CHICAGO – As the inaugural event in downtown Chicago gets closer and closer, more and more about the Chicago Street Race is being announced.

That included Tuesday, when another founding partner has come on board for the event in early July.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois announced that they will be one of the founding partners for the event, doing so at a news conference in downtown Chicago. They will join McDonald’s, who announced their founding partnership last week.

Both companies will have official presenting, marketing and promotional rights for the Xfinity Series “The Loop 121” race on Saturday, July 1 and the Cup Series “Grant Park 220” on Sunday, July 2.

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is part of the fabric of Chicago and Illinois. The NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend is taking place on the doorstep of our headquarters building and we expect it to be an exciting addition to Chicago’s sports legacy,” said Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois president Stephen Harris. “NASCAR has demonstrated its commitment to Chicago beyond the races – which aligns with our commitment to help improve the health and wellness of people across Illinois. We ‘DRIVE ACCESS’ to care and will work to drive access and opportunities for people from around Chicago to be part of the excitement surrounding the event.”

The two races are the first major motorsports races to be staged in downtown Chicago and the return of NASCAR to the area for the first time since 2019. That’s when the stock car racing company staged its events at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, doing so starting in 2001.

So far the event has been met with a mix of enthusiasm, a fair amount of criticism, with a few events, like the Taste of Chicago, moving because of it.