NASCAR’s Chicago Street Course: A turn-by-turn analysis

Chicago street map

Photo by: Uncredited

Frontstretch

The front straightaway and pit road areas are located on South Columbus Drive and run along a two-block stretch that will take the Xfinity and Cup fields past the iconic Buckingham Fountain, a Chicago landmark dedicated in 1927 and one of the largest in the world.

Turn 1

Drivers will turn left from South Columbus Drive onto East Balbo Drive and toward Lake Michigan in the first of several 90-degree turns which highlight the course.

This will be the first opportunity to tell whether NASCAR’s version of street racing will resemble what has transpired recently on its road courses, with restart chaos likely.

“When there’s a 90-degree (turn) with a concrete barrier, you’re going to think twice about burying it down in there. It’s just the reality of it,” said Cup driver Michael McDowell. “Calculated aggression is going to be what wins this race, and I don’t think we’re going to see a lot of what we typically see on our road courses – in particular, on the starts and restarts.”

Although there are several 90-degree turns around the circuit, they vary greatly in width with Turn 1 being one of the more manageable ones. Side-by-side through here is possible, and don’t be surprised to see three-wide on a late-race restart.

Turns 2-5

Drivers face their first right-hander on to the southbound lanes of DuSable Lake Shore Drive, where a dive-bomb is possible under braking … if you’re bold enough.

Turn 2

What follows is a not very straight straightaway with a fast right-hand curve (Turn 3) in the middle of it, lying just in front of the Field Museum. Drivers will begin to lift at some point through here as they quickly approach a tricky braking zone.

Turn 3

The field will then turn right again on to East Roosevelt Road, which is the southernmost part of the course. Turn 4 is very tricky part of the track, where clipping the inside wall on entry or pushing out into the outer wall is an easy mistake to make. This corner is easy to miss, with Cup star Denny Hamlin saying on his podcast this week that it took him over an hour to get it right on the simulator.

Turn 4

Another right-hander awaits the field in Turn 5. The shape of the inside wall here makes it a lot easier to navigate than most other corners around the course. Nailing the exit here will be paramount for what comes next, as the field will then be taken back on to South Columbus Drive for the longest straightaway on the entire course.

Turn 5

“There are a couple of really long straightaways that lead to sharp corners and passing zones,” said driver Kevin Harvick. “There’s not a lot of runoff, so if you make a mistake, usually you’re going to hit something.”

Turn 6

This 90-degree left turn on to East Balbo Drive is one of the most interesting parts of the track – it sits directly behind Turn 1 and will make for some great overhead pictures. You could see a lot of passes down into this corner as drivers get a run down the lengthy straightaway, or simply out-brake the car ahead. But you’re really going to want to get it all sorted before the turn as things will get pretty tight.

Turn 6

Turn 7

A 90-degree right-hand turn on South Michigan Avenue sends drivers heading north again and sets up one of the most challenging parts of the course. The entry into Turn 7 has a unique challenge as drivers will go over a bridge, setting up a downhill braking zone into one of the tightest sections of the entire track.

Turn 7

Hall of Famer and NBC sports analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. described the potential issues heading into this, “They’re going to have to start braking into Turn 7 as the car crests the hill, and that’ll be a really unorthodox thing to do.

“The car is going to want to lock up the tires when they hit the brake pedal there. So, that’ll be fun to watch them try to crest the hill, brake, slow down, turn right – all of those things at the same time.”

Turns 8-10

Drivers follow the curve of Congress Plaza to the right, which begins a sweeping chicane that crosses Ida B. Wells Drive and into a lazy turn in front of Buckingham Fountain and then a right turn back on Michigan Avenue.

This is one of the more volatile parts of the circuit. Although the overhead shot doesn’t really do it justice, it’s very tempting to nearly clip the wall at the entry of Turn 8 as you try and set up a better run into Turn 9. Doing so will almost certainly send a driver careening into the wall on exit, and will leave those behind with absolutely nowhere to go. If there’s going to be a track-blocking accident, this may very well be the spot.

Turn 8

Drivers will then have to quickly get the car turning back to the left for the winding (and very bumpy) Turn 9. You’ll have to feather the throttle through here, and keep it tight to the wall.

Turn 9

Then we have Turn 10, where the cars will carry a decent amount of speed with drivers likely lifting off the throttle and not even touching the brakes as they again get dangerously close to the inside wall.

Turn 10

Turn 11

This 90-degree right-hander on East Jackson Drive is the northernmost part of the course. Easily visible will be the famous bronze African lion statues of the Art Institute of Chicago, which was founded in 1879. It’s pretty standard turn-in with no surprise quirks.

Turn 11

Turn 12

Another 90-degree right-hander puts the field back on the front straightaway and pit road, which is flanked on the left by the temporarily constructed Congress and Garden suites and on the right by the massive two-level President’s Paddock Club.

The braking zone into the final corner is also downhill, but not nearly as steep as the braking zone into Turn 7.

Don’t expect much passing through Turns 11 and 12, unless someone makes a mistake. This will likely be a train of cars through here, just focused on getting a good run onto the frontstretch for a possible attack into Turn 1.