NASCAR hauler parade returns to Joliet
from staff reports August 30, 2012 5:30PM
Race Fan Rally is held in downtown Joliet before the weekend NASCAR races at Chicagoland Speedway. Thousands of visitors attend the rally, which offers a festival atmosphere with food vendors and racing attractions. | Sun-Times Media file photo
Updated: October 4, 2012 6:07AM
JOLIET — The NASCAR haulers return.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hauler Parade to Downtown Joliet is back this year.
More than 30 haulers carrying NASCAR cars to Chicagoland Speedway will cruise downtown on Sept. 13, repeating a unique NASCAR parade that was initiated last year.
One thing different this year, however, is that Race Fan Rally, which followed the parade last year, will be held on the next day — Friday, Sept. 14. The rally, a downtown street festival that includes music, food and cars while drawing thousands of local and visiting NASCAR fans before the racing starts, had been held on Thursday nights in past years.
The hauler trucks will gather at Hollywood Casino Joliet at 4 p.m., when fans can get a close-up view and photographs, before they travel to downtown Joliet.
The downtown parade starts on the Jefferson Street bridge going east before turning left on Scott Street. The parade will proceed north to Jackson Street and turn left again, going to Ottawa Street for another left turn and then heading south to Chicagoland Speedway.
Race fans can watch the parade anywhere along the route. The city has named designated viewing areas at: McBrody’s Bar and Grill, 73 W. Jefferson St.; the Joliet Area Historical Museum, 201 N. Ottawa St.; and the Joliet Public Library, 150 N. Ottawa Street.
Race Fan Rally, which includes NASCAR drivers, cars and exhibitors, will run from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sept. 14 and end with a fireworks show.
The NASCAR Races are Sept. 15 and 16 at Chicagoland Speedway.
The Dollar General 300 Powered by Coca Cola, a NASCAR Nationwide Series race, will be Sept. 15. The Geico 400, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, will be Sept. 16.
