Client: NASCAR
Source: Crain’s Chicago Business
The Black Keys are no stranger to performing in Grant Park. Lollapalooza long made a habit out of booking the American rock duo. They played at the debut Chicago festival in 2005; performed again in 2007, 2008 and 2010; and headlined their most recent year in 2012.
After a 12-year hiatus, the “Lonely Boy” stars are returning to Chicago’s front yard this summer — but instead of performing at Lollapalooza in August, they will be one of four headliners taking the main stage at the NASCAR Chicago Street Race this Fourth of July weekend.
The Black Keys show, along with concerts from country star Keith Urban, DJ duo The Chainsmokers and singer-songwriter Lauren Alaina, are the product of a calculated decision made by NASCAR to sell the event as a festival-like experience, not just a race competition.
Organizers hope embracing alternative entertainment will attract attendees to the event who might not initially be intrigued by the racing. Once fans are there, they believe the sport will sell itself.
“First and foremost, we are looking for ways to introduce our sport to new audiences,” Chicago Street Race president Julie Giese told Crain’s in an interview from Dayton Beach, Fla., home of NASCAR’s headquarters, in February. “Chicago is all about thinking outside the box for us.”
The motorsport’s governing body has a history of blending on-track competition with music. Many of the 36 races over the course of a season are accompanied by concerts, often dominated by country music but increasingly featuring performers from across genres.
Still, the music is unequivocally ancillary to those races, an afterthought for die-hard fans.
In Chicago, though, the music experience is sharing center stage. “We’ve dubbed it a ‘music and racing festival,’ ” Giese said. “The concerts are really part of our entire weekend experience.”
In an interview last week, she spoke about plans to broaden the event’s appeal.
“For us, it’s about that all-encompassing experience, whether you’re there for the music, you’re there for the racing or you’re there for just the overall festival experience,” she said.
As NASCAR gears up for its second year downtown, Giese and her team are turning up the volume on the musical element this time around. That includes introducing the new Chicago House Music Showcase, a partnership with local nonprofit House Music 40 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Chicago-born genre.
Giese said the weekend is an opportunity to “showcase the best of Chicago — including its world-class music scene — to a national and international audience.”
If NASCAR is able to attract more attendees to the race who may not be fans of the sport but are interested in seeing these big-name musicians, it could boost the economic impact of the Chicago Street Race.
“The more you create that well-rounded experience, the more you can create interest from an attendee perspective to participate and come to the event,” Giese said. “Maybe it’s something that intrigues someone enough to want to attend who may not on their first look.”
That’s particularly important in Chicago, as NASCAR looks to tap into new fanbases. Roughly 85% of attendees last year were first-time race-goers, by NASCAR’s estimate.
The 2023 race generated $108.9 million for the city, according to a study from city tourism bureau Choose Chicago and the Sports Industry Research Center at Temple University in Philadelphia. That was below the $113.8 million figure NASCAR had originally projected — which was significantly less than the economic impact other street racing events have had on major U.S. cities. Chicago’s 2023 event was met with heavy rainfall that canceled the planned concerts and shortened races.
Meanwhile, Lollapalooza generated more than $422 million for Chicago’s economy in 2023 and $336 million in 2022. Even the smaller Sueños Music Festival pumped more money into the city’s economy, with estimates putting that figure at $181.6 million.
While the street race generated $8.3 million in local and state taxes, the most recent Lolla generated $31.3 million in regional and state taxes, according to a report commissioned by the concert’s promoter, C3 Presents.
NASCAR did not provide economic impact projections for the 2024 race but said they would again commission a post-mortem report after the event. Giese said their goal is to “continue to grow year-one to year-two and increase those numbers.”
NASCAR knows it’s no Lollapalooza — not from an economic impact standpoint nor from a music festival perspective. The Chicago Street Race remains a racing-forward event, and the musical element of the weekend is closer to that of concerts accompanying Taste of Chicago than those drawing some 400,000 people to Grant Park the first weekend of August.
“They’re two very different experiences, where for us the race is the focus of the event weekend,” Giese said. “We’re always going to lead with racing.”
Still, the lure of music in Grant Park is well established, and its value proposition is not lost on Giese and NASCAR.
“We’re in a location that has hosted a number of amazing musical acts,” she said. “We’re leaning into that and really blending the two together, creating this very robust experience of racing, music and entertainment.”
This year’s NASCAR festivities will take place on July 6 and 7 in Grant Park. The Black Keys and the Chainsmokers will perform on July 6, while Keith Urban and Lauren Alaina will take the concert stage on the 7th. Single-day tickets for the NASCAR weekend start at $150.