Here are more of the most frequently asked questions from Herald readers about NASCAR. Answers are based on a four-day visit to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., which included NASCAR’s popular Busch Series and Nextel Cup races July 10 and 11.
Q: Were residences already nearby when the speedway was built? How close were they?
A: The track was built one-eighth mile away from the closest neighborhood, a 12-home cul-de-sac. Owners say their homes are hard to sell and have decreased in value.
One neighborhood with at least 100 homes is about two miles away.
Q: Is there an airport in Joliet? How is it affected by the speedway?
A: Joliet has two airports, but both are more than 10 miles from Chicagoland Speedway.
The Joliet Regional Port Authority Airport is closer to the city of Romeoville. It gets almost all the air traffic because it has a bigger runway at 5,700 feet.
(For comparison, Arlington Municipal Airport – which is one mile from Marysville’s proposed track site – has a 5,300-foot runway.)
Chris Lawson, the Joliet airport’s director, said about 100 planes, mostly jets from racing teams, pay to stay at his field during race week. Helicopter traffic for VIPs also is heavy.
“We probably make $30,000, clear, in four days,” Lawson said. “That pays for one of our salaried guys.”
The park district airport gets almost no NASCAR traffic because its 3,000-foot runway is too small, manager Bill Reuter said. Chicagoland has a three-mile, 3,000-foot temporary flight restriction around it on race days, he added.
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