March 23, 2026
How A Chicago Community Leader Helped Bring NASCAR Home with Jacque Herrera
Send us Fan Mail NASCAR doesn’t just show up with race cars and a schedule, it shows up with road closures, noise fears, neighborhood questions, and a whole lot of logistics. That’s why my conversation with Jacque Herrera is so timely. Jacque grew up in Chicago, built a career in community relations and government relations, and then made a bold leap into motorsports to help bring the Chicago Street Race to life from the community side, the part most fans never see. We get into what it actua...
NASCAR doesn’t just show up with race cars and a schedule, it shows up with road closures, noise fears, neighborhood questions, and a whole lot of logistics. That’s why my conversation with Jacque Herrera is so timely. Jacque grew up in Chicago, built a career in community relations and government relations, and then made a bold leap into motorsports to help bring the Chicago Street Race to life from the community side, the part most fans never see.
We get into what it actually takes to earn buy-in for a major motorsports event in a big city: walking buildings, meeting residents where they are, partnering with local organizations, and answering the hard questions about access, disruption, and safety. Jacque shares what surprised her about how neighbors reacted once the race weekend arrived, including how curiosity often beat frustration and how some residents went from skeptical to buying tickets and hosting watch parties.
Then we look forward to the next chapter: NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. We talk about the classic track experience fans love, including camping, easier parking, family-friendly zones, kids offers, and why a July 4th weekend race can double as an Illinois road trip with Route 66 energy. If you’ve been searching for Chicagoland Speedway tickets, NASCAR Joliet weekend details, or a fresh perspective on women in motorsports leadership, this one delivers.
Subscribe, share this with a race fan friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the Women’s Motorsports Network Podcast.
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00:00 - Welcome To Women In Motorsports
01:02 - Meet Jackie Herrera
03:01 - From Healthcare To NASCAR
05:50 - Building Community Trust In Chicago
08:39 - Street Race Concerns And Surprises
13:12 - Racing Returns To Chicagoland Speedway
16:56 - Tickets, Camping, And Weekend Plans
23:28 - Why NASCAR Works For Women
29:16 - Joliet Events And Illinois Travel Ideas
32:48 - Final Thanks And How To Support
WEBVTT
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Welcome to the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast, the show that puts the spotlight on the incredible women who fuel the world of motorsports.
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From drivers to crew members, engineers to fans, and everyone in between, we're here to celebrate the trail risers, dreamers, and doers shaping the sport we love.
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Each episode, we share inspiring stories of females of all ages from every corner of the motorsports universe, past, present, and future.
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It's a journey through the seasons of life filled with heartfelt moments, laughter, and a whole lot of horsepower.
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So whether you're a lifelong fan, a racer yourself, or simply curious about the extraordinary women behind the wheel, settle in, relax, and enjoy a fun and uplifting ride with us.
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This is the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast, connecting and celebrating women in motorsports one story at a time.
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Let's hit the track.
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Hello everyone.
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This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast.
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And Jackie Herrera is my guest today.
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And Jackie, I want to welcome you to the show.
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I'm so glad we could connect and get together.
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So, first, before we get started with the motorsports part, tell me a little bit about yourself.
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Sure.
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Thank you for having me on the show today.
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Greatly appreciate it.
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Born and raised Chicago, grew up kind of in the Westtown neighborhood, went to high school at Lincoln Park, and then eventually went to college, Michigan State, and had a few different jobs, working for Scholastic Publishing House.
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I'm working in Washington, DC, making my way back to Chicago in healthcare and then venturing over to motorsports.
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I'm a married, but it's gonna be 18 years.
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I had to think about that for a sec.
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Um, and two teenage daughters.
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Okay.
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I live in the western suburbs, and our girls are in high school, so that's been fun navigating college tours and just different activities.
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They're very involved in sports, so don't have much free time.
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No, there's never free time when you have kids in school and they're in sports and any of that.
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So they're not looking at Michigan State.
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One of them is, the other's looking at U of M.
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So they're divided.
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Oh, that's funny.
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That's funny.
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Well, we'll see what happens.
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I'm a big Michigan State fan here.
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My son-in-law played baseball there for four years and graduated from there.
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Oh, I love to hear Michigan State stories.
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It was one of the best experiences.
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That's great.
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Yeah, it's a it's a it's a good school, and U of M is too.
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So don't get me wrong, but you know, you have a little bit of a tie to Michigan State, then that's how it works, right?
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So Jackie, tell me, you it sounds like you've had a lot of different, you know, experience in the past.
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You went from healthcare to motorsports.
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That seems like a big jump.
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So tell me how how did that happen?
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Sure.
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So I've always throughout my career, I've worked in community relations, government relations.
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So when the opportunity for a director of community relations was on the Chicago Street Race website, I remember being at my parents' house and kind of the announcement came on.
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Julie Geezey was on television, the mayor was on television, Car Bachman was there, and they made Ben Kennedy and they made the announcement.
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And my father, who's a diehard lifelong NASCAR fan, jokingly is like, oh, just check to see if there's any positions available.
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So when I did, it popped up, and I was like, let me just go ahead and throw my my resume in the ring and see kind of what happens.
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And I interviewed and really was pretty, pretty seamless, really.
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Did my interview and was offered a position a few months later.
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Wow, that's fun.
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And Julie's awesome, isn't she?
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Julie's amazing.
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Oh my gosh.
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I I'm fortunate to kind of have worked with her the past three years and continue working with her, but she's just a great leader, not only for Chicago Street Race, just in all of NASCAR.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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I met her when she was in Phoenix, and she and my daughters live in Phoenix.
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And so honestly, that's the track I've been to more than any other track because I go out to visit them and I try to time it during NASCAR, you know, weekends.
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And of course, the finale was always there.
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And so I got to know her and a couple other people at the on staff there.
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And I just love her.
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And then when she went to the Chicago street race, you know, I kind of followed and I've interviewed her a few times, and she is amazing as far as what she's able to pull off.
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No offense to the men, but I'm not sure they could have done what she did.
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It's she's amazing, like you said.
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And to see kind of the Chicago street race come to life was just so impressive.
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Always looking up to her, just the way she moves and makes things very much a happy place to be working as well.
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I'm I'm sure I can see that that would be the case.
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So you started, you were hired on, you worked the Chicago Street Race, and I assume for the three years that it was there.
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Yes.
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Okay, so tell me what exactly was your position?
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What did you do?
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I was the director of community relations.
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So what that was is making sure that the community was aware that NASCAR was coming, that streets were going to be closed, that we had community initiatives going on throughout the city, being able to hit all 77 neighborhoods and all 50 wards, and just being present.
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And that basically tied into a lot of our marketing efforts with our street team.
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But this was really going door to door, kind of like you would during an election canvassing, except you're downtown, there's high-rise buildings.
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And we had support the city of Chicago, which was so helpful, and making pamphlets, having social media posts, and just making sure that we're out there, we're aware, having the presence, NASCAR in Chicago, working with different community organizations, working with Chicago Park District, After School Matters, the Boys and Girls Club.
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There's just so much great work that we did while I was there for the three years.
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It was really a blessing to be able to be in that position.
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Well, and Jackie, growing up there and then coming back, you had to feel comfortable because you knew of a lot.
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I mean, like all the wards and the different things.
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That's something that a lot of cities don't have.
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And so you were aware of how the city was laid out, its structure, and then I'm sure felt comfortable, you know, going and visiting those areas because you were one of them.
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You were a Chicagoland person.
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Right.
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Exactly.
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I was a political science major, so that helped too.
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Yeah.
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Being able to go and be comfortable in my own city, walking downtown, which I was very familiar with, walking around and driving around the different neighborhoods.
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Some of the people that I grew up with are in these positions working for these community organizations.
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I was a Chicago Park District kid.
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I was a Chicago public schools kid.
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So being able to kind of give back in that sense and have these events and these initiatives put on by NASCAR and supported financially by NASCAR was amazing because I was once in those seats or those shoes of those kids.
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And then making friends, lifelong friends, just through relationships that were formed during my time there.
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It's it's great.
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Chicago's so near and dear to my heart.
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I love it.
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My family still lives there.
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I still have family here in Joliet.
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So it's been a good mix.
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I live in the middle, so it's you know, halfway there, halfway downtown.
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Yeah, exactly.
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Yeah.
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So, you know, the the street race had a had some bumps in the road that first year, mainly the weather.
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And and so, you know, it just goes to show you can plan for everything, but there's things you can't control.
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So, what what do you think was the hardest thing that first year that you and and the team really went through, regardless?
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We know the weather, that's nothing you can do anything about.
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But was it was it difficult?
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Did people, you know, were they receptive to NASCAR coming to Chicago?
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If their street was going to be closed, were they not happy?
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How did that all go?
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I would say people more than not being happy, they were just curious to see what was gonna happen because this hadn't been done in downtown Chicago, closing those streets.
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Yes, there are festivals, but this was just something completely different.
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So I'm sure they were concerned, but I think once it happened, they were probably like, this is an amazing event.
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Or at least that's my hope that they thought that this is an amazing event.
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And we heard that from a lot of the neighbors and the constituents in the area, is yes, we know we're we can't win everyone's heart, but some people were just more concerned about property damage, but nothing was really damaged whatsoever.
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And once I had gone up to like a few different areas around the buildings that I was canvassing, and once you're in the lobby, you couldn't really hear anything of the building.
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So it was it was a happy kind of medium that we came to.
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Um we did go into different uh buildings as well and listen to the concerns that a lot of the residents had.
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And some of those residents actually purchased tickets to come out to the race.
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So as I'm walking kind of the footprint in Grant Park, it was nice to say hi to someone that lived in this building, kind of like on this street.
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And I had a team with me with the City of Chicago colleges, so the city colleges of Chicago, and they were basically my street team, my ambassadors that were going out and helping me canvas the area.
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So people recognized us when we were walking and would ask questions, and we were able to be knowledgeable enough to answer them for everyone.
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Yeah, and that's you know, I I think just from what I've heard, and and I have a cousin that lives in a 54th floor of a condo that overlooks Navy Pier.
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So he's, you know, and I say I I talked to him about it before it happened.
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He said, Oh, you know, a lot of people probably just will stay home and look out their window or or whatever.
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And he said, you know, we're not gonna hear it up here in their condo, and they were concerned anyway.
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And and I I laughed and I said, Oh, what I would do if I was you is I'd I would go somewhere that weekend and rent out your condo to somebody who wants to live.
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And we laughed about it, but you know, there will be people that do that probably.
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So, you know, you know somebody that lives close enough you could look out or you could stay there and walk to the roof.
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Right.
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And I said, you know, so there would there can be some extra benefits for some of those people that live there, but yeah.
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I agreed.
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A lot of people hosted uh watch parties as well, so they were entertaining their guests and overlooking Grant Park, so that was nice to hear.
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Yeah, I can I can see that happening because Chicagoans, like a lot of other big cities, they love their events, they love their their reasons to hold a party, and so that's that's fun to hear that for sure.
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It's nice to entertain and be like, look out my window.
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No, I know, you know, the very first time I ever went to Bill and Karen's condo was many years ago, and it was the 4th of July weekend, and it was the air show, and so 54th floor, you're looking out at the airplane, not up at the airplane, right?
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Right, and the airplane was spewing fireworks and all kinds of stuff, and it was just freaking amazing, and you know, you would never think about that kind of an event, but the same with you know, the NASCAR, those things that are right there, you can walk down and go out your lobby, and you're there at the race.
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That's pretty cool.
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It it really is, yeah.
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So tell me now, you're at Chicagoland Speedway, you know.
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We know we did the street race for three years, very successful as far as I can tell.
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Now we're at Chicagoland Speedway, which was closed for a while.
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Tell me about that journey.
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Yes, so after the Chicagol Street Race took a hitting pause, if you will, racing this summer, July 3rd, 4th, and 5th, which is that Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 4th of July weekend.
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And we will be back at Chicagoland Speedway.
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We haven't raced here in a few years, but we are happy to return.
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This was by popular fan demand that we're returning.
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So it's good to be able to bring racing back to the Joliet area.
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It's about, I would say, give or take, 45 minutes to an hour drive south of the city.
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So we're encouraging everyone to come out, see what it's like to attend a race at an actual track, as opposed to being kind of downtown Chicago where you're surrounded by a lot of the skyscrapers.
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Yeah.
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So there's two different experiences.
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Absolutely.
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Yeah, and you know, to go to Joliet, so the parking's better, you know.
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There's plenty of free parking, yeah.
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All those things, you know, and and like you said, it's a totally different experience.
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When you're watching a street race, depending where you are, you're just gonna see a a portion of it.
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When you're at Chicagoland, depending where you're sitting, you're gonna see the whole thing.
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And it's that's so different to be able to watch because I might my favorite driver might be in tenth place, and I can watch him, but on TV they're showing the you know the front, usually, and so encourage people to go.
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And and if they've been to the street race though, maybe they've become an ASCAR fan.
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And so now they're like, oh, this is not far to go.
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And you're gonna you're gonna get all those people from southern Illinois, Indiana, Michigan.
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They're they're not as comfortable driving into downtown Chicago, parking, all those things for a race, whereas they can go to Joliet and feel like it's any other racetrack that they've been to.
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It's it's much more comfortable to go to.
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And that's what I've heard.
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I've heard both people want to experience going to the city, but I've also heard people that want to say they want to be at an actual track.
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They want to be around the campers as well.
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So we do have camping for the event.
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They also want to, I always say it's like all your senses are heightened when you come to a NASCAR race because it's the smell, it's the roaring of the engine, it's the family feel that you have when you're here.
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It's nice to see everyone kind of in their merchandise, some of its vintage merchandise from drivers past, some of its newer uh merchandise, and it's multi-generational.
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Yes, so it's very nice sit to see.
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And we hope that everyone comes out here, celebrates with us, NASCAR style.
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And we're also commemorating America's 250th this summer or this year, so come celebrate with us.
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Yeah, and that'll be won't Chicagoland be is it the week after or a couple weeks after when they're in San Diego?
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Yes, it's a few weeks after.
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A few weeks after, and so you know that's an exciting thing to be happening, but I think that the excitement and the interest is just gonna carry forward the rest of the summer because they're doing some fun things this summer.
00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:49.759
So now, what have you got planned?
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Anything you can share?
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Like, are you having any concerts?
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What have you got planned special besides the race?
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We know the race is the draw, but what else?
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It's always good.
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There will be some entertainment.
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So I would tell everyone to follow us on social media.
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Things will be coming out in the next coming weeks.
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Very, very soon, I will say that.
00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:15.519
And check out our website, chicagolandspeedway.com.
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There's ticket information, there's camping information, there'll be entertainment information, and that's updated kind of on a daily basis so that we can go ahead and keep the fans well informed.
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Yeah.
00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:31.119
And about how many does Chicagoland hold for attendance?
00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:32.880
So about 44,000.
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Okay, so good crowd, yeah, for sure.
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And then you've always got the campers who've got their big TVs and they're gonna party in the campground during the race.
00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:54.880
They don't even go into the race, but they are enjoying because you still have the sight, the sights, the sounds, the smells, but you're at your camping spot, and we know that is a lot of fun too.
00:17:54.960 --> 00:18:00.319
And so either way, yeah, yeah, either way to enjoy Chicagoland.
00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:08.079
I was sharing with you a little earlier that I was there in 2000, I want to say 18.
00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:29.440
I'm pretty sure, 17 or 18, and oh my gosh, Jackie, it was in the it was a hundred degrees, and of course, the asphalt and the concrete that you're walking on, you know, and I was in the pit area for part of that race, and it was super hot there, but some really fun things that happened there.
00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:31.519
I met Dale Earnhardt Jr.
00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:33.680
And that was amazing.
00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:40.400
That was so cool, and the little girl that I was that was with me, she was 10 at the time, she actually interviewed him.
00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:46.960
I have I have it on videotape, it's so darn cute, and then you know, it was so hot.
00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:56.319
My favorite driver was Kyle Bush, and it was looking like it was gonna storm, and so I thought, you know, and he wasn't doing very well.
00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:03.039
So I thought, okay, I'm just gonna head home because I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, so I'm a couple hours from there.
00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:05.680
So I thought, well, it's gonna storm in that.
00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:07.440
He's not doing, he was way at the back.
00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:08.400
I'm just gonna go.
00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:10.720
I'll be darned if he didn't win the race.
00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:12.240
I was so mad.
00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:14.400
I'm mad at myself.
00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:21.440
So I have a lot of memories from being at Chicagoland, but it was a it's a great facility.
00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:25.440
So have it really is it is what if they had to do though?
00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.279
It's been sitting empty basically.
00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:32.720
What have what have they had to do to get it ready to go or any upgrades that is are happening?
00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:38.960
Our team, led by Colette Nelson, here has done an incredible job of maintaining the facility.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:43.359
It's really a few updates here and there, but not much.
00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:49.279
The track is in great condition, the facility itself is in great condition.
00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:54.160
Yes, some landscaping will be done, and pretty much we're good to go.
00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:58.640
That's awesome because you just wonder, you know, when it's sitting empty.
00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:05.279
I I realize that they were maintaining it, but you just never know you know what's what can need some upgrades.
00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:09.680
So that that makes it easier, that doesn't it then to get that really bad.
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:10.480
Really good.
00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:21.440
And just kudos to Colin and her team for kind of maintaining it, like you said, and just making sure that it's in great condition so that we can provide a great experience for our fans this summer.
00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:22.880
Yeah, for sure.
00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:25.200
So tickets are on the website.
00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:28.559
Tickets, you can find them at chicagoandspeedway.com.
00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:35.279
We are racing Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 4 30, and Sunday at 5 p.m.
00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:38.799
Well, that's good because it's a little cooler in the day, right?
00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:39.440
Right.
00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:41.359
None of that 1 p.m.
00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:45.839
business when it's the hottest part of the day in Chicago and the humidity.
00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:48.079
It's a very family-friendly event.
00:20:48.319 --> 00:21:08.000
We have fan zones, there'll be different activations by our sponsors, there'll be some drivers speaking at different vendor locations and tents, and then also we just have the Lego zone, so it's a designated area, and we it's very kid friendly.
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:09.279
So that's a big thing.
00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:17.440
I remember coming as a kid, if you will, and it's always nice when I go to other tracks to see families.
00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:20.079
That's a big thing for me, being a mom as well.
00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:24.559
It's like you want your kids to experience this, you want them to have a great time.
00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:28.880
And sometimes you can't find a sitter, especially on a holiday weekend.
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