eero 400 2026

Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, was built during a true construction boom of the late 1990s, when NASCAR and its partners supplied the booming stock car sport with new facilities. Construction began and was largely completed that same year, allowing the facility to be finished in the spring of 2001. On June 23, 2001, the track officially opened its gates, a ‘Meet your Seat’ day attracted around 6,000 fans, and Joliet Mayor Arthur Schultz symbolically cut the ribbon.

In terms of ownership, the history is clearly structured: The speedway has always been in the hands of NASCAR itself, which has centrally controlled the facility over the years. The facility is currently managed by track president Jacqueline Herrera, while the grandstands provide seating for approximately 47,000 spectators. For the 2026 season, the track operates under the sponsorship name eero 400, an example of how NASCAR tracks are increasingly financed through naming rights.

The layout is a classic tri-oval with a length of 2.414 kilometers and four turns, combining high speeds with tight battles throughout the field. This combination of long straightaways and compact turn radii has made the track a stage for close pack racing since its opening, where drafting and traction determine victory and defeat.

Competitively, the track went through several phases: From 2001 to 2010, the Cup race took place in July, and from 2008 increasingly as a night race under floodlights. Between 2011 and 2017, Chicagoland even opened the Playoff round for the top 16, before further calendar adjustments occurred in 2018. After 18 years of active racing, declining attendance caused major motorsports to pause, and from 2020 to 2025 the facility remained largely quiet except for a single SuperMotocross race in 2023.

In the winner’s list, Kyle Busch dominates the facility’s statistics with a total of ten victories across all series, while Tony Stewart with three triumphs is the most successful driver in NASCAR Cup Series at the 1.5-mile oval. With its return as eero 400 in 2026, Chicagoland is building on this rich but interrupted racing history and once again opening its gates for a new generation of drivers and fans.