Going to Chicagoland Speedway
Our first Winston Cup experience was attendance at the inaugural
race at Chicagoland Speedway in July, 2001.
We made plans just 2 weeks before the race and had no trouble
finding reasonable airfare, hotels and a rental car in the suburban Chicago area.
www.chicagolandspeedway.com
provided excellent maps and instructions on how to reach the track. They provided
individual routes depending on which direction you would be coming from and had plenty of
staff directing traffic into the assigned parking areas. Its primarily freeway driving and
even though slow as you neared, they did a good job of getting you parked.
Your first view of the facility is fantastic as the grandstands and
banked track rise out of corn fields. The parking lots are not paved. They do allow
tailgating and many brought their lawn furniture and barbecues to enjoy as many hours as
possible before and after the races.
Being new, the grandstand is beautiful and clean. We spent 3 full
days there and checked the view from every seating area, high and low. You can see the
entire track from every location but need to be in row 20 or higher to take pictures over
the fence. All seats have great views of pit activity, too.
The merchandise trailers stretch out from the Speedway towards the
Route 66 drag strip and smaller oval track that are located nearby.
The Speedway does not allow you to bring in your own food or
beverages and their prices were high. ($3 for bottled water; $5.50 for a can of beer).
Typical fast food restaurants can be found just a few miles down the highway. We used lots
of sunscreen; extremely hot and limited shade only for the expensive seats.
Leaving the track wasn’t as convenient. All the staff that
helped park in the morning seemed to be gone. It took about 1 hour to navigate out of the
parking lot but once you hit the main road, there were no problems.
We very much enjoyed the experience - especially Harvick’s win
- and hope to go back again next year.
-- Karen Hathaway
Pictures from Chicagoland Speedway
(click on the image for a larger version)
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