Adjacent to Chicagoland Speedway, Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois features two main tracks: a quarter-mile drag strip and a half-mile dirt oval; there is also a road course and off-road track on site. Throughout the season, the facility hosts weekly racing and special events.
Opened in 1998, Route 66 was the first drag racing "Stadium," with a 30,000-seat grandstand surrounding the starting line area. Today, the track is owned by International Speedway Corp. (ISC), which also owns Chicagoland Speedway and many other NASCAR tracks.
The main NHRA events scheduled for Route 66's drag strip in 2013 are the NHRA Lucas Oil Division 3 competition, June 7th through 9th, and the NHRA Mello Yello Series' O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals, June 27th through 30th. The track also hosts five NHRA Junior Dragster events: May 18th, June 1st, June 22nd, August 10th and August 24th. The dirt oval hosts weekly racing featuring sprint cars, midgets, modifieds, and stock cars, as well as special events like monster truck shows and demolition derbies. It has also hosted World of Outlaws events in the past.
Tickets are not yet on sale for the NHRA Route 66 Nationals – stay up-to-date at www.route66raceway.com.
Check out Paula’s Examiner columns on motorsports:
Follow Paula on:
- Facebook – Paula Thompson Freelance and Examiner.com Motorsports
- Twitter - @paulat14
- Website – paulathompsonfreelance.com
- Flickr – Paula Thompson Freelance
Contact Paula at paulathompsonfreelance@gmail.com















Comments