Downtown NASCAR event to impact traffic, public transportation

JUNE 24, 2025

The city of Chicago is hosting the NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend on July 5 and July 6 in Grant Park downtown. 

Although the race should cause minimal direct impacts near the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus, there will be significant street closures downtown and changes to public transportation schedules that could slow down transportation to many parts of the city, including our campus.

Street closures downtown began on June 19 and run through July 14.

One of the largest changes for UChicago commuters will be DuSable Lake Shore Drive closing entirely to southbound traffic from Randolph Street through McFetridge Drive, starting July 3 through July 8. Northbound DuSable Lake Shore drive will also be closed to traffic beginning 10 p.m. on July 3 and is expected to reopen on July 7.

These closures will likely cause slowdowns and delays on alternate routes as well.

The race will affect the Downtown Campus Connector shuttle, with the stop on Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road changing from June 30 through July 7.

The shuttle will use State Street while traveling northbound to avoid Michigan Avenue street closures. This means the normal stop at the Roosevelt Red Line station will move to the NE corner of State Steet and Roosevelt Road. The northbound shuttle will also stop at State and Randolph. The southbound shuttle will stop at the SE corner of State Street and Roosevelt Road during this time.

A map of the reroute is below:

Other Downtown Campus Connector stop locations will not change. We anticipate potential delays due to rerouted downtown traffic during this period.

A list of all the expected street and sidewalk closures can be found on the event’s website.