Road closures, excitement around Grant Park ahead of NASCAR Chicago Street Race
CHICAGO (CBS) – The city streets around Grant Park are about to turn into a racetrack.
The countdown is on for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race.
Tens of thousands are expected to fill the stands this weekend. Before that, the setup and street closures continue. CBS 2's Noel Brennan has been tracking all the progress and chatted with fans ready for the race weekend.
All the activity has been drawing fans, tourists, and anyone curious to see what it takes to set up a NASCAR course in a city. On Thursday night, starting at 8 p.m., lanes of Michigan Avenue between Jackson and Balbo will begin to close.
Soon the only traffic you'll see will be racecars.
Two days before race weekend, there was still traffic on the track.
Axel Bayala figured he was better off on two wheels than four while trying to navigate the city streets that NASCAR was about to take over.
"It's going to be interesting is all I can say," he said. "The City of Chicago has a lot on their hands for the next couple of days. It's going to be crazy."
A stretch of Michigan Avenue, between Jackson and Balbo, is the next section to close as last-minute setup continues.
"I'm blown away with how much this doesn't look like what we normally see, but I'm also so impressed," said Jodie Groppel.
Groppel is a NASCAR newbie, but she has an open mind and a ticket for Saturday.
"I know nothing about racing," she said. "Let's be clear, but there are 90, I know you go fast, and then, oh, there's a turn of 90, so it's going to be interesting."
Chris Becker was ready for some checkered flags in Chicago, as if his shirt and hat didn't give that away.
"Even NASCAR doesn't know how things are going to play out completely," Becker said.
He added, "NASCAR tells me it's going to be awesome, so I'm trusting my sales rep."
He admitted he paid an arm and a leg for a weekend that NASCAR expects could draw 50,000 fans per day.
"From a spectator standpoint, I think it's going to be cool to see," Bayala said. "Let's see what kind of revenue it actually brings up."
Chicagoans don't have to be NASCAR fans to root for the city.
"I'm a big Chicago fan and I'm a big event fan, and I love that we can pull this off in this great city," said Groppel.
NASCAR said its sold tickets in all 50 states, 14 counties and four continents. A spokesperson said for more than 80% of ticketholders, this weekend will be their very first NASCAR race.
