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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Ever since the first gasoline powered race was | ||||||
| 3 | held along the Chicago lakefront in 1895, Illinois has played a | ||||||
| 4 | significant role in establishing motorsports as one of the most | ||||||
| 5 | exciting and popular spectator sports in the world; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, In 1997, nine area entrepreneurs came together to | ||||||
| 7 | create the Route 66 Raceway, a state-of-the-art facility | ||||||
| 8 | featuring a one-quarter mile drag strip and a one-half mile | ||||||
| 9 | oval track along the historic roadway; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, In 2001, due to its international popularity with | ||||||
| 11 | fans and race enthusiasts, Route 66 Raceway was transformed to | ||||||
| 12 | include Chicagoland Speedway, featuring a one and one-half | ||||||
| 13 | mile, D-shaped tri-oval speedway, with the combined entities | ||||||
| 14 | now forming the largest sports and entertainment complex in the | ||||||
| 15 | State of Illinois; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway host and | ||||||
| 17 | execute a broad array of programming encompassing well over 100 | ||||||
| 18 | events annually, including major motorsports entertainment, | ||||||
| 19 | endurance events, musical concerts and festivals, industry | ||||||
| 20 | trade shows, and corporate training seminars which combined | ||||||
| 21 | generate an average economic impact in excess of $150 million | ||||||
| 22 | annually throughout the Chicagoland area; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Chicagoland Speedway is celebrating its 15th year | ||||||
| 2 | of racing; in the last 15 years, the raceway has played host to | ||||||
| 3 | major United States racing events, including all three NASCAR | ||||||
| 4 | National Series and the Indy Racing League; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Chicagoland Speedway is owned by International | ||||||
| 6 | Speedway Corporation, a major promoter of motorsports | ||||||
| 7 | activities and entertainment programming who owns 13 of the | ||||||
| 8 | nation's major racing venues; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Since 2011, Chicagoland Speedway has hosted the | ||||||
| 10 | first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which is | ||||||
| 11 | akin to the playoffs in the world of motorsports; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, On September 15-18, 2016, Chicagoland Speedway | ||||||
| 13 | will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a special celebration | ||||||
| 14 | and an extended four-day race weekend for this year's Chase for | ||||||
| 15 | the NASCAR Sprint Cup; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 17 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 18 | designate September 11-18, 2016 as "Speed Week" in the State of | ||||||
| 19 | Illinois in recognition of Chicagoland Speedway's 15th season | ||||||
| 20 | of racing; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to Chicagoland Speedway and the International | ||||||
| 3 | Speedway Corporation as a symbol of our esteem and respect and | ||||||
| 4 | in recognition of their service to the community.
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