View Full Version : Chitown street race?....gotta do this again
After a conversation with somebody on the flight back to Chicago. The person we were talking to, I believe it was the guy from race control, asked what we thought about Cleveland, etc. etc. Then he asked where we were from, and when we told him the Chicago area, he said next year we probably wouldn't need to fly out to see a race. It also sounded like it could...I say could be a night race. He seemed pretty sure of himself.
Not sure, where or when, or if a street race is possible at night, but I'm sure it would be a big hit if it happened.
I asked someone in the media about a Chicago street race, he commented that there are talks going on involving Forsythe.
Wow, another street race? Say it aint so. Can I order tickets yet????
Ziggy
I'll take a street race over Chip's POS paper clip any day.
add chicago in stead of miami, miami fans can go to st pete, deal? :D
As long as there are passing zones, not too narrow, not behind a bunch of warehouses, long enough with high speed straights and the lap speeds do justice to a Champcar..... NOT SOME UNDER 100 MPH MICKEY MOUSE COURSE!
Originally posted by rabbit
I'll take a street race over Chip's POS paper clip any day.
I would take the paper clip with a decent wing package over another joke of a street course like Miami.
racer2c
07-07-03, 09:40 PM
Originally posted by nrc
I would take the paper clip with a decent wing package over another joke of a street course like Miami.
Me too if there were at least 40k in the stands.
racer2c
07-07-03, 09:42 PM
But, while we're dreaming, I'd take another highly attended street course over the micky mouse faux road course in England.
Spicoli
07-07-03, 09:46 PM
Sweet news. CART needs the Chicago market. Please keep updating!
any speculation as to where it would be?
chop456
07-07-03, 10:01 PM
Obviously, Grant Park would be mega. Also obvious is the fact that it'd be nearly impossible given the LSD/Congress Parkway/Michigan Avenue arteries.
A Chicago race is the final stamp on Road America's death warrant.
Warlock!
07-07-03, 10:22 PM
Originally posted by chop456
A Chicago race is the final stamp on Road America's death warrant.
That's the first thing I thought...
:flame:
Oh well... at least it's closer for me :rolleyes:, and we'd all have a place to stay since rocket's and Crapus' places are so close ;)
Warlock!
Originally posted by Warlock!
That's the first thing I thought...
:flame:
Oh well... at least we'd all have a place to stay since rocket's place is so close ;)
Warlock!
Yup...and I'd have plenty of Tequilla on hand.:D
Dirty Sanchez
07-07-03, 10:58 PM
My back deck is really, really, really strong. I promise. :p
Originally posted by Crapus
My back deck is really, really, really strong. I promise. :p
Even with rocket and all that Tequilla on it? :p
Dirty Sanchez
07-07-03, 11:16 PM
Originally posted by RTKar
Even with rocket and all that Tequilla on it? :p Yeah, we should be alright. rocket isn't that big (when you're drunk). :beerdrinkingsmiley:
Back on topic. This is a tough one. I'm all about heading up once or twice a year to Road America and it would kill me if they lost CART. I must admit that a well thought out Chicago street race could be mega for me, the city and the series though. I'm backing chop's Grant Park idea as I likely location... forget about closing down LSD though. Ain't going to happen.
Last year when this rumor was floating around, I read somewhere that the race would be in and around Soldier Field, but not on LSD. Couldn't be until 2004 due to the reconstruction of it. Unfortunately, I can see how this race could be on the frontage roads between Soldier Field and McCormick without closing down LSD. Here is an aerial picture that is 4 years old. Not sure how much the roads have changed since then.
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=12&x=562&y=5792&z=16&w=2
I also read that the race could be in the area of the United Center. arrrghhh........
Peter Olivola
07-08-03, 08:22 AM
The Soldier Field area would require completely shutting down Burnham Park Harbor and access to the Shedd Aquarium. To put it bluntly, ain't gonna happen.
chop456
07-08-03, 08:40 AM
Originally posted by Peter Olivola
The Soldier Field area would require completely shutting down Burnham Park Harbor and access to the Shedd Aquarium. To put it bluntly, ain't gonna happen.
Now that the museum campus is there, the crossing of LSD isn't an issue. If it's a night race, the Shedd and the planetarium aren't open anyway. Burnham harbor is small compared to Monroe, and they could always run tenders from remote parking somewhere else.
See, isn't this fun? :D
sundaydriver
07-08-03, 09:53 AM
Originally posted by rabbit
I'll take a street race over Chip's POS paper clip any day.
You can say that again! That placed sucked and I went to all the races and practices there. A street race in the loop is the only possibility due to the fact that the loop is absent of a lot of people on the Weekend.
Yippee! Another possible street race. :shakehead
Wouldn't the Milwaukee Mile be a bigger "threat" to Road America than a Chicago Street Race would? Milwaukee overlaps with RA more than Chitown does.
I wonder if CART will use whatever they're going to do with the island that was previously home to Meigs field.
chop456
07-08-03, 10:33 AM
Originally posted by JoeBob
I wonder if CART will use whatever they're going to do with the island that was previously home to Meigs field.
Sure. The Stars of Tomorrow can have a bitchin' kart race there.
Peter Olivola
07-08-03, 01:47 PM
Tenders from remote parking for the boat owners at Burnham? You really don't have a clue about this. Cutting off public transportation to the planitarium, which will have to happen as you don't open and close that much road that quickly, will put it out of business for the entire weekend.
There may well be a CART street race in Chicago. It won't be in that location, however and the Northerly Island (ex-Meigs Field) property is far too small.
Originally posted by chop456
Now that the museum campus is there, the crossing of LSD isn't an issue. If it's a night race, the Shedd and the planetarium aren't open anyway. Burnham harbor is small compared to Monroe, and they could always run tenders from remote parking somewhere else.
See, isn't this fun? :D
sundaydriver
07-08-03, 04:49 PM
The only way I can see something going on at the Mieggs Field is if the bozo mayor decides to incorporate some kind of road course into the new park he wants to put there. I believe you could extract about a 2.0 mile road course if you use the road going into the park. I'm sure it would resemble the Detroit venue a lot.
Getting people on and off the park and closing the planetarium would be the biggest problems of the weekend.
I guess if the mayor did put in a road course on the field he wouldn't be a bozo anymore especially if it were a good track with passing zones. Here's hoping.
Originally posted by sundaydriver
The only way I can see something going on at the Mieggs Field is if the bozo mayor decides to incorporate some kind of road course into the new park he wants to put there. I believe you could extract about a 2.0 mile road course if you use the road going into the park. I'm sure it would resemble the Detroit venue a lot.
Getting people on and off the park and closing the planetarium would be the biggest problems of the weekend.
I guess if the mayor did put in a road course on the field he wouldn't be a bozo anymore especially if it were a good track with passing zones. Here's hoping.
I don't think there would be any room for spectators/bleacher stands anywhere along the road to the planetarium or on the airport itself once you add a pit/paddock. That airport was basically one building and two small runway strips. I'm not sure anything larger than a lear jet could land there(before Richie put big X's in the runway).
I've only seen Burke in person once and Meig's was much smaller IMHO.
Champweb has a rumor that Chicago rumors are heating up again and that LSD will be involved somehow.
Meigs would have never worked, even had da' Mayor not had his tantrum. It would have made for a pitiful road course, unless it was just a portion of one, then maybe. But probably not.
Took this picture two years when my son flew me into Meigs. Not much more than one runway with a taxiway and a parking ramp.
http://www.heckard.com/photos/flying/meigs/from_dad/m_on_approach.jpg
I recall somebody posting a website that had a 2004 Champ Car Gala listed or something like that and it stated that the race would be in a park. However there were a ton of nay sayers because the park had a zoo or something like that in it and the tree huggers wouldn't let it happen.
Does anybody else recall that?
chop456
07-08-03, 07:05 PM
Originally posted by Peter Olivola
Tenders from remote parking for the boat owners at Burnham? You really don't have a clue about this. Cutting off public transportation to the planitarium, which will have to happen as you don't open and close that much road that quickly, will put it out of business for the entire weekend.
There may well be a CART street race in Chicago. It won't be in that location, however and the Northerly Island (ex-Meigs Field) property is far too small.
Excuse me for engaging in wild speculation. As is now the rule for others on this board, I'll be sure to consult you for my opinion from now on. Your condescension, as always, is certainly appreciated.
I lived across the street from Grant Park for 3 years, but obviously, I don't know anything about it. I know people that have boats in Burnham, Monroe, and at the CYC, but I'm sure I don't know anything about that, either. A 2 minute tender ride is not out of the question. If you think the well-off boat owners won't stand for it, what about the well-off plane owners at Meigs? Again, this is speculation, Pete. No need to get all worked up.
Maybe you could offer reasons instead of your usual nose in the air.
Race Dog 99
07-08-03, 07:13 PM
What I've seen is LSD would be part of the layout. There are several options, however I would suggest the layout having them run out to the Adler, back and down past Soldiers field to McCormick, back up past Soldiers field again to Grant Park and back down. Obviously with a few more turns. This would provide several passing opportunities and ample room for stands. Very similar to the track layout posted by AR1 about a year ago, does anyone have that layout?
Furthermore, I would suggest the making of a mega event, one that can rival the 500. Yeh, that's it, schedule it for Memorial Day Weekend! Include a carnival at the North end in Grant Park and evening concerts in/at Soldiers Field to support the event. The Pits and Paddock could be located in McCormick Place along with a Lifestyle promotion event there as well. There should be ample parking between McCormick, Soldier Field and Grant Park area and my understanding is the Millenium Park is also to have a large parking area. Oh yeh, don't forgot about Millenium Park, a beautiful area with an abundance of recreation areas to rest and relax. There's also the Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, etc... Oh but of course, lets not forget about the nightlife and marketing potential of Division St. While we're at it lets run a couple of Cars down Michigan Ave. with some pit stop demonstrations the week prior.
All this coupled with the fact of numerous lodging amenities, an airport that services the entire country easily and a city that always has activity on it's streets has the makings of something very special if done correctly. And best yet, many of the Chicago fans that make the journey to IN will likely stay here placing a big hit in Earl's profits!
Ah, if it could only come true. :D
Lizzerd
07-08-03, 07:22 PM
Your condescension, as always, is certainly appreciated.
Touche', chop.
Dirty Sanchez
07-09-03, 12:55 AM
I could take the Red Line to the race. Hot damn! :eek:
Peter Olivola
07-09-03, 01:03 AM
A two minute tender ride from where? Monroe Harbor? That's more like 30 minutes at tender speeds and for people who are accustomed to being able to park within seconds of their slip. Then they'd still have to sail to Monroe to get the balance of their gear (tenders only allow a personal bag per person and two people per boat.) The event would block all parking in the Burnham Harbor area. You may know a few boat owners but I sailed out of Burnham Harbor every weekend in season for several years. Blocking vehicle access to the Burnham Harbor parking lots would render the harbor useless for the duration. You don't schlepp gear across the museum campus. And this doesn't even begin to address the problems for Burnham Park YC.
Originally posted by chop456
Excuse me for engaging in wild speculation. As is now the rule for others on this board, I'll be sure to consult you for my opinion from now on. Your condescension, as always, is certainly appreciated.
I lived across the street from Grant Park for 3 years, but obviously, I don't know anything about it. I know people that have boats in Burnham, Monroe, and at the CYC, but I'm sure I don't know anything about that, either. A 2 minute tender ride is not out of the question. If you think the well-off boat owners won't stand for it, what about the well-off plane owners at Meigs? Again, this is speculation, Pete. No need to get all worked up.
Maybe you could offer reasons instead of your usual nose in the air.
sundaydriver
07-09-03, 10:55 AM
I've sailed out of CYC a few times but never Burnham. Could there be a way to ferry over boat owners during the weekend. Maybe something could be set over at McCormick Place.
Peter Olivola
07-09-03, 11:28 AM
Not hardly. The closest pick up point is the foot of Monroe in Monroe Harbor. The tender would then have to exit Monroe Harbor, go south around (ex) Meigs all the way to McCormick Place to enter Burnham Harbor to deliver the two people who would then have to get the boat back to Monroe to pick up the rest of the crew/gear. That's the closest point. In reality, that isn't a viable place because there is no parking near that site. The tender service runs primarily from Columbia and Chicago Yacht Clubs and adjacent to Chicago Yacht club which has the Grant Park Garage convenient to the pick up point. The yacht clubs are at the far north end of Monroe harbor.
McCormick Place doesn't have a suitable facility for tender service and parking would be too far away to schlepp gear.
Originally posted by sundaydriver
I've sailed out of CYC a few times but never Burnham. Could there be a way to ferry over boat owners during the weekend. Maybe something could be set over at McCormick Place.
Originally posted by Turn7
I recall somebody posting a website that had a 2004 Champ Car Gala listed or something like that and it stated that the race would be in a park. However there were a ton of nay sayers because the park had a zoo or something like that in it and the tree huggers wouldn't let it happen.
Does anybody else recall that?
That sounds like the St. Louis race rumor -- the website for the renovated park complex there listed "CART Grand Prix" as one of their events for next year.
Originally posted by Turn7
I recall somebody posting a website that had a 2004 Champ Car Gala listed or something like that and it stated that the race would be in a park. However there were a ton of nay sayers because the park had a zoo or something like that in it and the tree huggers wouldn't let it happen.
Does anybody else recall that?
That was the St. Louis 1904 worlds fair celebration committee website that listed that. I called Cart and the gal I talked to confirmed that Cart was talking to St.Louis about a race but she couldn't discuss it further. The park was dismissed as having a road system way to narrow with high curbing for Champ cars. Gateway is a possibility as the IRL's contract is up with them this year and I've heard they may not re-up. The other is a downtown street race.
Originally posted by cart7
Gateway is a possibility as the IRL's contract is up with them this year and I've heard they may not re-up. The other is a downtown street race.
It fits the "urban" qualification. Another job for Musco?
Gateway already has lights. In fact, CART Tested under them back in 1999:
http://www.speedcenter.com/gallery/gallery99/06gateway/cruise_night480.jpg
http://www.speedcenter.com/gallery/gallery99/06gateway/spirits_in_the_night480.jpg
http://www.indyphoto.com/CONTENT/Photos/alex_b/it_can_see_in_the_dark.jpg
Railbird
07-09-03, 10:58 PM
doesn't Gateway already have lights?
Hell I've been there and can't remember.
CART ran a night test there way back when.
Railbird
07-09-03, 10:59 PM
thank you Joe Bob
I forgot about that. From the looks of those pics they could still use some help from Musco. :) I wonder why Tony hasn't taken advantage of the lights?
If they can save money on the lights they should by the grand stands from Chicago Motor Speedway, move them down and sure them up a bit.
And once again, hats off to Peter Burke. The series misses his photo work.
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