NASCAR adds Xfinity as founding partner for Chicago Street Race. The cable giant will get its own dedicated turn.
NASCAR continues to ring up major sponsors for the inaugural Chicago Street Race, with Xfinity added to the lineup in advance of the July Fourth weekend event.
Announced as a founding partner Thursday, Xfinity will have official presenting, marketing and promotional rights for the first street course in NASCAR’s 75-year history.
The cable giant will also get something a little more unusual — its own dedicated turn onto South Michigan Avenue.
Xfinity will stake branding claim to turn 10 of the 12-turn, 2.2-mile racecourse, which will wind through Grant Park and down stretches of DuSable Lake Shore Drive. The Xfinity 10G turn will see the cars careening around East Congress Plaza Drive as they head to the Buckingham Fountain start/finish line.
“The Chicago Street Race is an incredible moment in NASCAR history, and we can’t think of a better platform to showcase the Xfinity 10G Network and Xfinity Mobile with the iconic Chicago skyline as a backdrop,” Matt Lederer, vice president of Xfinity Brand Partnerships, said in a news release.
Xfinity is the third founding partner of the Chicago Street Race, joining McDonald’s and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, who signed on in March. But it is already a major national sponsor, now in its ninth season with the Xfinity Series, the second tier of NASCAR competition.
The Grant Park 220, a nationally televised Cup Series race on July 2, will feature top NASCAR drivers navigating closed-off streets lined with temporary fences, grandstands and hospitality suites. Speeds may top 100 mph on straightaways, with slowdowns at turns and traffic bottlenecks, according to the race website.
A separate Xfinity Series race is set for July 1. The weekend’s festivities include full-length concerts headlined by Miranda Lambert, the Chainsmokers and the Black Crowes.
The Chicago Street Race is expected to draw 100,000 attendees during July Fourth weekend, a potential tourism boon for the city, and an opportunity to expand the fan base for NASCAR, which has struggled with declining ratings and attendance in recent years.
Tickets range from $269 for two-day general admission to $3,000 for premium hospitality suites perched above the pit road at Buckingham Fountain. Several sections of reserved seats are sold out, according to the race website.
Among the sold-out sections are the reserved seats along South Michigan Avenue coming out of the Xfinity turn. But there are still some reserved seats available heading into turn 10. The tickets cost $849 per person, or about four times the average monthly cable bill.
