Chicagoland Speedway

Category: Venue

The Historic Route 66 has always held a close place in the hearts of many a motorist and history buff. A true symbol of an era of nostalgia, Historic Route 66 soon entered into another phase of history in 1997 when nine Joliet area entrepreneurs had the visionary leadership to create Route 66 Raceway, a state-of-the-art ¼-mile Drag Strip and ½-mile Dirt Oval Track facility, along the historic road.

Several years later, the growing popularity of auto racing and the demand from loyal fans would bring to the site of Route 66 Raceway, the 1.5-mile tri-oval Chicagoland Speedway. With the addition of the 75,000-seat, $130 million Speedway, Joliet’s world-class motorsports complex would form what is now Illinois’ largest sporting facility, occupying over 1,300-acres. Dating back to 1895, when the first ever gasoline-powered race was held up-and-down the Chicago lakefront, Illinois has played a significant role in establishing motorsports as one of the most exciting and popular spectator sports in the world. Now, Joliet’s Chicagoland Speedway/Route 66 Raceway has written a new chapter in Illinois’ long and prestigious racing history. This magnificent speedway is the result of over five years of painstaking effort by Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George, International Speedway Corporation Chief Executive Officer Bill France and nine local Joliet entrepreneurs: George Barr, Jim Bingham, Dale Coyne, Jerry Papesh, Ed Rensi, Steve Spiess, Dale Steffes, Jack Steffes and Rex Steffes.

When it opened in 1998, Route 66 Raceway was the best state-of-the-art facility built for drag racing. The facility was an instant success, not only with race fans and participants, but in Joliet as well. This multi-purpose motorsports complex features a 1.5-mile, D-shaped, tri-oval superspeedway, drag racing's ultimate stadium-style seating 1/4-mile drag strip and a 1/2-mile dirt oval track. Joie Chitwood III was named vice president and general manager of the massive facility. With all of the pieces finally in place, development of the 930-acre dream began in August 1999.