NASCAR fans revved up for second Chicago Street Race, this time with nicer weather
Mother Nature gave spectators a drastically better experience at Saturday's NASCAR’s second Chicago Street Race.
Last year's race suffered from record-setting rainfall. But fans this year were graced with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, allowing them to enjoy live music and other entertainment that was rained out last year.
Saturday's The Loop 110 race also drew in first-timers who were impressed by NASCAR's Chicago race last year.
"They did an excellent job last year. We were curious," said Tom Scannell, 63, who lives a couple of miles away at Lake Point Tower. He and his wife, Carole, walked to the race and found a bench in the shade before Turn 2 between practice runs.
The couple, who didn't attend last year, have general admission tickets, which cost several hundred dollars.
"A $300 walk," Scannell said.
Some fans who missed last year's race redeemed themselves by getting tickets to Saturday's competition.
"This is our first time. We didn't know about it" last year, said Michael Rogers, a longtime NASCAR viewer who traveled from Cordesville, South Carolina.
Rogers’ wife, Sandra Linn, came sporting a Chicago Cubs jersey. She grew up in the Quad Cities, and her father took her to Wrigley Field.
The self-described "NASCAR fanatic" said she was equally excited to see Keith Urban perform after the race on Sunday.
Record-setting rain at last year's race scarred some fans who came prepared Saturday with rain gear.
Krista and Jeff Schinzel from Ottawa got soaked at last year's race. But this time they came ready for anything
"We brought rain boots," Krista Schinzel said.
It wasn't all stock cars on Saturday. Off-track entertainment included a Chicago house dance music set and Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy.
Jacquie Michaels, 24, posed for a photo in front of another entertainment area, where dirt bike riders performed flips high in the air.
"I've never seen this in real life," she said.
Michaels, a Lincoln Park preschool teacher who also attended last year's race, said she was more prepared this time, bringing a smaller bag so it wouldn't get confiscated by security, as happened last year.
The Mavrelis family traveled from Lincoln Park to see the race for the first time after watching the race on television last year. George and Emily Mavrelis also thought the race would entertain their 3-year-old daughter, Elena, a fan of the Disney-Pixar movie "Cars."
"We thought she'd get a kick out of the race," George Mavrelis said.
The family hedged their bets, remembering the lousy weather last year, and waited until the week before the race to buy tickets when they knew the forecast would be favorable.
Janell Conley, who took in the riffs of Buddy Guy from the shade of a tree, was skeptical that NASCAR could pull off the street race last year. But that changed after witnessing the race from her South Loop high-rise home.
"I was a naysayer. But last year, watching them transform the streets into a racecourse, that piqued my interest. I just had to see this," she said.
A lack of tickets didn't stop some from enjoying the race from outside Grant Park. Hyde Park residents Raven Lincoln and Christabel Yamoah decided to stop along the fences near East Jackson Boulevard and South Michigan Avenue on their way to the free section of the event to watch the practice rounds.
“If I have this in my backyard I might as well check it out and see it,” Yamoah said.
Contributing: Violet Miller