NASCAR Chicago Street Race will be North Barrington native Brent Sherman's first race in 7 years
CHICAGO (CBS) -- NASCAR's first-ever street race will bring some of the world's best drivers to Chicago this weekend.
CBS 2's Matt Zahn caught up with one driver who's getting back behind the wheel for the first time in seven years.
Brent Sherman, who lives just up the road in North Barrington, got his first look at the street race course in Grant Park last week.
"I've been here many times, and I just never imagined there would be a racetrack here," he said.
Sherman probably couldn't have imagined he'd be racing in Grant Park either. Sherman is a former NASCAR and Indy Car driver, but he hasn't competed full-time since 2008, and his last race was at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet in 2016. It's kind of a funny story how he got this chance to get back behind the wheel.
"Actually, Facebook. A friend of mine that I knew back in the day when I was racing, he does PR for RSS Racing, and I threw it out there I actually had tickets to this race to sit in the stands. I said, 'Hey, is there a race seat available?' and he said, 'You know, funny enough you should say that. One of our drivers doesn't want to do the road courses – Kyle Sieg.' So I said, 'Sign me up,'" Sherman said.
From there, Sherman got to work getting ready to race. That included using the NASCAR simulator of the 12-turn, 2.2-mile track, which he said helps but can't replicate the real thing. And he got in some practice in Joliet as well. He said he hopes actual racing is like riding a bike.
"I think so. You know, I'm still pretty confident. I've tried to stay in shape just in case there was an opportunity that became available like this," he said. "It's really unbelievable that it all worked out."
Sherman said there's a lot more to think about when you're racing a street course; whether it's going from asphalt to freshly paved blacktop, or even driving over manhole covers.
"You gotta make sure you're not braking over something like that, and then you gotta just find the nuances in the track; what you feel like has better grip than other places," he said. "Some of the corners are tight. Some are fast. You know, there's a crown in all the roads, and when you come over the crown, the car's going to want to slide a lot. It's a challenge, but I like a challenge."
With all the unpredictability of the track, and the fact Sherman hasn't raced regularly in 15 years, does he have expectations for how he'll do in the race?
"I'd love to run in top 10. I don't know if that's possible. I may be far from the top 10. You know, like I said, all these guys are great drivers. At the end of the day, if I finish last, I will still be satisfied that I got to race in a great race in Chicago in front of my family," he said.
The NASCAR Chicago Street race features two races on Saturday and Sunday. The Loop 121 will be a 55-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday. The Grant Park 220 will be a 100-lap NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday.
Sherman said he's excited for his kids to watch him racing, because they were too young when he was running regularly in NASCAR. He will be competing on Saturday in the Xfinity Series race, The Loop 121.
The NASCAR Cup Series race, the Grant Park 200, will be on Sunday.