No More Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR Racing Ever?

JOLIET, IL — Millions of people from across the U.S. have flocked to Joliet's Chicagoland Speedway for more than 20 years to watch NASCAR races that are televised across the nation, but Joliet's track may not have a future. On Tuesday, the Sports Business Journal broke the news on Twitter that Joliet's Chicagoland Speedway is being stripped of its annual NASCAR weekend as part of the 2021 schedule.

NASCAR, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, also pulled its Joliet NASCAR event from this year's schedule.

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Joliet was supposed to host its annual NASCAR race weekend June 18-21.

Joliet's NASCAR track now has a murky future, and it's possible that NASCAR racing is over for Joliet and Will County.

The track opened in the late 1990s, and for a number of years, it enjoyed hosting two NASCAR races, bringing huge revenue to the Joliet region, notably to the motels and hotels throughout Will County.

On Tuesday evening, WJOL Morning Show Host Scott Slocum reported the news to his Facebook followers, asking them, "Have we seen the last racing ever at Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway in Joliet. Property could be home to more warehouses in the future?"

WJOL's story on the NASCAR shakeup that puts Joliet in bad shape can be read here.

On Twitter Tuesday afternoon, there was a strong reaction to the news of Joliet losing its NASCAR weekend for the 2021 season.

The following comments were posted on the thread for the Sports Business Journal news blurb:

• "Wow. That's sad. I thought it was Road of the Americas in Texas that was getting a race? Or both?"
• "Is it to allocate more to the tracks that they own outright?"
• "They need to cull the schedule down to 28 races and lose the stupid All Star race. The ratings would increase due to less product."
• "Are you kidding me?"