Helena Lungstrom raced through streets in downtown Chicago at over 100 mph Tuesday evening, crashing a few times near Buckingham Fountain.
But the 58-year-old wasn’t out for a joyride. Lungstrom was one of the hundreds of race fans who got to drive the NASCAR Chicago Street Race course on a simulator at Navy Pier’s AON Grand Ballroom.
“It was crazy, it was harder than it appears,” Lungstrom said.
The iRacing simulators — which NASCAR drivers use for practice — was the highlight of the NASCAR Navy Pier Fan Fest. The free event was one of several taking place this week ahead of the big races Saturday and Sunday. The event was sponsored by Logitech, iRacing and Coca-Cola.
Lungstrom, a longtime NASCAR fan, said the simulator gave her a new appreciation for the skill it takes to navigate a stock car around a course at high speeds. She said it’s hard for her to picture cars going that fast on DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
“I drive on Lake Shore Drive all the time. I know all the bumps and the turns. I can’t imagine, I hope they’re all safe,” Lungstrom said.
The 2.2-mile Chicago Street Race course will wind drivers through downtown, taking them on Columbus Drive, DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue and other streets.
Each lap of the course has 12 turns, seven of which are at 90 degrees. Grandstands and viewing suites line many of the course’s straightaways. For Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, drivers will race for 100 laps around the course.
Alexander Peacock was surprised at how close the simulator felt to driving an actual vehicle. He found it challenging to navigate the tight turns, even though he didn’t come close to the speeds professional drivers will be reaching.
“The actual feel for the driving seemed very realistic, and it was definitely harder than I thought it would be,” Peacock said. “The handling, reversing, the tight turns. I think it’s an incredible skill, and [the drivers] put their life on the line.”
Aaron Smith, 19, has tickets for both race days this weekend. He came out to the event to experience the simulator and get a feel for the challenges the drivers will be facing.
“It’s crazy, I know it’s really physically demanding being in an actual car and going that fast in a street course like this,” Smith said. “Just trying to pick it up on a video game and seeing how difficult it is, it makes me appreciate how much harder it is for the real drivers.”
Peacock, who lives on the South Side, said he won’t be able to attend the races this weekend because tickets were expensive — general admission prices range from $269 to $353 for both days — but he said he’ll watch it on TV. He also hopes more races come to the city.
“I think it’s amazing,” Alexander said. “I want there to be more like it so we don’t have to drive out to the suburbs or Indiana. If we can get more race-car events in Chicago I think the city will really come out for it.”
Fans at the Navy Pier event were also able to take photos with the Grant Park 220 and The Loop 121 trophies. A livestream of the eNASCAR racing series was also projected on a big screen.
Lungstrom said she’s been to multiple NASCAR races and thinks the “all-American sport” represents the heart of the country. She thinks this weekend’s races can help dispel some of the myths of the city.
“There’s a lot of misnomers about the city of Chicago, a lot of memes, a lot of jokes, and I hope this race coming here really educates people that this is one of the best cities in the entire world,” she said.
Contributing: Kaitlin Washburn
