NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race course was taking its final shape Friday, as crews set up the last fences and onlookers peeked through at the action.
The bustle was palpable, with less than 24 hours before drivers start their engines.
Race crew members could be seen entering their hotels along Michigan Avenue. A vendor sold NASCAR-branded T-shirts at a street corner. Crews unloaded their cars from trailers along DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Stacks of yet-to-be-built fences lay along the track.
“This (kind of race) has never been done,” said Ron Morgan, 62, who traveled from Boston for this weekend’s races.
He and his girlfriend have tickets for the Fountain Club section on Columbus Drive. They opted for the luxury suite and open bar. He did not hesitate to buy tickets that came at a steep price.
Ron Morgan, left, and Laura Mirabito look at the NASCAR Chicago Street Race course on Friday.
Owen Ziliak/Sun-Times
“The level of excitement is just amazing. I just had to do it,” he said.
Several people peeking through fences were in town for the Phillies-Cubs game at Wrigley Field the night before.
Steve Haughton, 60, considers himself a big NASCAR fan, but he won’t be here for the weekend races. He couldn’t fit it in his schedule.
Still, he admired the track through a gap in the fence along Michigan Avenue. He explained to the people traveling with him that drivers and their teams were walking through the course to assess it.
He questioned where each team’s spotters would position themselves. From the grandstands? Atop buildings on Michigan Avenue?
“If you go to a typical NASCAR race, it’s all left turns around the oval. This course, the driver has to do a lot more shifting, a lot more steering. I really don’t know how they’re going to do it,” he said.
People walk past the entrance to the NASCAR Chicago Street Race on Friday.
Owen Ziliak/Sun-Times
On the other side of the track, along DuSable Lake Shore Drive, people held their phones through gaps in the fence to snap photos of race cars being unloaded from trailers.
Naomi Schrock stopped during her daily run from West Town to take photos. She’s not a NASCAR fan, but thought her family would appreciate seeing the action.
She doesn’t mind that the race has tied up traffic, and thinks the complaints from neighbors around Grant Park are unwarranted.
“They’re living in a very cool, big city that’s open to new things. What’s one weekend?” said Schrock, 38, a nurse at UI Health.
Marianne Nagy traveled from Cleveland, Ohio, to attend the races and visit her daughter, Grace.
“We’re a huge NASCAR family,” Nagy said.
While her “admission plus” tickets were far more expensive than typical NASCAR races, she said it was worth it because of the perks.
Onlookers take pictures Friday as NASCAR crews unload race cars in preparation for the Chicago Street Race.
Owen Ziliak/Sun-Times
“For this, we’re paying for the concerts, both races, all the activities that are going on like before and after,” said Nagy, 54.
Her daughter, Grace, doesn’t consider herself as big a NASCAR fan as her mom. But she’s still excited for the Chainsmokers concert.
Some tourists were disappointed to find Buckingham Fountain closed to the public by NASCAR construction.
Debbie and Tony Roden-Reynolds had planned to visit the fountain but left disappointed.
They had flown from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for the Phillies-Cubs game.
“We’re leaving tomorrow. That was the last thing we were going to see,” said Debbie Roden-Reynolds, 71, as the couple strolled through Maggie Daley Park on the way back to their room at the DoubleTree Hilton.
Debbie and Tony Roden-Reynolds walk through Maggie Daley Park after an unsuccessful trip to visit Buckingham Fountain.
David Struett/Sun-Times
NASCAR has said it would take extra efforts to keep Grant Park open to the public as much as possible, but the majority of the park was closed to the public Friday morning.
One family walked near the track on Columbus Avenue, trying to find a way to the Museum Campus.
“There’s no signs or anything anywhere to tell people alternatives,” said Drake Shrader, 28, of Avondale.
His family is visiting from Houston, Texas. For some of them, it’s their first time in Chicago.
“I feel comfortable making my way around the park, but now I’m lost,” Shrader said.
He said he booked a parking spot in Millennium Park’s garage, but he wasn’t able to access it and had to find another garage.
Shrader said he supports bringing industry and “unique experiences” to the city, but they should be less disruptive.
The Shrader family walks near the NASCAR Chicago Street Race course on Friday.
Owen Ziliak/Sun-Times