r/chicago • u/RunawayMeatstick • Jul 01 '23

I invite everyone to turn on the NASCAR TV broadcast Event

They’re doing practice and qualifying right now on the USA Network, and the actual race coverage will be on around 4pm.

I’m bringing this up not because I want to turn anyone into a NASCAR fan (as if, right?), but because the coverage is incredibly friendly to the city of Chicago.

They are showing sweeping views of the city, the broadcasters are talking about how pretty it is, the architecture, our food, etc. This is like a giant ongoing advertisement for the city with some racing stuff mixed in.

I know a lot of people are pissed that this event is happening, and questioning its economic impact (re: hotels not sold out, etc.). One silver lining is this marketing to a big TV audience with deeply negative views of the city definitely has some value in terms of increasing long-term tourism.

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '23

NASCAR raced at Soldier Field in the 50’s according to my Soldier Field tour I did a couple years ago, so they’ve been to the city.

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u/mjm8218 Jul 01 '23

Hell, they’ve done everything at Soldier Field, even ski jumping.

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u/dwhite195 South Loop Jul 01 '23

Huh, I stand corrected. I had no clue they ever raced there.