NASCAR's Wild Night of Racing at Chicago's Soldier Field in 1956

• On July 21, 1956, one of the most remarkable races in NASCAR history took place at Soldier Field.

• The race, won by rising star Fireball Roberts, was the only NASCAR Cup event held inside the stadium.

• From the late 1940s through 1968, weekly series races attracted huge crowds to the stadium.

The announcement that NASCAR’s top two series will race on the streets of downtown Chicago in 2023 caused quite a stir.

The Chicago weekend will mark NASCAR’s first street competition, but it won’t be the sanctioning body’s first appearance within the shadows of the city’s tall buildings.

On July 21, 1956, one of the most remarkable races in NASCAR history took place at Soldier Field, the downtown stadium that later would famously become home to the Chicago Bears of the National Football League.

The race, won by rising star Fireball Roberts, was the only NASCAR Cup event held inside the stadium, but it wasn’t the only time racing thunder was heard there. From the late 1940s through 1968, weekly series races attracted huge crowds to the stadium. Andy Granatelli, later a key figure in IndyCar and NASCAR racing, promoted races at Soldier Field for many years.

To fans used to seeing football played at Soldier Field, photographs of race cars circling a track inside the stadium under the facility’s iconic columns are strange, indeed.

The NASCAR race was the 33rd event on the 56-race schedule in 1956. It attracted only 25 drivers, but among the competitors were some of the sport’s biggest names—and some that would be. In the field were Ralph Moody, Jim Paschal, Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Herb Thomas, Paul Goldsmith and Fred Lorenzen.