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Are you aware that NASCAR is back in Chicago? This weekend's second Chicago Street Race is a chance for NASCAR to deliver on what it planned last year before torrential rain disrupted the event. The big picture: The 2.2-mile course that weaves through Grant Park was a tough sell to a city not as consumed with racing as other sports, but NASCAR is using it to attract a wider, more diverse fan base. Friction point: Even before last year's event was disrupted by rain, commuters were mad about street closures in the Loop, downtown residents and alders complained about noise and pollution, and Taste of Chicago fans were frustrated the event lost its summertime Chi slot. Between the lines: Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot brokered the city's contract with NASCAR, which runs through 2025, so some thought Mayor Brandon Johnson would wave it goodbye once he took office in 2023. -The agreement can be terminated with at least 180 days' notice without compensation or damages. Reality check: He didn't. But NASCAR and the city negotiated for six fewer days of race set-up and breakdown — from 25 to 19 — for this year's race. What they're saying: "Our unparalleled skyline provides a stunning backdrop for NASCAR's television and streaming audiences, and that's to say nothing of the economic benefits that come with the event," Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce CEO Jack Lavin told Axios in a statement. Zoom in: Saturday's lineup includes The Loop 110 (50 laps), performances by Buddy Guy, the Black Keys and the Chainsmokers, and Q&As with drivers. -The big race, Grant Park 165 (75 laps), is Sunday at 3:30pm with performances by Lauren Alaina and Keith Urban earlier in the afternoon. -NBC will also broadcast the races. If you go: Two-day tickets start at $269 and go up to more than $3,000 for hospitality suites. -New this year is a general admission one-day ticket for $150, with kids free on Saturday and $45 on Sunday (alongside an adult ticket). -Metra has also announced more trains will be running for the event. #nascar #chicago #grantpark #downtown #racing #city

So I have watched every Indycat street race because I prefer Indycar to NASCAR sndI still think that if you watch NBC coverage of NASCAR race then n Chicago and you watch races in Long Beach, St Pete, Toronto, and Nashville you’ll realize that the pictures from Indy street races are subpar. People will say this is a diss. It is not. Many cities open up their streets to racing, but the pictures are not epic. Chicago is weird as a city because what it has is public parkland and an epic skyline. @lorilightfoot you have been correct that we have something worthwhile. We have to realize that Chicago ratings are driven not just by residents but by ex-pats who are compelled by the pictures from Grant Park. We need a charm campaign using our assets to show others that we are real people. We have problems. But, Chicagoan’s at their heart care about others and want to make this city better. Not in a political sense but a real human sense. We need to show that’s who we are. We won’t let children go into the criminal justice system for life for being angry or hopeless after Covid. We are a city that created tough laws after extreme fires to stop extreme fires. We can stop extreme behavior, we just have to be a city of understanding, compassion, and practicality as we have been. We have to understand are children are angry that covid may have cost their hopes are dreams. We can be a City that chooses to give them new directions and new hopes. W don’t have to repeat past mistakes. We can choose to all be better.

Community update regarding the upcoming NASCAR Chicago Street Race and the road closures: New Round of NASCAR Chicago Street Race Closures, Including DuSable Lake Shore Drive: Major street closures are underway for the 2024 NASCAR Chicago Street Race, which is set to take place on July 6 and 7. This round of closures includes significant roadways, notably DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Several road closures have already been implemented in preparation for the race. Compared to last year's construction period of 25 days, the 2024 course setup and breakdown are expected to take a total of 19 days. Key details: - DuSable Lake Shore Drive Closures: Starting from Monday, July 1, closures on DuSable Lake Shore Drive will be in effect. Full closures on the Drive are scheduled for Saturday, July 6, and Sunday, July 7. - Minimizing Impacts: City of Chicago and NASCAR officials are actively working to minimize the impact of street closures, parking restrictions, reroutes, and traffic disruptions. All businesses and residences will remain accessible during course setup, race weekend, and the breakdown. - Taste of Chicago Festival: The race has also prompted a shift in the timelines for the Taste of Chicago festival, which typically occurs in July. This year, the festival will take place in September. Stay informed and plan your travel accordingly! Need Immediate Disaster Response? Are you facing an emergency and need a reliable disaster response team? Contact Skyline Property Restoration now! Fill out the form on our website, send us an email, or give us a call. Our team is committed to responding promptly and efficiently to meet your needs. - Contact form: https://lnkd.in/gK56YHuQ Contact Information: Skyline Property Restoration - Address: 13821 Harrison Street, Blue Island, Illinois 60406 - Phone: (708) 629-0563 - Email: claims@callskyline.com - Website: Skyline Property Restoration: https://lnkd.in/gF6SGpsd Follow Us: - Facebook: Skyline Property Restoration: https://lnkd.in/ghg3mG24 - YouTube: Skyline Property Restoration: https://lnkd.in/ghFAGjmN - LinkedIn: Skyline Property Restoration: https://lnkd.in/gAkk6gXF - Instagram: Skyline Property Restoration: https://lnkd.in/ggcam-Xd - Testimonials - Skyline Property Restoration: https://lnkd.in/gF6SGpsd Feel free to reach out if you need any further assistance! We are OPEN we work 365/24/7 🏢📞📧🌟 - 24-Hour Emergency Response Service. Contact us at 888-5-SKYLINE #NASCARChicago #ChicagoStreetRace #GrantParkRace #NASCAR2024 #RaceWeekend

I love how this article that our DCI team placed ties in a well-known sports entity and how its investment in a city can impact an entire economy by attracting complementary industries, residents and visitors. A tri-fecta of place marketing success. We know that sports tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in attracting leisure visitors, and we also know through Development Counsellors International's proprietary research that a potential workforce likes to visit a place first before relocation. So here's a quick tip when it comes to #talentattraction marketing: If you want to elevate your region as a great place to live and do business, don't be afraid to leverage the brand reputation of your sports teams and the development they bring to your economy. It's a winning combination. (Also...if I was more sports inclined I'd probably have a better pun... please don't tell my husband, who played college baseball, how woefully ignorant I am with these types of analogies:) #econdev #economicdevelopment

As Chris Van Den Elzen has built VDE Racing from the ground up, we have learned so much about how motorsports marketing centers entirely around the people and relationships in our sports, not on the racing at all. Unfortunately, this concept is not well understood and athletes at all levels of racing, whether grassroots or professional, struggle to build their race program because of it. Ultimately, this inspired us to launch Racer on Demand - a company built on the vision of revolutionizing the way fans and racers interact by building a platform that fosters connection and modernizes motorsports marketing. Today, we hit a huge milestone and launched the Merch Marketplace. This marketplace allows fans to shop for racer merchandise all in one place. Our MVP has launched with racers from Champ Off-Road, the premier short-course off-road series in the U.S., but we have plans to scale to more motorsports and series as we grow. Twenty-five racers are set up to sell on the marketplace as of our launch, and we've got more joining every day! Take a moment to check it out - we'd be grateful for the traffic and the feedback. https://racerondemand.us

And NOW, we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for a post about the Indy 500, and more largely the motorsports industry. 🏎 🏍🖲 💚 ❤️ 💛 💙 🖤 Manufacturing, technology, and life sciences are big economic impacts for many state economies. Racing, while niche can also greatly impact a community and state. In North Carolina, the motorsports industry accounts for $6B. In Henry County, Georgia, their track draws $250M in economic activity. In Indiana, the IMS, the oldest operating racetrack in the United States, hosts the world's largest single-day sporting event, the Indianapolis 500 in May.  It's a sight to behold. Even more impressive, the Indy 500's impact during the month of May is more than half of the state's economic activity, about $1B in total. 😮 😲 🤯 Communities focusing on a particular industry, like racing, can see that economic impact really racks up. Sources: https://lnkd.in/g_HpMxq8 -https://lnkd.in/g4vnUCq2. #incentives #growyourbiz #mayisforracing

In a past role, I was asked to do desirability research on auto racing and the findings were surprising. Desirability Findings First, racing requires insane amounts of money at every level—especially for the drivers. For the most part, this limits who gets to the top levels of racing to the sons or daughters of wealthy people. The second finding built on this: These children of wealthy people are less likely to share this fact, or much else, about themselves personally. This hurts the sport because fans want to believe they ‘know’ a driver to be able to root for them. Third, teams become dependent on wealthy drivers bringing them money to fund their racing, which hurts innovation and effort on the promotion front. In short, they get lazy. The funny thing about this is that back in the 90s the NASCAR teams used to mock Indycar and F1 as being ‘just a bunch of rich kids buying rides’…and now they are exactly the same program. The bummer for me is I love the concept of professional motorsports, but the fact that only the best drivers in the world ARE NOT on the track is disheartening and pushes me away from it. It is one of the reasons I have warmed to the ‘stick and ball’ sports—I want to see the very best compete (and intimately learn about their stories to get to the top). Reference to attached article; Instead of focusing on ‘saving their way to prosperity’ and divvying up the existing pie more, NASCAR and the other entities involved in professional motorsports would be better served to focus on dealing with the issues of Desirabilty first!

Community update regarding the upcoming NASCAR Chicago Street Race and the road closures: New Round of NASCAR Chicago Street Race Closures, Including DuSable Lake Shore Drive: Major street closures are underway for the 2024 NASCAR Chicago Street Race, which is set to take place on July 6 and 7. This round of closures includes significant roadways, notably DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Several road closures have already been implemented in preparation for the race. Compared to last year's construction period of 25 days, the 2024 course setup and breakdown are expected to take a total of 19 days. Key details: - DuSable Lake Shore Drive Closures: Starting from Monday, July 1, closures on DuSable Lake Shore Drive will be in effect. Full closures on the Drive are scheduled for Saturday, July 6, and Sunday, July 7. - Minimizing Impacts: City of Chicago and NASCAR officials are actively working to minimize the impact of street closures, parking restrictions, reroutes, and traffic disruptions. All businesses and residences will remain accessible during course setup, race weekend, and the breakdown. - Taste of Chicago Festival: The race has also prompted a shift in the timelines for the Taste of Chicago festival, which typically occurs in July. This year, the festival will take place in September. Stay informed and plan your travel accordingly! #NASCARChicago #ChicagoStreetRace #GrantParkRace #NASCAR2024 #RaceWeekend

I have about 100 irons in the fire all the time. And so should you. As a racer and a business owner, we don't make it to the track unless a very strict set of stars align. ✅ Funding ✅ Car prep ✅ Trailer prep ✅ Driver equipment ✅ Race equipment ✅ Marketing materials ✅ Media equipment ✅ Sponsor supplies The list goes on. And each one of those boxes has a dropdown with a laundry list of things that must happen as well. It is a difficult balancing act that every successful racer has to master. But that is what it takes. If you aren't ready to face that list of your own and take it all on at once, than you aren't ready to go racing. That being said, no one can do it completely solo. You have to have help to alleviate some of the pressure. If you are looking for help on the digital/branding side of things, let's talk about it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading my post! I help racers increase their sponsorship value, grow a larger following & get more opportunities to race. If you liked this post, follow me here on LinkedIn! #racing #motorsports #branding #sportsmarketing

Motorsports, consumer retail, and D2C companies looking to reach grassroots racers and the families attending races - what would you do if I told you that your product or service could reach 260,000+ email addresses with a 40+% open rate? (Yeah, I said 40+%, that's not a typo) Our bi-weekly newsletter is consistently viewed by over 100,000 recipients that are primarily homeowners, make good money and spend it on motorsports, home improvement, automotive performance & maintenance, camping & outdoor activities, and more. Product features, press releases, display promotions- we have a multitude of options to present your content to this dedicated, consistently performing audience. Let's talk about your message and the best way to include it in an upcoming edition.