Blackhawks icon Chris Chelios and Bears legend Matt Forte are Grand Marshals for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race

The second year of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race is upon us. The race will take place throughout the city this weekend and two Chicago sports greats will serve as Grand Marshals.

Blackhawks legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios will give the command to start the engines for the Loop 110 Xfinity Series race. Bears legend Matt Forte will serve as grand marshal for the Grant Pak 165 in the Cup Series.

“Chicago is one of the best sports cities in the world and NASCAR is proud to be a part of this historic Chicago sports culture,” said Julie Giese, president of Chicago Street Race, in a statement. “Chris and Matt are two of the city’s most recognized sports icons and we are excited to welcome their winning spirit to this weekend’s races.”

Chelios – a Chicago native – is one of the most legendary Blackhawks in history and the franchise recently retired his No. 7 jersey. He will give the famous instruction “Drivers, start your engines” before Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, which gets underway at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Forte, on the other hand, became a crowd favorite with the Bears from 2008-15, played in two Pro Bowls and became one of the franchise’s 100 greatest players of all time. He will be at Grant Park 165 on Sunday to give the drivers the runaround before the 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

This year marks the second NASCAR race to take place on the streets of Chicago. The 2023 event was a hit with huge crowds and strong attendance as fans braved the weather to watch at the downtown track. Shane van Gisbergen took the checkered flag last year and Giese recently pointed out that this gave him a “fan base” in the city.

As he prepares to return to Chicago, van Gisbergen said it has been a “whirlwind” since last year’s race and will now look to repeat his success when the Grant Park 165 starts on Sunday afternoon – rain not in the forecast.

“When I came to Chicago last year, it was a one-off race with Project 91 and Trackhouse,” said van Gisbergen about Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times. “You always hope to win a race, but you never expect to be up there and put on a show like we did. Since then, it’s just gotten worse. Of course, the recognition we’ve received for our achievements since then is tremendous. It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind.”