NASCAR’s Final Street Race at Chicago!

A Scenic Start to the NASCAR Weekend in Chicago

Good morning from the streets of Chicago. Today, NASCAR will be taking over these streets here behind me for the final street race at Chicago. DGM is at it and ready again with Ryan Ellis and Josh Bilicki this week. It’s going to be a fun one. I mean, anytime you go out, you go racing on the Chicago Street Course. It’s something special. You just never really know what to expect here. It could be a complete demo derby. It could be chaos. But the biggest thing is the absolute scenery you get around here. It’s like none other. This is the only street course in NASCAR and this is overall a blast. I got a train there behind me running. There’s overall just everything going on here. I got to explore the city a little bit last night. I got to see the bean which was really cool. Overall 10 out of 10 experience here in Chicago. But with that said, let’s get to racing here today. We got practice, we got qualifying, and we got the race as always. Let’s get it.

Music plays as the speaker walks around the city. The cool thing about NASCAR being in Chicago is you get to go check out iconic landmarks like the Chicago Bean here behind me.

Behind the Scenes with DGM Drivers Before the Street Race

“Chicago, baby. How you feeling about this weekend?” He’s running over. That’s how it’s going to be all day.

Welcome to the first ever DGM drag race. We’re going to race to the end of the hauler. 3, 2, 1, go.

Catching up with Josh Bilicki before practice at the Final Street Race at Chicago. Josh, you said your bread and butter is road course racing. Well, Chicago is a street course. Is there a big difference between street course racing and road racing?

“There is. In road racing, similar layouts but a lot more open. Here it’s so tight and there’s no room for mistakes because there’s no runoff. There’s walls everywhere. So if you lock the brakes up or have rear wheel hop and need extra runoff area—there is none. So you’re in the tire wall.”

“You have to be even more precise on street circuits. There are different surfaces too. They paved certain areas on the racetrack. Some areas are really bumpy. The front straightaway is repaved, the back straightaway is not. So there’s change of grip. You’ve got the electric cars out there right now—kind of cool. But yeah, this is right in my wheelhouse, so I’m excited to be here again.”

Josh Bilicki’s Strategy and Jesse Iwuji’s Insights

Last year, you got a top 10 at Watkins Glen. How do we repeat that here at the Chicago Street Course?

“Make it to stage three. Something we didn’t do here last year. There was a stack up here last year. Nothing I really could do. Just a bunch of cars running into each other and I was on the receiving end, unfortunately. So yeah, we need to make it to stage three and be there at the end to capitalize on other people’s mistakes and hopefully have a good day.”

“I’m here with Jesse Iwuji and we are at the Final Street Race at Chicago. Tell me all about the Chicago street course and how cool this deal is to even be here and race.”

“Yeah, I think it’s always been an amazing idea that NASCAR came together with the city of Chicago to put on this race. Street courses are something I think we needed in NASCAR. You see them in sports car racing and Formula 1—but to finally bring it to NASCAR, it’s epic. It’s a cool course. Not easy at all. Lots of 45 and 90-degree corners. It’s very tough. The asphalt isn’t uniform, and the grip changes. These are streets people use every day.”

A Challenging Course and Driver Expectations

Jesse continues, “What the tires felt like last year isn’t how they’ll feel this year. Weather in Chicago changes everything—heat, cold, rain. It’s a track with no forgiveness. You make a mistake, you’re in the wall, and you’re done.”

What kind of race are we going to get today? We’ve seen past races that were demolition derbies and others that were clean. What do you expect?

“It depends on where people stand in points. Some need to make a hard run and you may see more attrition-style racing. This place is hard on equipment—wheel hopping, transmission problems, even engines. First class of practice, someone already lost a motor. Any road course is about attrition. The key? Stay in the race. Stay on the lead lap, and you’ll get a decent finish.”

The Artistic Side of NASCAR and End of the Weekend Recap

Here’s Mills—you might remember him for designing the Dry Smart paint scheme for Kyle Weatherman last season. He won the iRacing competition and designed Kyle’s car. Today, he’s doing some creative work for Joe Gibbs Racing.

“It’s been good. Busy but a journey. Last year was more on-track artwork. I spent more time watching racing than designing. This year is different—not much trackside work right now. I’ve shifted to social media, merchandise, t-shirt designs, email newsletters. Just generally expanding the graphic design work.”

“I’m rooting for a complete yard sale of a race, but I’ve said that the last two years and haven’t gotten it. I feel like I have to be right eventually.”

“Absolutely. Chicago, baby. Let’s go get a win today.”

Music plays during the outro. “Come on. Check. Ladies and gentlemen, the ever-popular…”

Fire incident: “Got Bilicki here looking for a fire extinguisher. This reminds me of a scene with William Solage when he had to climb out of his car.”

Now they wave off the restart. If you’re saving fuel, that’s even better news. The car is still up front during the replay, but my first thought was “Ladies and gentlemen…”

“And that’s a wrap from Chicago. We got 25th with Ryan Ellis. Unfortunately, Josh caught on fire which ended his day early. But it’s on to the next one. We’ve got Sonoma next week, then Dover. It’s a good summer sprint ahead to grab some solid finishes. Who knows—maybe sneak into the playoffs.”

“I’ll catch you next time.” Music fades out.

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