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player ready...Chicagoland Speedway’s NASCAR races will be run under the lights starting next year.
Citing fan comfort in July and the more exciting ambience of night racing, track President Matthew Alexander announced Tuesday that lights would be installed at the 1.5-mile facility in Joliet.
The Nextel Cup race, traditionally run on Sunday afternoons, will now be run on Saturday nights beginning July 12. And the Busch race will be shifted from Saturday afternoon to Friday night.
“Traditionally our NASCAR races have taken place during the time of year when excessive heat can become an issue for our fans,” Alexander said in a statement. “By adding lights to our facility, we hope to make the guest experience a more comfortable one.”
But the old NASCAR promoters’ adage that “the darker it gets, the faster they go” — or so it seems to fans — also was a factor.
“Night racing is one of the most thrilling experiences for fans to be a part of, and now we will be able to bring that type of exciting atmosphere to our facility,” Alexander said.
Next September’s IndyCar Series race is still scheduled as a daytime event, officials said.
Whether NASCAR practice and qualifying will be switched to night will be determined in later discussions between track and NASCAR officials, Alexander said.
Although Chicagoland has not suffered a rainout in the seven-year history of Nextel Cup racing at Joliet, “we will now have the flexibility to run events later in the day in the event of inclement weather,” Alexander said.
Chicagoland is the 10th track on the Nextel Cup circuit to install lights.
“Other NASCAR tracks with lights have experienced tremendous success when hosting night races, and we anticipate similar results,” Alexander said.
Penalty drops Edwards to 6th
Carl Edwards dropped from third to sixth in NASCAR’s playoff standings Tuesday after he was docked 25 points for a technical infraction found after his victory Sunday at Dover, Del.
The victory had catapulted Edwards within three points of Chase leader Jeff Gordon and one behind second-place Tony Stewart, but Edwards is now 28 points back.
Edwards’ Ford failed to meet NASCAR’s minimum height requirements in its right-rear fender area during postrace inspection.
NASCAR officials said the violation was unintentional, and that in all probability was the reason Edwards’ penalty was relatively mild for a technical infraction on the Car of Tomorrow.
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