I’m not what you’d call “a racing fan,” I’ll just put that out there. My lack of racing interest and expertise is highlighted by the fact that nearly all of my colleagues, friends, and even younger family members are baffled by the fact that I’ve been into cars my entire life. Just not… NASCAR race cars.
Previous Chicago NASCAR cars are on display at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, and if my son, Lincoln, doesn’t make a beeline for the Zephyr train, he goes for the NASCAR, absent any context whatsoever beyond “race car.” He’s five, he’s been able to identify Subarus since he was two, and in his mind, my stock 2019 Subaru WRX is as much of a “race car” as the professionally-built race car that’s actually been raced and is now displayed behind barriers at our favorite rainy-day museum destination. Still. Gotta give the kid credit, even if NASCAR, or any pro racing series, never really resonated with me.
When I told my brother and sister-in-law that I was invited by Toyota to attend the Chicago Street Race, they said, “Don’t let Grant find out.” Instead, I decided to interview my nephew Grant (after bragging a little). There are a few things I can do these days to impress him… Especially since he knows more about NASCAR than I do.
That’s why I enlisted his help, along with his younger sister, Grace, to school me on the finer points of NASCAR before attending the Chicago Street Race. Bless them, they did their job admirably (though this interview has been edited for some semblance of clarity).
This story is 100% human-researched and written based on actual first-person knowledge, extensive experience, and expertise on the subject of cars and trucks. Additionally, I was a guest of Toyota’s, but all impressions and opinions are my own.
The Race Was Closer to Home Than I Realized
I used to work downtown, right on South Michigan Avenue. When I left that job, I missed the area so much that I volunteered at the Art Institute of Chicago, right on South Michigan Avenue. My old haunts are adjacent to the course’s main straightaway. I’m not a Chicago native, but these are my streets, for better or for worse.
As it happened, my growing curiosity about how race cars can handle those narrow straights and sharp turns coincided with the invitation from Toyota. I got into NASCAR because a pair of highly coveted pit and garage passes came my way, but my nephew and niece, 13 and 11, watched a Netflix show about NASCAR before ever watching a race. To each their own.
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1. There Is More Than One Way to Get into NASCAR
Gone are the days when getting into motorsports involved going to a race. With so much media these days, Grant found himself drawn to a Netflix documentary. There, he could explore the intricacies of race cars, how they work, and what a paddock looks like before heading to a track. As I also learned, a plethora of video games helped foster excitement, too.
This way, the whole experience was presented more excitingly and enticingly. Here’s how he responded to my first round of questions:
A GIRL’S GUIDE 2 CARS (AGG2C): Okay, Grant, tell me about yourself. Name, age, and how long you’ve been into NASCAR.
GRANT: I’m Grant Threewitt. I’m 13 years old, and I’ve been into NASCAR for about a year.
AGG2C: How’d you get into NASCAR? Is it something that you picked up from your family, or where did you find out about it and start paying attention to it?
GRANT: “NASCAR Full Speed,” a show on Netflix.
GG2C: From there, how’d you go about learning more about NASCAR?
GRANT: I watched it.
GG2C: How about you, Grace? Introduce yourself to me and tell me how you got into NASCAR
GRACE: My name is Grace, and I got into NASCAR because my brother watched a lot of the shows and the races, and I was bored, so I ended up watching it.
Naturally.
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2. Motorsports Gets Kids More Interested in Cars
Aside from the bright colors and loud engines, a lot of other cars, like the Toyota Supra pace car or the Ford Bronco support car, drew Grace and Grant’s attention. In the context of being at a race track, these cars were a lot more interesting to them than they would be on the drive home from school. Here’s how that works, according to them:
AGG2C: How has learning about NASCAR made you more interested in cars?
GRANT: [With a “duh” tone to his voice]: I pay more attention to cars.
GRACE: Yeah! He always admires all the [Dodge] Hellcats. Especially the one at the car show we go to in Lockport [Chicago suburb]. It has this cool Hellcat that, when the light shines on it, the eyes glow red. I remember when the light shone on it, it glew [sic] red. It did! It did! A part of it glew red!
AGG2C: What kind of car do you want for your first car, Grant?
GRANT: Corvette.
GRACE: Ford Bronco!
AGG2C: If you guys were at the Chicago race, what questions would you ask your favorite drivers?
GRACE: Do you drive a Ford Bronco?
GRANT: I’d ask for an autograph.
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3. Different Courses Keep NASCAR Exciting, Even Virtually
Though I don’t quite get the appeal of oval tracks, the street course, in an area I know well, intrigued me. In Chicago, the race experience is kind of a free-for-all once you’ve entered the ticketed area within Grant Park, and though it’s nice to have a reserved seat in the stands overlooking the straightaway, there are many different vantage points within the park to observe different challenges, like 90-degree turns.
We had seats along the straightaway before Turn 1, sat on the grass near Turn 6 during most of stages 2 and 3, and returned to our seats to watch the finish. According to my niece and nephew, the range of NASCAR tracks, 33 to be exact, was enough to keep them interested.
AGG2C: Do you guys have a preference for what types of races you like? Do you like the ovals, or the road courses…?
GRACE: I like the ones that are random shapes.
GRANT: I like the ovals.
AGG2C: Do you guys have a favorite track or course?
GRANT: Bristol.
GRACE: What’s the one on that game you have? Like, the one that I like playing, it’s like a dirt track? And it’s like a Ferris wheel?
KIDS’ DAD: So are you also into NASCAR because of the video games?
BOTH: Yes.
GRACE: I always like turning around on the track and making people make me fly 30,000 feet in the air.
AGG2C: You guys are ridiculous.
GRACE: I know.
4. There’s More Loyalty to Teams and Drivers than to Automakers
There are four main manufacturers in NASCAR, I learned: Chevy, Ford, and Toyota for the Cup Series, and Ram is in the upcoming truck series. But my niece and nephews didn’t care about that. Instead, they found themselves attached to the drivers and their car’s fun designs.
AGG2C: Grant, if you had pit and garage passes for the Chicago Street Race, what would you do first? Who would you want to go see or talk to?
GRANT: The number 11 Denny Hamlin car. He’s my favorite driver. And I would probably go to the Michael Jordan cars.
GRACE: I would look at the M&M car. When I play the NASCAR game, I’m always the M&M car.
5. NASCAR’s Rules Are So Easy to Understand, a Child Can Do It
Based on my pre-race interview, it’s easy to pick up the basics. In just a year of fandom, you can be as confident as a 13-year-old (but we’ll see how much I remember next summer). Here’s how my niece and nephew explained it:
AGG2C: Now I need you guys to teach me about NASCAR. What should I know since I’m going to the race?
GRANT: SVG is going to win.
GRACE: There will be a lot of swearing.
GRANT: It’s a lot of cars going around, and you’re going to see SVG in the front, you’re probably going to see Alex Bowman in the front, Tyler Reddick, and Ty Gibbs.
KIDS’ DAD: Maybe explain who SVG is?
GRANT: He won the street course, he swept the races last year, I mean, two years ago, he won both the Xfinity and the Cup Series. Last year, he won the Xfinity Series.
[Grant did not clarify the initials, but he was talking about Shane van Gisbergen, who did indeed win the Chicago Street Race.]
AGG2C: How do you remember all that just off the top of your head?
GRANT: I don’t know. I just remember.
AGG2C: Okay.
GRACE: He took a sharp tool and took his brain out and engraved it. And then put it back in.
AGG2C: All right… next question, I guess?
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6. The Chicago Street Race is Just Like Driving in Chicago
In Chicago, your arrival at a destination is often anticlimactic, whether you’re a pro or a plebeian. This was accurately predicted by Grace and Grant, despite their driving experience being limited to go-karts and golf carts.
AGG2C: Anything else I should know about the NASCAR Chicago Street Race? Or anything that someone watching NASCAR for the first time should know?
GRACE: It’s going to be slow.
AGG2C: It’s going to be slow? Why?
GRANT: The races take forever because cautions come out.
[At this point, Grace says something about Denny Hamlin, adults in the background start talking about the rainstorms during the 2024 race, and my five-year-old son, Lincoln, starts wailing because he can’t stand being ignored by Grace for eight whole minutes.]
GRACE: Everyone gets upset when Denny Hamlin starts to fall close to the back!
NASCAR is Typically a Family Affair
Grant impressed me by predicting SVG’s eventual win, even though the race’s conclusion was on the dull side, from my perspective. We decided to return to our seats along the main straight for the last few minutes of the race — which meant we just missed a big crash in Turn 6, where we’d been sitting moments before — that resulted in a caution for the last lap.
SVG had crossed the line to begin his last lap just seconds before the flag went up, which meant no one could pass him, and he was guaranteed the win without the typical last-lap shenanigans or stress. In NASCAR, just like in real life, you’re sometimes in a big hurry to get somewhere, but by the time you arrive, the crowd is underwhelmed.
As for my future with NASCAR? We’ll see. The Chicago Street Race downtown is on hiatus for the 2026 season, but we’re planning to attend a race in Joliet at Chicagoland Speedway next summer. And yes, Grace and Grant finally get to go.
