Short-lived Chicago Motor Speedway had star power (cont'd)

Biffle, who would go on to win five races and the 2000 championship, may have had the faster truck.

''I think we could have gotten back by him if it weren't for the caution flags there at the end,'' he said.

The following year, it was Busch, then a 16-year-old high school junior, who came within 12 laps of scoring a huge upset. Busch took over the lead when Dennis Setzer and Scott Riggs both headed for pit road under green on Lap 147. While Setzer got full service from his crew, Riggs and crew chief Tim Kohuth went for fuel only, and that gave Riggs the advantage back on the track.

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"Tim Kohuth asked me if I needed tires, and I told him, 'No, just gas it and we'll go,'" Riggs said

And when Busch's fuel gamble backfired as his truck sputtered and slowed on Lap 163, Riggs was there to take over the lead. With fresher tires, Setzer was able to close the gap to one truck-length, but couldn't find a place to pass, as Riggs won his fifth race of the season. Busch finished 17th, five laps down.

That would be NASCAR's last visit to Chicago Motor Speedway. Dwindling attendance brought on by the CART-IRL split, coupled with competition from the new track in Joliet, caused track officials to suspend operations in early 2002 and cancel that season's schedule of events. After hosting four CART events and a pair of Craftsman Truck races, Chicago Motor Speedway would never reopen.

"It's tough, man," Ganassi said. "I've been a supporter of CART for so long. But we can't go on losing money."

In 2003, the city of Cicero bought the entire site for $18 million and shut down the horse racing venue. One year later, the National Jockey Club sued Ganassi in federal court for failing to pay his share of the $35 million project debt.

The two tracks sat vacant for several years, with the speedway grandstand partially dismantled, before the city finally agreed on a proposal that would create a shopping center on the site. A contract for demolition was approved last October and bulldozers began leveling the buildings and tearing up the track surface earlier this year.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.