日期：2025-07-11 07:40:52
The NASCAR Chicago Street Race.02
If it sounds a bit edgy, thats certainly by design.02
And the race has had its challenges.02
First it was the smoky haze of Canadian wildfires.02
Then it was rain.02
And finally, it was the darkness of nightfall.02
And that was just the inaugural race in 2023.02
Oh, and the noise and the street closures that lasted for weeks before and after the race. And most folks who live in the immediate vicinity of the Grant Park racecourse were not NASCAR fans before the race and probably arent now either.02
Like architecture, much of the appeal of motorsports is aesthetic. The cars are sleek, or at least as sleek as purpose-built vehicles molded to resemble Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs and Toyota Camrys can be. And they are as bright and colorful as each sponsor is willing. And the speed and the sound add to the spectacle.02
With each of these elements, the NASCAR Chicago Street Race is an exceptionally well-conceived and packaged design mirror of ourselves.02
Chicagos history with auto racing stretches back to the earliest automobile race held in the United States on Thanksgiving Day in 1895. Fun fact: The Jackson Park to Evanston course traversed Michigan Avenue and included two blocks that are part of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race course. Nearby Soldier Field hosted races from 1935 to 1970, including NASCAR in 1956 and 1957. More recently, the now-defunct Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero fielded IndyCars and some of NASCARs minor league series from 1999 to 2002, and both major series have raced at Joliets Chicagoland Speedway, which is now owned by NASCAR.
But what these races lacked was the Chicago backdrop to the racing something NASCAR has completely embraced during the last three years.
Because whats most important is how it looks on TV.02
Almost every sporting event held in the city, whether its at Soldier Field, Wrigley Field, Rate Field or the United Center, will show Grant Park and the Loop from a helicopter-mounted camera sometime during the event. But holding NASCARs race in the park allows them to spotlight the city in a very particular way.02
Chicagos image is no longer just Willis Tower and the building formerly known as John Hancock Center. Newer tall buildings, including Trump Tower and the St. Regis, are more dominant from NASCARs Grant Park perch.02
The Michigan Avenue street wall, long the classic Chicago skyline scene, has been extended in recent years by new development south of Ida B. Wells Drive including Helmut Jahns striking 1000M , Krueck + Sextons folded glass-faced Spertus Institute and Rafael Vi09olys distinctive, if mediocre, NEMA. And there are the older buildings along Michigan Avenue as well: Adler & Sullivans Auditorium Building, Solon Bemans Fine Arts Building, Burnham and Roots Railway Exchange Building, and John Moutoussamys Johnson Publishing Co. building, to name just a few.
NASCAR and the Chicago Street Race highlight all of these distinctive and very Chicago buildings in a way that will endure.02
The best-known street course in the world has been in use for almost a century: the Grand Prix of Monaco in Monte Carlo. That enclave of wealth on the Mediterranean certainly doesnt need the grand prix in much the same way that Chicago doesnt need the NASCAR Chicago Street Race.02
But its interesting to consider them together.02
The backdrop in Monaco includes the Belle Epoque Casino, the Mediterranean harbor, small shop fronts for luxury good purveyors and concrete cliffs filled with the pied--terre of the uber-rich. The NASCAR Chicago Street Races background is, lets say, different. But its just as compelling. And while Formula 1s multimillion-dollar bespoke cars reflect Monacos place in the world economy, NASCARs stock cars are probably the best expression of Chicago. A bit brash, a bit ordinary, a lot noisy and prone to wrecks.02
Monaco is so good at its build that traffic navigates the racecourse within hours of on-track activity each day of the race weekend. Its too early to expect that here, but the build-out of the track and its support structures has become shorter with each year, reflecting NASCARs efficiency and learning from experience.
Finally, theres the racing itself. I had my doubts about how NASCARs full body cars would race on this layout. But even with dreadful weather both years, its proved to be a very entertaining track. The wide straightaways along Columbus and DuSable Lake Shore drives promote good side-by-side action and passing. Although the two one-block-long stretches on Michigan Avenue are good for photography, they are far too narrow to be either challenging or conducive to racing. But while the portion of track between them, the semicircular stretch through Congress Plaza, doesnt promote much passing, it is a great place to see up close how difficult these cars are to drive. The change in elevation up and then down while navigating a broad left turn really gets these cars to the edge of control, and its quite entertaining to watch them skate through this section.
And unlike the open wheel cars of IndyCar and Formula 1, not every contact between cars is likely to slow the race with a full-course yellow flag. Stock cars can often take some bumping and continue on without major incident. And its proved to be a safe track as well.02
It will not be surprising if NASCAR announces in the coming days that it wont be back in Chicago next year. The initial contract runs its course with next weeks race, although there are options for two additional years if NASCAR and the city agree to continue. The sanctioning body has let several other nontraditional races lapse after just a few years, and theyre reportedly in talks with San Diego about a street race for 2026.02
Presumably there would be a lot less grit involved, but probably a lot better weather in store.
Edward Keegan writes, broadcasts and teaches on architectural subjects. Keegans biweekly architecture column is supported by a grant from former Tribune critic Blair Kamin, as administered by the not-for-profit Journalism Funding Partners. The Tribune maintains editorial control over assignments and content.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com .
NASCAR芝加哥街道赛。
如果这听起来有些前卫，那必然是刻意为之。
这场竞赛也面临着诸多挑战。
起初是加拿大野火带来的雾霾。
接着便下起了雨。
最终，夜幕降临，黑暗笼罩了一切。
而这仅仅是2023年的开幕赛。
此外，比赛前后持续数周的噪音和道路封闭也让居民不堪其扰。而住在格兰特公园赛道附近的大多数人，早在赛事举办前就不是纳斯卡车迷，如今恐怕依然如此。
与建筑艺术相似，赛车运动的魅力很大程度上源于其美学价值。这些赛车线条流畅——至少对于这些以雪佛兰科迈罗、福特野马和丰田凯美瑞为原型打造的特制车辆而言，已算极致。车身色彩之绚丽夺目，全凭赞助商们的意愿。而速度与引擎轰鸣声，更为这场视觉盛宴锦上添花。
纳斯卡芝加哥街道赛的每个细节都经过精心构思和整体设计，堪称一面映照我们自身的绝佳镜子。
芝加哥的赛车历史可追溯至1895年感恩节举行的美国最早汽车赛事。有趣的是：当年从杰克逊公园到埃文斯顿的赛道横穿密歇根大道，其中包含两个街区，如今这些街区已成为NASCAR芝加哥街道赛赛道的一部分。附近的士兵体育场在1935至1970年间举办过多场赛事，包括1956和1957年的NASCAR比赛。近年来，已关闭的西塞罗芝加哥赛车场在1999至2002年间承办过印地赛车及NASCAR次级联赛，而两大顶级赛事都曾在美国纳斯卡公司旗下的乔利埃特芝加哥陆地赛道举行。
但这些赛事所欠缺的，正是芝加哥作为赛事的背景——而纳斯卡（NASCAR）在过去三年间已全然接纳了这一特色。
因为最重要的是它在电视上呈现的效果。
在这座城市举办的几乎每场体育赛事——无论是在士兵球场、瑞格利球场、瑞特球场还是联合中心——期间都会通过直升机搭载的摄像头展示格兰特公园和卢普区的风貌。然而，在公园内举办纳斯卡车赛，却能以一种独特的方式将这座城市的魅力聚焦于镁光灯下。
芝加哥的城市形象已不再仅仅局限于威利斯大厦（原约翰·汉考克中心）。从纳斯卡赛事所在的格兰特公园望去，特朗普大厦和瑞吉酒店等新建摩天大楼显得更为醒目。
密歇根大道街墙长期以来一直是芝加哥经典的天际线景观，近年来因艾达·B·威尔斯大道以南的新开发项目而延伸，其中包括赫尔穆特·雅恩设计的醒目的1000M大楼、克鲁克+塞克斯顿设计的折叠玻璃立面的斯珀图斯学院，以及拉斐尔·维诺利设计的独特但平庸的NEMA公寓。此外，密歇根大道沿线还有众多历史建筑：阿德勒与沙利文设计的礼堂大厦、索伦·贝曼设计的美术馆大楼、伯纳姆与鲁特设计的铁路交换大厦，以及约翰·穆图萨米设计的约翰逊出版公司大楼，仅举几例。
NASCAR赛车与芝加哥街道赛以持久的方式凸显了这些独具特色且充满芝加哥风情的建筑。
全球最著名的街道赛道已使用了近一个世纪：蒙特卡洛的摩纳哥大奖赛。这个地中海沿岸的富豪飞地其实并不需要这场赛事，正如芝加哥并不需要纳斯卡芝加哥街头赛一样。
但将它们放在一起考量会很有趣。
摩纳哥的背景中矗立着美好时代赌场、地中海港湾、奢侈品店的精致门面，以及超级富豪们遍布的混凝土悬崖豪宅。而NASCAR芝加哥街头赛事的背景，可以说截然不同，却同样引人入胜。一级方程式赛车价值数百万美元的定制车型，映衬出摩纳哥在世界经济中的地位；而NASCAR的“量产”赛车或许最能诠释芝加哥的特质——略带张扬，平凡无奇，喧闹非凡，且事故频发。
摩纳哥赛道的搭建效率极高，比赛周末期间，赛道活动结束后仅需数小时即可恢复交通通行。虽然此地目前尚难达到同等水平，但赛道及其配套设施的搭建工期逐年缩短，这体现了纳斯卡（NASCAR）的高效运作与经验积累。
最后谈谈比赛本身。我曾对NASCAR全车身赛车在这种赛道布局上的表现心存疑虑。但即便这两年天气恶劣，这条赛道仍被证明极具观赏性。哥伦布大道和杜萨布尔湖滨大道宽阔的直道为并排竞速和超车提供了良好条件。虽然密歇根大道上两段仅一个街区长的路段适合摄影，但过于狭窄，既缺乏挑战性也不利于竞速。而连接这两段的赛道部分——穿过国会广场的半圆形路段——虽不易超车，却是近距离观察这些赛车驾驶难度的绝佳位置。车手在通过大角度左转弯时经历的高低起伏变化，将赛车逼至操控极限，观赏它们滑行通过这一赛段的场景着实令人兴奋。
与印地赛车和一级方程式赛车使用的开放式车轮赛车不同，并非每次车辆间的接触都会引发全场黄旗导致比赛减速。房车通常能承受一定程度的碰撞并继续行驶，而不会引发严重事故。此外，这条赛道也被证明是安全的。
若纳斯卡（NASCAR）未来几日宣布明年不再重返芝加哥赛事，这并不会令人意外。现行合同将于下周比赛后到期，尽管若纳斯卡与芝加哥市政府达成一致，还可选择续约两年。该赛事管理机构此前已让多项非传统赛事在短短数年后终止，据报他们正与圣迭戈就2026年街道赛进行洽谈。
虽然可能少了些坚韧的磨砺，但未来或许会有更好的天气。
爱德华·基根（Edward Keegan）从事建筑主题的写作、广播及教学工作。其双周建筑专栏由前《论坛报》评论家布莱尔·卡明（Blair Kamin）通过非营利组织新闻资助伙伴（Journalism Funding Partners）提供资金支持。《论坛报》保留对专栏选题及内容的编辑控制权。
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