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.
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 a luxury suite with open bar set up on Columbus Drive. He did not hesitate, despite the steep price.
“The level of excitement is just amazing,” Morgan said. “I just had to do it.”
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 couldn’t fit the weekend races into his schedule.
Still, he admired the track through a gap in the fence along Michigan Avenue, explaining to his companions how the 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.
The pit road along Columbus Drive near the Art Institute also got its share of visitors Friday afternoon.
Jill Rappis and Michelle Doyle live nearby and stopped by, hoping to spot some race cars.
“It’s so exciting,” Rappis said. “The city gets some bad press. So this is getting us some good attention.”
Added Doyle: “It’s also a chance to show off the skyline, the lake, Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue.”
Lynne and Billy Lilly also stopped by to catch a glimpse of the pits. The couple is in town for the race from Tampico, in western Illinois.
Neither are big NASCAR fans, but Lynne’s brother hooked them up with last-minute tickets.
Both were impressed by how quickly the track had been set up.
“I’m excited, especially once I figure out where my seat is,” Billy Lilly said. “I’m just looking forward to seeing how they’re going to pull off a race like this right here in the middle of the city.”
The two often come into the city often, especially for Cubs games.
“I think it’s great what this is doing for the city,” Lynne Lilly said. “To bring all these people in and show what the city has to offer is a great opportunity.”
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,” said Schrock, 38, a nurse at UI Health. “What’s one weekend?”
Marianne Nagy traveled from Cleveland, Ohio, to attend the races and visit her daughter, Grace.
“We’re a huge NASCAR family,” Nagy said, though Grace was more excited about the Chainsmokers concert.
While her “admission plus” tickets cost far more than typical NASCAR races, she said the perks were worth it.
“For this, we’re paying for the concerts, both races, all the activities that are going on like before and after,” said Nagy, 54.
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 Friday. 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.
NASCAR has said it would try to keep Grant Park as open as possible, but much of the park was closed Friday morning.
One family walked on Columbus Drive, trying to get 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,” Shrader said. “But now I’m lost.”
He said he booked a spot in Millennium Park’s garage, but couldn’t get to that garage and had to find another.
Shrader said he supports bringing industry and “unique experiences” to the city, but they should be less disruptive.
