Will the Chicago Street Course return to the 2025 Cup Series? NASCAR official speaks out

Despite a three-year deal between NASCAR and the city of Chicago, the future of Chicago Street Course seemed uncertain. However, Ben Kennedy, NASCAR's Senior Vice President of Racing Development and Strategy, believes that they will return to the 'Windy City' next year as well.

In a bid to replace the aging Road America road course from the Cup Series schedule, NASCAR introduced the new-age Chicago Street Course in 2023. This unprecedented move was likely done to make the Cup Series's 75th anniversary a memorable one.

The decision to bring racing to downtown Chicago was a strategic one as well. The dwindling popularity of the Chicagoland Speedway, likely due to the long 45-mile drive from downtown, was one of the contributing factors to the decision.

However, with the arrival of a new mayor last year, rumors of the street race not being part of the 2025 season began circulating. Now, ahead of the Grant Park 165 race on July 7, Ben Kennedy believes that NASCAR will 'likely' continue to race at the Chicago Street Course.

Here's a look at the X post by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, captioned:

"Will @NASCARChicago be back on the Cup Series schedule in 2025?@BenKennedy33 thinks so."

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Everything you need to know about NASCAR's Chicago Street Course

Rumors of a potential street course in Chicago first began in 2021. After spending a year on designing and finalizing the layout for the circuit, NASCAR's Ben Kennedy announced the introduction of the Chicago Street Course in 2022 and referred to the circuit as one of the biggest sports events in the country in 2023.

The 2.2-mile-long racetrack includes parts of Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, Buckingham Fountain, and Grant Park. The looped circuit consists of 12 turns. Being a street course, city officials close the roads that cover the track, along with a few nearby ones, to ensure the safety of the race.

The race begins on Columbus Drive in front of Buckingham Fountain and goes through Balbo Drive, Roosevelt Road, Congress Plaza Drive, and Jackson Drive. For the Xfinity Series, the race runs for 110 laps, while for the Cup Series, it runs for 165 laps. The first two races in the 'Windy City' took place on 1st and 2nd July 2023. However, the inaugural runnings of the street course were shortened due to thunderstorms on both days.

Shane van Gisbergen won the first-ever race on the streets of Chicago in the Cup Series, while Cole Custer clinched victory in the Xfinity Series. As for the lap record, those are held by Gisbergen for the Cup Series (1:29.914) and John Hunter Nemechek for the Xfinity Series (1:31.750).

Apart from racing, NASCAR also won the 'Event of the Year' at the 2024 Sports Business Awards for the Chicago Street Course.