Coming from a driver who has been racing in the Cup Series for two decades now, the upcoming race at Chicago will be an entertaining affair for fans.
NASCAR will make history this weekend as it is set to race for the first time on a street course in Chicago. The Cup and the Xfinity race will take the race through the Grant Park area of Chicago, including the iconic Buckingham Fountain.
“I feel like the Chicago Street Race is a really cool opportunity. It’s going to be a challenge for sure,” Busch through the Grant Park area of Chicago, including the iconic Buckingham Fountain. “I’m curious to kind of see the layout and how it all really works.
“At the same time, it’s going to be a great venue for the city of Chicago and for NASCAR. They’re really making a big weekend out of it so it should be a good time.
“It might not be the most fun race that we do, just with the technicality of the race course and how narrow it is and street racing with big, heavy stock cars.”
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Given the form Busch is in and the experience he has, he could be considered one of the favourites to win the race. However, as it is the first of its kind, Busch will be as clueless as any other driver racing on that day, despite running simulations.
“I believe the Chicago Street Race will be one of the most challenging races that Cup has ever seen,” he said. “Yeah, we’re racing cars that were kind of made for road racing, but they’re still 3,600 pounds and big, heavy stock cars.
“We’re trying to run them on streets and rough streets at that. Really tight, 90-degree corners so everything is going to be super, super close action, tight quarters, bumping and banging and probably hitting some barriers here and there.
“It’s going to be a heck of a show and a very interesting one at that, especially being the first time with nobody really knowing what to expect.”
The uncertainty will be somewhat eased when drivers do their 50-minute practice session on Saturday and the two-round qualifying session. However, despite the preparations, the race will present challenges and drivers will have to deal with them on the spot. While it would be challenging, but as Kyle said, it would certainly be a heck of a show.