Kyle Williams

With three victories at the Chicago Street Race, he has become a city staple.

“It stinks more for the people coming out to watch,” Ryan Blaney said. “I feel bad for the spectators that want to come out to the race with their whole families because it’s a huge weekend and, you know, it’s a special, unique race in Chicago.”

“There’s no other circuit that’s going to have [the] backdrop of the city,” Gordon said. “For our partners, how they entertain and how they bring customers to the event is different, and you can’t duplicate that anywhere else.”

The fest had all the hallmarks of a block party: a food-truck festival that featured a variety of local businesses such as Harold’s and a taco stand.

“It’s bringing racing to the people, right?” Legge said. “They can literally watch the car go by their faces, so it’s a whole different animal. You have to be precise. You’ve got concrete walls.The atmosphere is the most unique thing about street-course racing.”

“Getting back to victory lane was special for me,” Bowman told the Sun-Times. “But honestly, just the atmosphere of the whole event has been my favorite part of it.”

“Chicago is one of the best sports towns in the world, and NASCAR is proud to be a part of that historic Chicago sports culture,” NASCAR Chicago Street Race president Julie Giese said in a statement. “Derrick is one of the most beloved sports icons in the city’s history, and we look forward to having him get NASCAR’s only street race underway.”

“This is a city that knows how to put on big events,” NASCAR Chicago Street Race president Julie Giese said. “We’ve enjoyed, and continue to enjoy that relationship we have with the entire city.”

“He’s one of the better pitching coaches in the league,” right-hander Jonathan Cannon told the Sun-Times. “He’s able to tackle complicated issues and complicated problems in a very simple way.”

“There was early frustration, you could call it,” Venable said. “And, obviously, you saw what happened.”