NASCAR wants to race in Franklin Field but they should hit the streets of Philly instead

Drew Smith
June 20, 2025
Philly
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NASCAR is heading to Pocono this weekend, and if you’re looking for a last-minute trip with the boys, it’s tough to beat. 90 minute car ride, cheap tickets, loud cars, and bringing your own coolers filled with ice cold beer is not only welcomed, but encouraged.

That alone puts it ahead of just about every other sporting event in the area. But while the Tricky Triangle gets its usual spotlight, NASCAR’s already thinking bigger and a whole lot better.

According to Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, the league has considered bringing a race to the home of the Penn Relays, Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

Franklin Field is one of the oldest stadiums in the country and is obviously better known for track spikes and graduation caps than 750-horsepower engines.

NASCAR coming to Franklin Field? How about the streets of Philly?

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NASCAR has already run an exhibition race inside the L.A. Coliseum. It looked cool. It wasn’t exactly thrilling to watch. Tight tracks, short straightaways, and no real speed. Kind of felt like bumper cars with branding.

And that’s the issue here. Racing inside Franklin Field might sound fun on paper, but if we’re being honest, it would ultimately be a snoozefest.

If you thought the Penn Relays were tough to get through, wait until you see muscle cars crawling around an oval at 50 miles an hour for 150 laps. That’s not racing. That’s a traffic jam with sponsorships.

Either way, I don’t hate the idea but NASCAR should reconsider and take the event in Philly to the streets. Could you imagine a NASCAR race cruising through Kensington? Okay, maybe not Kensington but there’s no reason to think that a track around the Art Museum and through Fairmount Park wouldn’t be electric.

Look at what F1 has done in Miami, Vegas, and Austin. Those races feel like events because the city becomes the course. You’ve got turns through real neighborhoods, famous backdrops on camera, and high-speed chaos in unpredictable conditions.

NASCAR can easily do the same thing in Philadelphia

Run it down the Ben Franklin Parkway, wrap it around Logan Square, send it flying past the Art Museum, and throw in a hairpin turn around City Hall for maximum carnage.

You want authenticity? Keep the potholes. Let them deal with the same road conditions like the rest of us. Imagine the visuals. A car doing donuts in front of the Rocky Steps. A pileup at 15th and JFK. Someone taking out a bike lane sign at 90 miles an hour. Now you’ve got a show.

NASCAR has a strong base in the Northeast. O’Donnell’s right about that. Fans in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York love short track racing. But if you’re coming to Philly, go big. Don’t tuck it inside a college football stadium and call it innovation. Put it on the streets and let Philly be Philly.