate in qualifying to earn the best starting position for each race but would take the green flag on race day regardless even if they failed to qualify. Open entries also make less than a third as much money per race than chartered teams. That won't be a concern this weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, however, as less than 40 cars are entered. But it could become a problem later in the season should 41 cars show up. U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Bell said in his ruling there was no threat of the two teams' drivers not making races in Dover and Indianapolis (the next race on the 2025 calendar), so there was no irreparable harm. So far this season, only two races have had more than four open cars enter. 'We are disappointed that the court declined to grant 23XI and Front Row Motorsports a temporary restraining order to allow the teams to continue racing as chartered teams,' the teams' attorney Jeffrey Kessler said in a statement. 'We remain confident that our motion for a preliminary injunction is legally warranted and necessary, and we look forward to the court's full review.' 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are seeking another injunction to remain chartered through the end of the season. NASCAR has agreed not to sell their charters until a ruling on that injunction, per Bell's ruling. NASCAR lawsuit timeline Here's what's happened since the start of the Cup Series regular season in February. To see a timeline of events prior to the 2025 Daytona 500, click here. NASCAR claims that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports violated antitrust laws during negotiations for a new charter agreement. These claims include that the teams colluded to get better terms, and 23XI Racing's co-owner Curtis Polk tried to boycott a qualifying event. Chris Yates, lead attorney for NASCAR in this case, stated that they believe the two teams misused antitrust laws to force a renegotiation. "NASCAR has no intent and no interest in renegotiating the terms of the 2025 charter," Yates said. "We're not going to let 23XI and Front Row misuse the antitrust laws to try to renegotiate the terms of the charter. That's not going to happen. So I don't see a great path to settlement, but we will participate in the court-ordered mediation process." This response is to NASCAR's appeal to a prior ruling requiring the sanctioning body to allow 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to race as chartered teams in 2025. NASCAR's appeal centers on the judge's reasoning that the Cup Series is its own market rather than a part of the wider motorsports landscape. The teams argue that NASCAR creates an environment that doesn't allow them to make as much money as they could. The two teams argue that there's no evidence of an attempted boycott and that teams work together in negotiations, just like in other sports, seeing as they are all entered in the same sport. "NASCAR's retaliatory counterclaim is an act of desperation that cannot withstand a motion to dismiss," 23XI Racing said in a statement. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports subpoenaed Formula 1 as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL teams to provide evidence on how other sporting bodies and their teams operate. NASCAR makes this request claiming it has more evidence that will prove teams colluded during charter negotiations. A three-judge panel heard the appeal by NASCAR to an injunction ruling on Dec. 18, 2024 allowing 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to race as chartered teams in 2025 while this legal battle plays out. Judge Kenneth Bell's Dec. 18 ruling was based largely on NASCAR's charter agreement including a clause that teams can't sue NASCAR. His reasoning was the teams felt like they couldn't both sign the agreement and pursue the lawsuit, hence why the injunction was necessary. Judge Paul Niemeyer pushes back in questioning Kessler, specifically that the teams cannot "have [their] cake and eat it too," referring to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports both suing NASCAR and being chartered competitors at the same time. 'If you don't want the contract, you don't enter into it, and you sue," Niemeyer said. "Or if you want the contract, you enter into it, and you've given up past releases." He and other judges reasoned that the teams could sue and race as open teams, not chartered ones. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of NASCAR and revoked the Dec. 18 injunction. The judges note in their ruling that there is no precedent for this case and Kessler's antitrust argument "is not supported by any case of which we are aware." They also reason that there's no indication that the teams will likely be successful in their lawsuit. This gave the teams 14 days to ask for a rehearing and the ruling took effect a further seven days after that. Up until this point, the two teams haven't clearly stated what they're looking for if they win this lawsuit against NASCAR. A hearing gave some general ideas. In a hearing for a motion to throw out NASCAR's counterclaim of collusion, Kessler outlines the teams are looking for: In a new filing for NASCAR's March 5 counterclaim, NASCAR asks for chartered teams in the Cup Series grid to turn over financial documents, calling some of these "critical to NASCAR's defense." As expected, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports asked for a rehearing following the June 5 ruling overturning the injunction which allowed them to compete as chartered teams during the 2025 season. This request delays when the two teams would lose their charters. "If upheld, the ruling would set a dangerous precedent, allowing monopolists to shield themselves from legal challenges simply by requiring release language as a condition of doing business with the monopoly," Kessler said in a statement. Judge Bell denied 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports' motion to dismiss NASCAR's counterclaim, stating that the sport had done enough to continue its counterclaim. But he also narrowed the amount of financial information other chartered teams had to provide NASCAR. Chartered teams only had to provide anonymized top-line financial data (total costs, revenue, net profits/loss) dating back to 2014. NASCAR was looking for more detailed information, including driver salaries and sponsorship revenue. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard the two teams' argument for reversing the June 5 decision which would revoke their charters during the 2025 season and denied their request. This makes it very difficult for the teams to race as chartered outfits for the rest of the 2025 season. "We are disappointed by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to deny our request for a full rehearing," Kessler said in a statement. "We are committed to racing this season as we continue to fight for more competitive and fair terms for all teams to ensure the future of the sport and remain fully confident in our case." Ahead of this weekend's race in Dover, the two teams looked for a potential way to remain chartered and decided on filing for a restraining order and new preliminary injunction. "New information surfaced through the discovery process that overwhelmingly supports our position that a preliminary injunction is legally warranted and necessary," Kessler said in a statement. The teams argued NASCAR informed them they'd "immediately move to sell or issue Plaintiffs' charters to other entities," which could keep the teams from getting their charters back. NASCAR said in a statement that they have attempted to end this legal battle before trial but the two teams haven't been willing to work with them. 'It is unfortunate that instead of respecting the clear rulings of the Fourth Circuit, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are now burdening the District Court with a third motion for another unnecessary and inappropriate preliminary injunction," NASCAR said in a statement. "We have yet to receive a proposal from 23XI or Front Row, as they have instead preferred to continue their damaging and distracting lawsuit," the statement continued. "We will defend NASCAR's integrity from this baseless lawsuit forced upon the sport that threatens to divide the stakeholders committed to serving race fans everywhere. We remain focused on collaborating with the 13 race teams that signed the 2025 charter agreements and share our mutual goal of delivering the best racing in the world each week, including this weekend in Dover.' The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
NASCAR Saturday schedule at Dover
The Xfinity and Cup series will be on track for nearly eight hours Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway, which is playing host to its first NASCAR weekend in July since 1969. The action on the 1-mile concrete oval will begin with Xfinity practice at 11 a.m., followed by qualifying. Cup will practice and qualify for nearly 90 minutes starting at 1:35 p.m. Saturday's highlight is a 200-mile Xfinity Series race, which will begin shortly after 4:30 p.m. Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup drivers ahead of Dover weekend Alex Bowman has four consecutive top-10 finishes at Dover, including a victory. Dustin Long, Dover schedule (All Times Eastern) Saturday, July 19 Garage open 9:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. — Xfinity Series 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. — Cup Series Track activity 11 - 11:55 a.m. — Xfinity practice (CW App) 12:05 - 1 p.m. — Xfinity qualifying (CW App) 1:35 - 2:35 p.m. — Cup practice (truTV, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) 2:45 - 3:30 p.m. — Cup qualifying (truTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) 4:30 p.m. — Xfinity race (200 laps, 200 miles; Stage 1 at Lap 45, Stage 2 at Lap 90; CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Weather Saturday: Cloudy with a shower or thunderstorm possible in the afternoon. The high will be 83 degrees with winds from the southeast at 5 to 10 mph. It's expected to be 88 degrees with a 24% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
NASCAR Cup Series at Dover odds, predictions for In-Season Challenge Round 4
NASCAR heads to the coastal plains of Dover, Delaware, for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 and the fourth (and final elimination) round of the inaugural In-Season Challenge. Our NASCAR experts, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, answer our questions ahead of the race, including who on the bubble is in the most trouble and whether a long shot has a chance to win. Also, Bianchi went four-for-four last week with his challenge picks, and Gluck seems a little salty — he makes good points, though. Take it away, guys! Time to revisit and recalibrate your Challenge picks. Jordan, did you go four for four!?? What are we predicting for this final elimination into the championship? Jeff: Hey, it's easy for Jordan to go four-for-four when he gets a re-do every week after his bracket blew up in Round 1, though I'll give him credit for taking a flier on picking Ty Dillon (even though it was just for fun). But I'll stick with my pick from the start — Tyler Reddick — to advance to the finals over Ty Gibbs. And although Dillon has been a fun story, he's been helped massively by the poor performance of his competitors: 31st, 37th and 19th. That has allowed Dillon to advance to the semifinals with finishes of eighth, 20th and 17th — although he certainly deserves credit for knocking Alex Bowman out of the way on the last corner at Sonoma to advance. But even though John Hunter Nemechek's run has also been unspectacular (he advanced by finishing 28th at Sonoma), his team will likely bring more speed at Dover, so I'm picking him over Dillon this week. Advertisement Jordan: Sure, there's a minor detail about how and why I went four-for-four last week, but all that matters is what the scoreboard says. And don't be upset that I believed in the tournament Cinderella enough to hitch my wagon to the Ty Dillon Express, which, against all odds, just keeps chugging along every week. Yes, he will face a challenge at Dover, but that makes this run all the more inspiring. For Reddick vs. Gibbs, a case can be made for either, but Reddick gets the nod as he's shown greater speed overall this season than Gibbs. You ranked the upset potential of the remaining regular-season races, and for Dover, you said, 'No way. There hasn't been an upset at Dover in the last 20 years.' Oof. Should we be disappointed by that? Could anyone get their first win of the season here? Should those trying to 'point' their way in be relieved or worried at this lack of upsets? Jeff: There are plenty of opportunities throughout the season for upset winners; I just don't think this is one of them. If you look at the list of Dover winners since 2005, the entire list is current or future Hall of Famers except for Bowman, but Bowman won during a four-victory season, so it's not like it was any sort of fluke. You're not likely to see an out-of-nowhere driver win this race on strategy or even find themselves at the front during the race, so one of the usual suspects should win this week. And as you mentioned in your question, that is a big relief for the bubble drivers because it's unlikely that someone wins from outside the top 16 and jumps them to move the cut line. Jordan: Dover is just not a track with a history of producing upset winners. This is a place that favors the best drivers and the top teams, and rare is it that circumstances allow someone beyond the 'usual suspects' to break through. But that doesn't mean there is little chance of seeing a first-time winner Sunday. The two obvious names to watch are Gibbs and Carson Hocevar, who have come close this season to getting that first-career win. Mid-season panic meter: Who on the bubble is in the hottest water right now? What's the strategy going forward? Jeff: It's hard to argue that Bubba Wallace isn't in the toughest spot of the bubble drivers because his team has playoff expectations, and he is currently in jeopardy of not doing so after his great start to the season evaporated. Wallace is only three points to the good on the cutoff line right now, but that line could move anytime with a new winner. And then he's got work to do to catch Bowman and Chris Buescher. In that case, the pressure would shift to Bowman — a Hendrick Motorsports driver can't miss the playoffs. In the meantime, the answer is Wallace, who was seventh in the point standings after the first 10 races but has only scored the 23rd-most points in the last 10. Wallace had only three top-20 finishes during that time, underlining how miserable this stretch has been. Advertisement Jordan: Wallace cannot afford to miss the playoffs for a fourth time in five years, especially while his teammate Reddick has done so in three consecutive seasons. It would help Wallace's cause if he could shake some of the bad luck that's plagued him recently, often negating what otherwise would have likely been a solid result. But Wallace also must shoulder some of the blame; in Chicago, he allowed his frustration to get the better of him in the closing laps when racing Bowman, which cost him probably 20 points. The good news for Wallace is that the upcoming schedule includes a bevy of tracks — Dover, Indianapolis, Richmond, Watkins Glen and Daytona — where he should do well. If he performs like he's capable of, he should score enough points to move him off the bubble and guard against someone below him jumping ahead. Who do you pick to win at Dover? Jeff: I've got a bit of an unusual pick for you this week: Chase Briscoe, who has never finished in the top 10 at Dover. Here's my theory: Briscoe is driving Martin Truex Jr.'s old car and has his old team, and Truex has the best average finish at Dover in the Next Gen car (5.3). It's not like Briscoe doesn't know how to get around the place; he led 107 laps and won the 2020 Xfinity Series race there before he graduated to the Cup Series (and had four straight top-10s in Xfinity races at Dover). If the No. 19 team can bring similar speed to what we'd see with Truex, as it did for Briscoe's runner-up finish at Sonoma last week, the driver might surprise some people at +2000. Jordan: Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team have seemed to up their performance in recent weeks — a stretch that includes a win at Atlanta that snapped Elliott's lengthy winless drought. And Dover represents a great chance for him to get his second win of the season. He is a two-time winner here, and his 10 top-five finishes are the most he has at any track. If Elliott can deliver Sunday, it will further solidify that the No. 9 team is every bit a title contender in the same class as William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. Who is a long shot you like? Jeff: Last year, this race became a big talking point because of how well the drivers could defend with their rear-view cameras. They simply take away the line of the car behind them, and it makes it nearly impossible to pass when they get it right. There will be a new tire this year at Dover, so maybe that changes things, but all signs for now seem to point toward the favorites. That makes it hard to find a decent 'long shot' this week. But although he has the same odds as my winner pick and isn't an upset at all, Bowman at +2000 shouldn't be overlooked. Dover is a track he loves and where he brings confidence, as evidenced by five top-five finishes in his last seven starts there. It's actually the NASCAR track where he has the most top-five finishes in his career. So, this is bending the definition of a 'long shot' quite a bit, but I don't think any true upsets are realistic. Jordan: As noted above, finding a viable longshot is not easy at Dover. So let's go with Ty Gibbs (+2800), who has finished decently here in two-career starts (10th and 13th) and whose team, Joe Gibbs Racing, is a powerhouse that has won two of the three races here, in the Next Gen Era. In a week where it feels like only a select group of drivers can win, you can do a whole lot worse than picking Gibbs. Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Chase Briscoe: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
