NASCAR is firing up the engines again at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet over the July Fourth weekend, bringing top-tier stock car racing back to the 1.5-mile oval for the first time since 2019. The Cup Series will cap the holiday slate with a points race on Sunday, July 5, with support series filling out the rest of the weekend. To get ready, the track hosted a two-day Goodyear tire test this week, where Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson turned laps to see how the Next Gen cars stack up on the Joliet surface.
What’s on the schedule
According to a press release from Chicagoland Speedway, the ARCA Menards Series will kick things off on Friday, July 3, followed by the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on Saturday, July 4, and the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, July 5. The lineup puts a traditional Independence Day weekend show back in the Chicago market after three seasons of NASCAR action on a downtown street circuit.
Tire testing and driver reactions
NASCAR wrapped up a two-day Goodyear tire test at the Joliet oval this week as teams worked to understand how the Next Gen cars react on the 1.5-mile layout, per NASCAR. Ryan Blaney told CBS Chicago that the track "looks to be in really good shape," while Kyle Larson said the surface felt "completely raceable" during the test sessions.
From Grant Park to Joliet
NASCAR has paused its downtown Chicago street race for 2026 and kept the Independence Day weekend event in the region by shifting it back to the suburbs, according to NBC Chicago. Hoodline previously covered the pause and the local back-and-forth over street closures, costs and operational headaches as city officials and organizers continue debating whether any future downtown plan should steer the race back into Grant Park.
Tickets, broadcast and travel
The track’s ticket announcement notes that deposits and full tickets went on sale in October, and fans are urged to check directly with the venue for camping options and hospitality packages through the official ticket notice on the speedway site. The official NASCAR schedule lists the July 5 Cup race on TNT Sports, with additional weekend coverage on The CW, so anyone planning a holiday road trip should keep an eye on both the series and track websites for the latest logistical details.
For Joliet, the weekend is being billed as a homecoming, and organizers are banking on a mix of longtime Chicagoland Speedway regulars and newer fans who discovered NASCAR during the downtown street races. Blaney said he hopes some of those fresh Chicago-area followers make the drive to Joliet this July, helping connect the city-center street course experiment with the more familiar suburban speedway scene.
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