Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a speedway in Joliet, Illinois, USA, southwest of Chicago. The speedway is actually located several miles south of Joliet proper, just off Illinois Route 53 between Joliet and Wilmington, Illinois. It currently has a capacity of 75,000 people. Since its inaugural season in 2001, the Chicagoland Speedway has became an unexpected and significant draw for major NASCAR and IRL events, often selling out major races months in advance.
Although listed simply as a D-shaped oval, Chicagoland is unique in that it is one continuous curve, as the backstretch has a noticeable bend to it.
Chicagoland hosts the NASCAR/Nextel Cup Series race, USG Sheetrock 400, and the NASCAR/Busch Series Race, USG Durock 300, just once a year. Chicagoland is known to be one of NASCAR's infamous "cookie cutter" 1.5 mile speedways. Its name is derived from the fact that it resemble many other 1.5 mile downforce racetracks that resemble a D-shape in the NASCAR racing series.
History
From 1999 through 2000, the Chicagoland Speedway was built adjacent to the older Route 66 Raceway.
In 2001, the Speedway opened with NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Winston Cup Series, ARCA RE/MAX Series, and IRL IndyCar Series events.
The track features races from the NEXTEL Cup, the Busch Grand National Series, ARCA, Indy Racing League, and the International Race of Champions (IROC).
Current races
- NASCAR Nextel Cup - USG Sheetrock 400
- NASCAR Busch Series - USG Durock 300
- Indy Racing League - Peak Antifreeze Indy 300
Records
- NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying: Jimmie Johnson, 28.701 sec. (188.147 mph), 2005
- NASCAR Nextel Cup Race (400 miles): Kevin Harvick, 2 hrs. 55 min. 37 sec. (136.832 mph), July 14, 2002
- NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying: Ryan Newman, 28.964 sec. (186.438 mph), 2005
- NASCAR Busch Series Race (300 miles): Kevin Harvick, 2 hrs. 18 min. 6 sec. (130.340 mph), July 9, 2005
See also
External links
- Chicagoland Speedway Official Site
- Chicagoland Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
- High Resolution image from Google Maps
Vorlage:Nextel Cup Series Vorlage:Busch Series Vorlage:Indy Racing League Vorlage:IROC Vorlage:ARCA