NASCAR will return to Chicagoland Speedway in 2026
JOLIET, Illinois — NASCAR confirmed they will return to Chicagoland Speedway with the release of the national series schedules for 2026.
The NASCAR Cup Series will race Sunday, July 5, at Chicagoland Speedway, replacing the Chicago Street Race weekend and bringing the Cup cars back to the 1.5-mile track for the first time since 2019. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return to the track Saturday, July 4, also for the first time since 2019.
Chicagoland fell off of the schedule in 2020 after the COVID pandemic forced a realignment. Before it fell off the schedule, the track suffered from lagging attendance brought on by lackluster racing that improved in its later years.
Momentum grew to bring Chicagoland back as the NextGen car provided better racing on similar intermediate tracks, like Kansas Speedway. Momentum for Chicagoland only heightened when NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar released a video showing himself walking around the track’s facilities.
The most recent winners at Chicagoland are Alex Bowman and Cole Custer.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com