Friday Night Lights at Chicagoland Speedway

By Todd McClamroch in News on Sep 26, 2007 9:05PM

Nighttime NASCAR racing is coming to the Chicagoland Speedway next summer. Matthew Alexander, President of the Joliet-based speedway, announced yesterday that they are installing lights for their 1.5 mile D-shaped oval track. "Traditionally, our NASCAR races have taken place during the time of year when excessive heat can become an issue for our fans ... by adding lights to our facility, we hope to make the guest experience a more comfortable one." Comfort, huh? We thought that's what the coolers of beer were for.

The change was likely affected more by television programming than the concern over fans tradin' sweat in the stands. The 2008 USG Sheetrock 400 is the last of six races that TNT will be covering during the 2008 season and their second night race. The track is the 10th NASCAR-affiliated track to add lights for evening racing.

The Busch series race will run on Friday night (July 11, 2008) with the NEXTEL Cup race on Saturday night. It has not been decided whether qualifying will be moved to night as well. The Indy Racing League will continue to race during the day, though they will have access to the lights should a rain delay require the race to run into the evenings.

Image from puskunk.