The USA is home to a large variety of race tracks that are too many to count. However, NASCAR is limited to a handful of venues, and some race tracks are used twice during a season. This makes it difficult for everyone to see their favorite venue host a NASCAR race, and factors such as attendance, media appeal and business also play a role in deciding these tracks. But, with how NASCAR has positioned itself in the past few years, it feels as if they can take up any challenge thrown at them. And this is what got Ryan Blaney interested in sharing his choice of track that he would like to see on the Cup Series calendar.
The conversation started with talk of Mexico and the Chicago Street Course joining the calendar. In light of that, what would Blaney’s dream additions be to the Cup Series calendar? Many drivers have a favorite track, and some might not even feature on the Cup Series calendar. Being an Ohio native, one would have expected answers like Dayton, Eldora Speedway or even Mid-Ohio.
After all, which driver would not want to race on their home track and possibly win in front of their fans? However, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion opted for an iconic intermediate track. The complex is still hosting races, but NASCAR hasn’t come back there in a while. The oval in question is the Chicagoland Speedway, which last hosted a Cup race in 2019.
Responding to a reporter named Chase Elliott, Blaney said, “Yeah, I think NASCAR has gotten – I applaud them for getting bold at going to some places new. Like trying the street course in Chicago, wanted to go international for Mexico. I was a big advocate for pushing, like we got to get international somewhere. Whether that was Mexico, Canada, or wherever we could go. Where else would I like to see them go? I don’t know, they’ve proven that they can kind of do it anywhere, if you put the resources and the time in it.”
It was a subtle jab at NASCAR, which has ignored traditional short tracks and intermediates while adding street and road course races. Yeah, one might argue that they brought the brought in Bowman Gray and North Wilkesboro Speedway back in the mix. But these are special events, non-points races, whereas the Street Race in Chicago or the Charlotte Roval in the playoffs hold weight and significance. But, now that NASCAR has displayed that they can pull off a race wherever they want, the Penske star wants them to revisit Chicagoland.
Blaney continued, “You can make a street course, you can go do different road courses that are already existing. Maybe even some tracks that we used to go to, that we go to anymore, like Chicago the Joliet race track [Chicagoland]. My name is in the bucket for that, I’d like to see come back because it’d be a great race track, and it always was. They are God, they can choose where they go, set the schedule, work with these cities and things like that. To figure out where can we bring our show pretty much to a city near you. I think they can do it, it’s just a matter of – and I don’t know the technical insights, I’m sure it’s hell. I just go where they tell me to go and I race, but I’d love to personally, if we’re naming places, I’d love to see Joliet come back.”
Chicagoland’s departure was a case of unfortunate timing. This was around the time the pandemic struck and the world was nearly shut down, including NASCAR. Once some semblance of normality was resumed, some race tracks were sacrificed, and Chicagoland was one of them in 2019. With no racing, other plans began cooking up, including a plan to convert 82 acres of parking space into warehouse storage. Fortunately, those plans were halted in their tracks, almost immediately. Then came the bitter blow that NASCAR would not return from 2021 onwards.
Well, there is a possibility that NASCAR can change their mind. The 1.5-mile track is in decent condition, and with the street race running its course in 2025 in the final year, the governing body would want to remain active in the Chicago region. The likes of Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Dale Jr., and Kevin Harvick have all won at this track, and in the modern era where Next Gen car is a hit on intermediate style of racing, this is the time to discard one road course event and add a traditional oval to the calendar.
On the flip side, Blaney also talked about his plans for the playoffs and how different his team will plan his races now that they have booked their ticket for the top 16.
Expect the #12 car battling for stage wins
Team Penske, out of all the organizations knows how to play by the rule book. They are the class of the field when it comes to bagging championships ever since the Gen 7 car came into play. Now that all four Penske drivers are locked into the playoffs, they have the option to test new strategies or play for playoff points. A stage win equals one playoff point, and this points cushion is huge for the drivers in those knockout races where one DNF could decide that championship fate.
“We’ve done that before, in a spot whether we’ve won a race or not. We’ve always looked at it as if you’re running fifteen and it’s a funky caution where it is going to be a few laps to the end, can you get the lead? And can you get the stage point? You gotta start in the back, but if we don’t have a car to win, we can get all we can. 10 points and a playoff point… You don’t wanna get buried if you have the best car out there. So it’s a lot of situational things,” Blaney added.
Next up is a streak of road course and street racing until the regular season finale. And knowing that Blaney isn’t the road course ringer, he and his team might have figured out a plan to make the most of upcoming races.
The post Ryan Blaney Calls for Iconic Track’s Return 6 Years After NASCAR Abandoned It appeared first on EssentiallySports.