No IMSA series at Chicago for 2023

Although in the initial announcement of the NASCAR Chicago street race set for next July that there would be an IMSA series on the schedule, it has now been confirmed that there will be no sports car race in the inaugural event.

While it was never expected that one of the premier IMSA series such as the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship or the Michelin Pilot Challenge was going to be on the card, IMSA President John Doonan said after his "State of the Sport" presentation at Road America in August that they were looking at several options. However, as schedules for Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup and the new VP Racing SportsCar Challenge were released in full, it became increasingly evident that the announcement of an IMSA series racing on the streets of Chicago was premature.

With NASCAR confirming that the Xfinity Series will race in Chicago this week, the absence of a sports car race seemed almost a certainty, which has now been confirmed. Fortunately for Chicago-area sports car fans, IMSA will be returning to nearby Road America Aug. 3-6, 2023.