Getty Alex Bowman won the final race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Chicagoland Speedway has been dormant since the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season. The track is now returning in a new way as it takes center stage during the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff Rounds.
According to a press release, the three-round playoffs will begin with a September 9 event at zMax Dragway, which is next to Charlotte Motor Speedway. The second round will take place on September 23 at Chicagoland Speedway. The final round will take place on October 14 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Check out the Track Map for the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff Round 2 at @chicagolndSpdwy on September 23rd
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Chicagoland Speedway is the third NASCAR track to join the Supercross schedule. Both Atlanta Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway have served as host sites for events.
“As a proud partner of Supercross at Daytona International Speedway for over 50 years, we look forward to welcoming the first-ever SuperMotocross World Championship Playoffs to the Midwest at Chicagoland Speedway,” said Chip Wile, senior vice president and chief track properties officer, NASCAR.
“With a thrilling season of motorsports ahead, we are excited to see riders return to Daytona and Chicagoland for intense two-wheel action this season.”
Chicagoland Speedway Hosted Numerous National Series Events
GettyChicagoland Speedway hosted some memorable races.
The Midwest track first joined the national series schedule back in 2001. Both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series drivers competed at Chicagoland Speedway with Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick registering wins.
The track remained on the schedules through the 2019 season, and it served as the site of several big moments. One of the most famous was Kyle Larson’s attempted slide job to take the lead from Kyle Busch on the final lap of the 2018 race. He didn’t pull off the move, but that didn’t keep Dale Earnhardt Jr. from making one of the most memorable calls of the year.
While the Xfinity Series and Cup Series drivers started competing at Chicagoland Speedway in 2001, the Truck Series was a late addition. This series did not take on the track until the 2009 season when Busch won the inaugural race.
Busch achieved significant success at Chicagoland Speedway over the years. He won five of the 11 Truck Series races, four of the 24 Xfinity Series races, and two of the 19 Cup Series races.
Chicagoland Was Originally on Another Schedule
GettyCup Series drivers race at Chicagoland Speedway in 2018.
While Chicagoland Speedway has not been active since Alex Bowman’s win in 2019, the track was actually in the plans for 2020. The original schedule for the season featured a return to the Illinois track on June 21, 2020.
The situation changed after Joey Logano’s win at Phoenix Raceway on March 8, 2020. NASCAR went on a 10-week hiatus due to COVID-19, only to return with an altered schedule.
The drivers closed out the season with trips to a select number of tracks. This meant that there were multiple races at Darlington Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dover Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Michigan International Speedway.
In 2021 and 2022, Chicagoland Speedway remained off of the schedule while the Cup Series took on Road America. This two-year experiment led to some standout battles between Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, and Christopher Bell.
The situation changed once again with the release of the 2023 Cup Series schedule. NASCAR revealed that Road America will go back to only hosting the Xfinity Series. Instead, the Cup Series will take on the streets of Chicago for the first time.