NASCAR has been evaluating a possible return to Chicagoland Speedway for next year, according to people familiar with the matter, and the chances of the move happening are said to be increasing. Once derided as a “cookie cutter” 1.5-mile oval that produced predictable racing entertainment, the venue in Joliet, Ill., was removed from the NASCAR schedule in 2021. But amid a revival in interest in 1.5-milers due to the characteristics of the seventh-generation race car that debuted in 2022, NASCAR fans have asked in stepped-up droves for a return to the sprawling venue.
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It could not be established by presstime how much NASCAR would need to invest to get the facility back up to standards after several years of largely being unused, but permanent motorsports venues like Chicagoland have massive footprints that can require capital expenditures well into the seven or eight figures to keep up with fans’ modern-day expectations. The track, about an hour from downtown Chicago, is a legacy ISC venue that started hosting NASCAR and IndyCar races in 2001.