Mother Nature gave viewers a significantly better experience at NASCAR’s second Chicago Street Race on Saturday.
Last year’s race suffered record rainfall. But fans this year were treated to sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, allowing them to enjoy live music and other entertainment that was canceled due to last year’s rain.
Saturday’s Loop 110 race also attracted new entrants who were impressed by NASCAR’s race in Chicago last year.
“They did a great job last year,” said Tom Scannell, 63, who lives a few miles away in Lake Point Tower. “We were curious.” He and his wife, Carol, walked to the race and found a seat in the shade before the second turn between practice laps.
The couple, who did not attend last year’s ceremony, received general admission tickets, which cost several hundred dollars.
“A $300 walk,” Scannell said.
Some fans who missed out on last year’s race were able to redeem themselves by getting tickets for Saturday’s event.
“This is our first time watching this race,” said Michael Rogers, a longtime NASCAR watcher who traveled from Cordesville, South Carolina. “We didn’t know anything about it last year.”
Rogers’ wife, Sandra Lynn, came wearing a Chicago Cubs jersey. She grew up in the Quad Cities, and her father took her to Wrigley Field.
The woman, who described herself as a “NASCAR freak,” said she was equally excited to see Keith Urban perform after the race on Sunday.
Heavy rain during last year’s race left some fans who came prepared with rain gear on Saturday.
Krista and Jeff Schinzel of Ottawa got wet in last year’s race. But this time they came prepared for anything.
“We brought rain boots,” Christa Schinzel said.
It wasn’t just cars on Saturday. Off-track entertainment included a performance by Chicago house dance music and Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy.
Jackie Michaels, 24, posed for a photo in front of another entertainment area, where bikers were performing high-flying stunts.
“I’ve never seen this in real life,” she said.
Michaels, a Lincoln Park preschool teacher who also attended last year’s race, said she was more prepared this time, bringing a smaller bag so it wouldn’t be confiscated by security, as happened last year.
The Mavrellis family traveled from Lincoln Park to see the race for the first time after watching it on TV last year. George and Emily Mavrellis also thought the race would entertain their 3-year-old daughter, Elena, a fan of Disney/Pixar’s “Cars.”
“We thought she would enjoy racing,” George Mavrellis said.
The family insured their bets, remembered last year’s bad weather, and waited until the week before the race to buy tickets when they knew the forecast would be favorable.
Listening to Buddy Guy’s song from under the shade of a tree, Janelle Conley was skeptical that NASCAR would be able to hold a street race last year. But that changed after she watched the race from her high-rise home in the South Loop.
“I was against it. But last year, when I saw them turn the streets into a racetrack, it piqued my interest. I had to see this,” she said.
The lack of tickets didn’t stop some from enjoying the race from outside Grant Park. Hyde Park residents Raven Lincoln and Christabel Yamoah decided to stop along the fences near East Jackson Street and South Michigan Avenue on their way to the free section of the event to watch the practice laps.
“If I have this in my backyard, I better go check it out and see it,” Yamoah said.
Contributed by: Violet Miller
