NASCAR officially names the GM of Chicagoland Speedway

NASCAR has appointed Jacque Herrera as the new General Manager of Chicagoland Speedway. Herrera grew up attending races at the Joliet track and described the role as a 'full circle' moment.

Herrera spent the last three years as Director of Community Relations for the Chicago Street Race, where she built strong ties with local organisations. Her background also includes leadership roles in community engagement and external affairs communications with Tapestry 360 Health and Humboldt Park Health, respectively.

In a teleconference with NASCAR, Herrera addressed her signing and said,

“Being a lifelong NASCAR fan, attending races as a kid with my dad, I went to Joliet so many times on the weekends with my aunts and cousins, spending the weekends out there. So Joliet is very near and dear to my heart. And to see it come full circle, never in my wildest dreams did I expect the little girl from Chicago that used to attend the races to become the GM of Chicagoland Speedway.”

As the new GM, Herrera hopes to strengthen ties with local residents, city officials, and community organisations, including initiatives with schools and youth programs.

Chicagoland Speedway makes its return to the Cup Series calendar after 2019. The 1.5-mile tri-oval will host the 2026 Fourth of July NASCAR weekend. The venue will begin with the ARCA Menards Series, before running the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Cup Series.

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NASCAR insider calls for oval track in an 'abandoned airport'

NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi made a passionate plea for more oval tracks. On the latest episode of The Teardown podcast, Bianchi suggested ways to accomplish the goal.

"Find a runway, find an airport, an abandoned airport in some of these major cities, and build me a short track there. Yeah, it's going to be flat, and it's not going to have the banking or whatever that you'd like to see, don't care. Gives you some semblance of an oval that is more what NASCAR is than a street or road course," he said.

Bianchi pointed out how the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was able to repurpose a football stadium into a temporary short track. The quarter-mile short track hosted the 2022 Busch Light Clash, which was won by Joey Logano.

The Cup Series is also set for a new venue in Naval Base Coronado. The San Diego track replaces the Chicago Street Race with a 16-turn layout. Other additions to the 2026 calendar include a regular-season race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The short track was used to run the All-Star race. This year's event saw Christopher Bell snatch away the victory from Joey Logano.

Notably, the All-Star race featured a new rule called the 'promoter's caution', which allowed the track's promoter to induce a caution and spice things up. Logano, however, wasn't pleased with the rule.