National television partner TNT welcomed the move, which also has given a boost to ticket sales.
Beyond the bottom line, though, night racing promises to add another level of glamour, and it should give fans attending the races relief from the sweltering afternoon they often have endured in NASCAR's first seven trips to Joliet.
"It was a great move by the track to put lights in," said Tony Stewart, who will be going after his third Sprint Cup victory in five trips to Joliet. "The excitement at night is just that much higher than it is during the day. Everything around the track is dark. It's like putting a spotlight on the action. It seems like the sensation of speed is higher at night. And I like being able to sleep in in the morning on race day. I'm nocturnal. I like having the whole day to build up for a night race."
Some drivers wonder, though, whether NASCAR's trend toward more Saturday night races is a good idea.
"I like racing at night, but I don't know that it's the best thing for our sport," said Kevin Harvick, who won the first two Cup races at Chicagoland. "I like to watch shows that come on at the same time. NASCAR racing for a long time was on Sunday at 12 or 1 p.m. Everybody got out of church, you'd go home and watch the race.
"Consistency is important to me. I'd rather have the races come on at the same time. But the TV people would rather have it in prime time. That's good for our sponsors, too. I guess you have to have a mix. It's new (in Chicago), so you have these debates of whether it's right or wrong. (This week) we're going to find out."
For Chicagoland Speedway president Matt Alexander, going under the lights was right. Period.
"It's always been on our radar," he said. "Lights are on everybody's radar. It's like the excitement of Monday Night Football. It gives us an extra buzz. We're seeing it with ticket sales and media coverage."
Only a few thousand seats went unsold last year, but that was the first time a Sprint Cup race was not a virtual sellout at Joliet. And the $17 million lights project was one way of guarding against having empty seats become a trend.
"We're running substantially ahead of last year," said Alexander, anticipating a sellout this year. "There were a few pockets of empty seats last year. You kind of had to look for them. This year, it will be a neeedle in a haystack."
With grandstand capacity at 75,000 and thousands more able to view the race from the infield, Alexander said, "I guess we'll have close to 100,000 people here."
This year's IRL race Sept. 7 figures to be the last daytime open-wheel race at Joliet. Look for the IRL to go under the lights at Joliet in 2009 to avoid bumping up against the Bears on Sunday afternoon.
"We're in deep discussions with the IRL about what our future's going to be," Alexander said.
One potential problem is that traffic jams could be dicier after a night race, with more people trying to get out of the track quickly.
"Egress will be one of the big challenges," Alexander said. "But we're getting the traffic down pretty well."
To encourage more race fans not to clog the highways, Chicagoland has expanded its RV campground by 300 sites and now can accommodate 1,800 RVs. And infield sites sold out in 24 hours this year.
"The more people who stay on-site, the better it is for traffic," Alexander said. "So that's a great trend."
-- Sun-Times News Group
