Chicagoans think NASCAR street race will benefit the city

Chicagoans had mixed feelings when former mayor Lori Lightfoot announced last year that the city would host an eventual NASCAR street race. With the Grant Park 220 race just around the corner, The Harris Poll surveyed a representative sample of Cook County residents to investigate whether they think they race will benefit the city. Below are some of the key findings.

Cook County residents disagree on whether the city of Chicago should host a NASCAR street race. Most residents aren’t interested in attending the event. 

Opinion is split surrounding support for the decision to host a NASCAR street race festival in downtown Chicago. Two in five (38%) Cook County residents approve of the decision to host the NASCAR event, and a similar number (39%) oppose the city hosting the event. A quarter (23%) strongly oppose the city hosting the event while only 12% strongly approve. Two in five (40%) Cook Country residents oppose the city’s decision to relocate or reschedule previously scheduled events to accommodate the racecourse. Most (69%) Cook County residents are not interested in attending the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series street race.

That said, a majority of Cook County residents think the NASCAR Cup Series street race will help Chicago attract tourists and other major sporting events.

Three quarters (76%) of Cook County residents think the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series street race will have a positive impact on local tourism. A quarter (27%) of Cook County residents think the NASCAR street race festival will have a very positive impact. Two thirds (66%) of Cook County residents think the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series street race will have a positive impact on the City of Chicago’s ability to attract other major sporting events. Just under a quarter (22%) of Cook County residents think the street race will have a very positive impact on the City of Chicago’s ability to attract other major sporting events.

Most Cook County residents are interested in attending summer events in the city.

Two thirds (65%) of Cook County residents agree that they like to attend summer festivals and events in Chicago. More than half (56%) of Cook County residents disagree that Chicago’s summer festivals and events are more for tourists than for residents. Nearly nine in ten (89%) of Cook County residents agree that summer festivals and events are an important part of the City of Chicago’s culture, and 79% agree that Chicago’s summer festivals and events set the city apart from other urban areas in the US.

This survey was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll from June 13th, 2023 to June 21st, 2023 among 1,001 Cook County, IL residents ages 18+. Figures were weighted where necessary to align with actual proportions within the Cook County, IL population. For additional information, please contact The Harris Poll’s Central Insights research team.