When is the NASCAR Chicago street race? Exploring the dates of the highly anticipated race

The NASCAR Cup Series drivers are all set to write a brand new chapter in the sport's history this season with the inaugural Chicago City Street Race taking place in July.

The 250-mile-long race captures the city's most prominent and iconic venues, while the Next Gen Cup Cars roar by on the same streets used by the general public on weekdays.

The Grant Park 250, named after the 319-acre park/community are of the city of Chicago, aims to capture a new audience for NASCAR as a sport.

The 2023 season calendar has proven to be one of the most diverse in stock car racing history. The highest echelon of the sport visits old-time classics such as the North Wilkesboro Speedway, alongside classics like the Bristol Motor Speedway.

The addition of the new Street Race takes the sport's reachability to another level for newer racing fans, who would prefer the races coming to them. The schedule for the highly anticipated 100-lap-long event starts on Saturday, with the usual Practice and Qualifying rounds, and will be followed by the race on Sunday.

Here is the weekend schedule format for the Chicago City Street Race, which is due to go live on July 1:

Saturday, July 1, 2023

• Xfinity Series and Cup Series practice and qualifying
• The Black Crowes concert.
• Xfinity Series race
• The Chainsmokers concert

Sunday, July 2, 2023

• Charley Crockett concert
• Miranda Lambert concert
• Inaugural Cup Series street race

NASCAR Cup Series cars to run mufflers during Chicago City Street Race

With the Grant Park 250 winding through the city streets of Chicago, residents around the venue of the inaugural race recently had a meeting with the sport's governing body. One of the main topics of discussion ahead of the event was the noise a Cup Series race produces.

With over 30 cars running at the same time around dense city streets, concerns about noise were raised by residents as well as business owners. NASCAR as a result, has decided to run the race with each car equipped with a noise-reducing device known as a muffler.

Just like the muffler in a road car, the mufflers run by the Cup Series cars will cut down on engine noise while keeping most, if not all, of the engine's performance. These mufflers were tested earlier in the year at the Pheonix Raceway.