Chicagoland

The plan to build a superspeedway in the third-largest market in the nation had been rumored for years. Auto racing executives and major-league sanctioning bodies had long maintained that the untapped market of Chicago was perhaps the most lucrative in the country.

The race to build a major speedway in the Windy City took its first step toward becoming a reality during an informal meeting between Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George and Bill France in late 1995.

The Motorsports Alliance, consisting of George, France and home-remodeling magnate John Menard, was formed in the spring of 1996 and immediately began considering sites that summer.

The first effort to begin the project was to focus on a 500-acre plot of land less than 30 miles from downtown Chicago, near the Dupage County Airport. Faced with constructing a facility that would be able to host NASCAR and the Indy Racing League on a small parcel of land, the trio decided that the extremely high price of real estate would not fit properly into the budget.

The Alliance was contacted by several communities that were interested in building the facility and even looked at sites as far west as Rochelle, before turning their attention to the small farm community of Plano, about 70 miles west of Chicago, in the fall of 1997.

Unfortunately, Illinois annexation laws at the time prevented Plano from incorporating the land. The project was abruptly stalled.

Menard then withdrew from the Motorsports Alliance, citing an increased demand to attend to his business affairs. However, as auto racing's visibility continued to skyrocket, the desire to begin racing in Chicago grew. Then came a call from Dale Coyne, who was raised in nearby Plainfield. He had successfully negotiated with Joliet to build the ultra-modern Route 66 Raceway there in 1997.

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.

Aware of the trials and tribulations Motorsports Alliance were having in building a superspeedway, Coyne suggested Joliet officials meet with the ownership group to discuss the possibility of building a 1.5-mile state-of-the-art speedway adjacent to Route 66 Raceway property.

In May 1999, Raceway Associates was unveiled. Coyne relinquished his position of chief operating officer of Route 66 Raceway, and was appointed president of Raceway Associates, joining George and France as partners in building a premier, multi-purpose motorsports complex in Joliet.

With all of the pieces finally in place, development of the 930-acre dream began in August 1999.

The news that all of Chicago was waiting for was finally revealed on May 8, 2000, during a press conference at scenic Navy Pier. The onlookers learned the name of the track: Chicagoland Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson was the first NASCAR driver to visit Victory Lane at Chicagoland after winning a Busch Series race on July 14, 2001. A day later, Kevin Harvick won the speedway's first Cup event.