How To Watch a Race at the Chicagoland Speedway

Auto racing has been popular for many years now, and the addition of new tracks to the different circuits is one of the reasons it remains so popular.  One of the newer tracks on the map is Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.  The 1.5-mile oval is connected to Route 66 Speedway, and sits on 930 acres of land.  There are six series that race at the track each year: NASCAR's Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series; the ARCA RE/MAX Series; and the Firestone IndyLights and the IndyCar Series.  Watching a race at Chicagoland takes some simple planning, but you'll have a great time once the planning is done.

The first step to watching a race at Chicagoland Speedway is deciding which series you're interested in watching;  a schedule of upcoming events can be found at the track's website, chicagolandspeedway.  One event weekend on the schedule currently features the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series cars, while the second event weekend features the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA RE/MAX Series, Firestone IndyLights Series, and the Indy Car Series.  Your decision will be based mostly on the type of racing you tend to follow, stock cars or open-wheel cars.

Once you decide on the type of race you want to see, you will need to get tickets.  The Chicagoland website mentioned above has links available for buying your tickets of choice.  Once there, you will need to choose where you want to sit, as different levels are different prices. If you want to see the most action, try to get seats in the top rows of the grandstand; these seats generally cost a little more.

Once you have your tickets, you will need to book somewhere to stay.  If you are a camper, take a look at the camping available at the track, listed under the "Admissions" banner at the top of the web page as "RV Parking."  If you're more the hotel type, check out your favorite hotel website or travel booking site for hotels in and near Joliet, Illinois.

If you can't make a choice on which races you want to see, another option is Chicagoland's Track Pack Tickets, where you can purchase tickets for all four main race days for a lower price (main race days are Saturday and Sunday; tickets for pole day, if interested, are extra). To check out these tickets packages, go to "Admissions," and pick "Track Pack Tickets."