Chicagoland Sees Ticket Success Ahead Of First NASCAR Chase Race

Chicagoland Speedway President Scott Paddock said tickets for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Geico 400 "are moving really, really quick," according to the SOUTHTOWN STAR. Sunday kicks off NASCAR's 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, and Paddock "loves Chicagoland's position as the Chase leadoff venue." Paddock: "We've had great response to having the first Chase race right here in our back yard. ... Say we were the fifth race in the Chase. That would be good, too. But then nobody would be talking about our race until after the fourth race is done. This year, everyone has been talking all year about coming here to start the Chase." NASCAR recently announced that Chicagoland will host the first Chase race in '12 as well, and Paddock said, "We didn't want this to be a one-and-done scenario. We wanted to give this race the better platform it deserves. I think NASCAR has been impressed how fans here have shown their commitment." The Geico 400 is the first Chase race Chicagoland has ever hosted, and Paddock said, "It's been a tremendous challenge, but I look back eight months and am incredibly proud of what we have been able to do. We have reinvented the excitement that was here 10 years ago (when Chicagoland was opened) and maybe was lacking the last couple of years. The collaboration is what made it happen. We couldn't do it ourselves. The mayor's office, all our broadcast partners, everyone came together and collaborated in building the blueprint. It has exceeded our expectations" (SOUTHTOWN STAR, 9/15).