Opinion: NASCAR Needs to Continue to Mix It Up

DuSable Lake Shore Drive is back open. The flooding has, hopefully, receded. The drivers are no doubt thinking about Atlanta.

Yet the Grant Park 220 that took place here in Chicago last weekend is still very much on my mind.

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TTAC Video of the Week: NASCAR in the City

This week's video will be pretty straightforward -- just some videos I shot during the race that let you get up close and personal.

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Drivers, Fans React Positively to NASCAR in Chicago

NASCAR's first foray into racing on the streets of downtown Chicago was met with criticism from the public and skepticism from the drivers before the race even took place. Most, if not all, of the drivers sounded a positive tune after being on track. Fans, too, seemed pretty happy with the event.

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Getting Wet and Wild With NASCAR in Chicago

There’s always a first for everything. In the case of NASCAR’s Grant Park 220, there were a lot of firsts.

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NASCAR Grant Park 220 Recap – Newcomer Wins New Type of Race

Shane van Gisbergen may not have much NASCAR experience -- he was making his first-ever start on Sunday in Chicago at the Grant Park 220 -- but he has plenty of street-race experience. And it showed.

Showed in a big way, as the New Zealand native took home the trophy in the first-ever NASCAR race on the streets of Chicago, which was also the first-ever NASCAR street race.

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TTAC Rewind: NASCAR Comes to Chicago

I remember reporting on the news that NASCAR was coming to Chicago. It was less than a year ago when the news broke. It started as a rumor that I saw bouncing around somewhere, probably on the Tweet machine, and by the time I finished writing the post it was confirmed.

Now I am here, at the event's media center, typing up this post while waiting for the rain to stop so the racing can start.

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Volkswagen Revamps Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport

For the 2024 model year, Volkswagen is rolling out a raft of changes for its two largest crossovers. In addition to revised looks, there are a number of material and tech improvements inside its cabin.


Oh yeah – and it packs an entirely new engine.

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NASCAR Invading Downtown Chicago Next Summer [UPDATED]

A bit of racing news has crossed the wire — news that is admittedly close to my heart since I live in the Windy City.

NASCAR is apparently coming to Chicago.

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Chicago Mechanic Strike Continues

Technicians at over 50 dealerships in and around Chicago are now in their second week on strike.

They’re fighting with the Chicago New Car Dealer Committee, which represents the 56 dealers involved, as they negotiate their next four-year contract.

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Driving Dystopia: Speed Camera Rule Change Creates Ticketing Explosion in Chicago

At the start of the year, the city of Chicago announced that it would be changing rules pertaining to traffic enforcement as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s updated 2021 budget package. But the one that was causing the most concern among motorists was a provision to have speed cameras issue tickets to anybody traveling 6 miles an hour over the posted limit, rather than the previous cutoff of 10 MPH. While just a singular aspect of the city’s plan to resolve a $1.2-billion deficit, it turned out to be one of the most controversial items and appears to have resulted in a tenfold increase in fines.

According to local affiliate CBS Chicago, data from a public records request indicated that during the 36-day period before and after the change took effect on March 1st, citywide ticketing went up from 35,784 citations in the weeks before to a massive 398,233 in the proceeding weeks.

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Chicago Auto Show Set to Return in July

The 2020 Chicago Auto Show was, as far this author knows, the last major auto show to take place before COVID shut the world down.

Now, it might be the first auto show to return.

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Chicago Auto Show Delayed Until 'Spring'

The 2021 Chicago Auto Show will be delayed until sometime in the spring of 2021 because of the COVID-19 epidemic that has forced the entire world to pretty much cancel everything. Of course, we didn’t need to tell you that because the pandemic has been the default reason or excuse (depending on the situation) for literally every decision that has taken place in 2020.

Originally scheduled to be held between February 13th and 21st, the event will now be held sometime in the spring. The Chicago Auto Show’s official website has been updated to represent the change but lacks any specifics that might help people actually plan a trip to the venue. It only reads “Spring 2021” before listing the address and ticket prices, requiring some clarification from organizers.

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Bronco Spied on Chicago's Dan Ryan Expressway

A bronco was being tested on Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway Monday, without camouflage, in full view of commuters.

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Chicago Considers Congestion Charges, Starting With Uber/Lyft

Chicago is considering sticking ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft with a new tax that would add a few bucks onto each ride. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed a $40-million-per-year tax increase as part of a broader traffic plan modeled after London’s famous congestion fines. That means not all rides would be subject to the same fees, but each trip taken within the city would still cost a little extra.

While congestion charges are all the rage in Europe, they’re uncommon in the United States. New York City recently decided to financially penalize every driver taking a trip below 60th Street (something I’m not thrilled about), positioning Chicago as the second major metropolitan area in the U.S. to move forward on congestion fees. Lightfoot claims it’s a necessary first step “to improve mobility and further our goals of ensuring sustainable, affordable and reliable access to transportation options in every neighborhood.”

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Junkyard Treasure: 1993 Geo Tracker, Illinois Rust Edition
When The General created the Geo brand in 1989, the idea was that cars designed and/or built by Toyota, Isuzu, and Suzuki could be sold in the United States under the GM flag (Geos became Chevrolets after 1997). Of all the cars that bore Geo badging, the Tracker stayed in production the longest, when a Suzuki Grand Vitara-based Chevy Tracker could be purchased through 2004.Here’s a frighteningly corroded 1993 Geo Tracker, spotted in a self-service wrecking yard in Joliet, Illinois.
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