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"Chicagoland
Speedway is another 1.5-mile high-banked oval that
lends itself to two-and three-wide racing. We had
a successful test there with Marco and gave Marco
a lot of laps around the track. I certainly feel
that we'll be competitive."
EDDIE JONES
Race Engineer, on preparations for last year's Chicagoland
debut. |
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#Race
#17 :
Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean from Chicagoland
Speedway
Sunday, September 9
Joliet, Illinois
2006 Winner: Dan Wheldon
Distance: 200 laps/300 miles
TV: 4 p.m. on ABC
Ticket
Info
Race
Track Website
The
Race:
The
Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean is held at
Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.
In 2001, American open wheel racing debuted at the circuit
with an IndyCar Series event. Since 2006, the race has served
as the final round of the championship and where the series
champion is decided.
Indy/Championship car racing first appeared in the Chicago
area in 1914-1915 at Galesburg District Fairgrounds. Both
races were 100 laps around the 1-mile dirt oval. AAA held
races at Speedway Park, a 2-mile board track in nearby Maywood,
Illinois. The first such race was a 500-mile event in 1915.
Subsequent races ranged from 10-300 miles, and the final
race was held in 1918. The track was eventually demolished,
and the Edward Hines Veterans Hospital now stands on its
former location.
Although no races would be held in the Chicago area until
1999, the state of Illinois hosted numerous USAC Championship
Car races at Springfield and DuQuoin.
A CART race was held at Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero,
just outside of Chicago, from 1999-2002. It was discontinued,
however, when the track closed after the 2002 race.
The
Circuit
Chicagoland Speedway is
in Joliet, Illinois, USA, southwest of Chicago. The speedway
is actually located several miles south of Joliet proper,
just off Illinois Route 53 between Joliet and Wilmington,
Illinois. It currently has a capacity of 75,000 people.
Since its inaugural season in 2001, the Chicagoland Speedway
has became an unexpected and significant draw for major
NASCAR and IRL events, often selling out major races
months in advance.
Although listed simply as a D-shaped oval, Chicagoland is
unique in that it is one continuous curve, as the backstretch
has a noticeable bend to it.
Chicagoland
hosts the NASCAR/Nextel Cup Series race, USG Sheetrock
400, and the NASCAR/Busch Series Race, USG Durock 300,
just once a year. Chicagoland is known to be one of NASCAR's
infamous "cookie cutter" 1.5 mile speedways.
This is a reference to the fact that it resembles many other
1.5 mile downforce racetracks that resemble a D-shape in
the NASCAR racing series.
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