It’s a little bit earlier than 7 a.m. native time on Saturday, and the streets of downtown Chicago are nonetheless comparatively quiet and empty.

Off the subway on the Monroe cease, the stroll to NASCAR’s Chicago road course begins. It’s up the steps onto S Dearborn St and a stroll to the nook to take a left onto W Monroe St. From there, it’s a straight four-block stroll, and on at the present time at this hour, a lot of the different individuals who begin rising on the sidewalk are NASCAR drivers in road garments and crew members recognizable by their logoed crew shirts.

We grow to be a small herd headed towards The Artwork Institute of Chicago, which homes the media middle for the weekend, and S Columbus Dr on the subsequent nook. That’s the place the Cup Sequence storage begins. Additional down S Columbus is the course.

The location and uniqueness of business members coming collectively on foot, some clutching drinks of selection from espresso retailers, is only one second from a historic weekend. One second that served as a reminder of simply how completely different the occasion and expertise had been and, frankly, how cool it felt. Not solely is there strolling however tall buildings, intermittent honking from site visitors, and parks and landmarks throughout.

Chicago was completely different and enjoyable. As an alternative of the standard itinerary of airport, rental automobile, resort, acquainted eating places, and acquainted path to a racetrack probably not surrounded by a lot, Chicago was the exact opposite. It was native transportation or a resort proper close to the course. It was drivers in search of the scooter they’d rented.

I had by no means coated or skilled a road race earlier than, so there was nothing to check it to or any concept of what to anticipate in Chicago. Logistically, it was going to be completely different, and simply as Kyle Larson famous throughout his media availability, most of us in all probability recorded essentially the most steps on our Apple Watch in three days than ever earlier than in our life.

There have been crowds of individuals in all places. Anytime you regarded out the home windows from the third flooring of the Artwork Institute, followers had been always transferring up and down W Monroe St. When race automobiles had been roaring via the course, folks might be seen in home windows within the surrounding buildings or shoulder to shoulder on balconies.

It’s onerous to explain the weekend’s power to those that weren’t there to expertise it for themselves. However simply think about a major sporting occasion or competition the place it’s noisy, energetic and full of fine vibes.

The parks had been packed. Merchandise flew off the shelf.

Throughout a subway journey one morning with a colleague, one of many distributors from one of many merchandise retailers informed us they had been promoting out of product after product. Given an opportunity to move into the Pit Store (an official NASCAR merchandise tent that travels the circuit), my jaw dropped at how little stock was left. It’s not an exaggeration – empty shelf after empty shelf.

On the morning of the 7 a.m. stroll to the monitor, followers gathered exterior the storage entrance in search of autographs. Some weren’t NASCAR followers however had been within the spectacle as they requested crew members, “Are you a NASCAR driver?”

Enjoyable. It was simply enjoyable to see and expertise one thing completely different.

As for the course itself, actually spectacular. I walked 2.2 miles simply as drivers and groups did after it was absolutely arrange and closed. Among the many issues that stood out had been the elevation modifications, the variety of grandstands all through the course, and the way shut the automobiles had been to followers and buildings.

The imagery alone from the Chicago road race stands alone. Whether or not it was race followers discovering any strong floor to climb on to catch a view, ripping via privateness screens on fences, or a race automobile roaring previous a downtown Chicago constructing or statue, it’s not one thing we see each week.

Standing on pit highway for the ultimate few laps of the Cup Sequence race, I acquired goosebumps. I consider it was from the mixture of an amazing weekend coming to an in depth, the excitement from the followers loudly exhibiting their help, and Shane van Gisbergen pulling off an unlikely however enthralling victory that supplied much more new post-race headlines.

NASCAR, Julie Giese and her crew, and town of Chicago placed on an incredible occasion. It seemingly went off with out important points, though I’m positive of their post-event evaluation, NASCAR officers will discover issues to study from and do higher the following time.

Whereas I’m positive not everybody in Chicago was happy NASCAR was there, I felt welcomed. Chicago, general, felt like a giant deal. And when it got here to overlaying a brand new and distinctive occasion, it was an satisfying and simple course of.

At one level throughout the weekend, throughout a dialog with a colleague about how issues had been going and the way we had been having fun with it, they informed me this was NASCAR’s “fiddle and discover out period” with its schedule. It made me snort, however it actually feels true. Some experiments received’t work, however it’s higher than the identical copy-and-paste schedule the business had for therefore lengthy.

So, I assume all of us messed round in Chicago and discovered it might work. And that one thing so new and completely different may be lots of enjoyable.