As a child, Jacque Herrera was heading to Chicagoland Speedway to watch the stars of NASCAR rip around the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, Illinois.
She gets to relive those glory days in a new way now as Herrera was introduced as general manager of Chicagoland Speedway on Tuesday, just under eight months before NASCAR makes its triumphant return to Will County for Fourth of July weekend 2026.
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The opportunity comes with great responsibility, Herrera recognized in a Tuesday teleconference with NASCAR.com, but it is also coupled with a strong sense of pride for a woman who was born and raised in Chicago.
“Being a lifelong NASCAR fan attending races as a kid with my dad, I went to Joliet so many times on the weekends with my aunts and cousins, spending the weekends out there,” Herrera said. “So Joliet is very near and dear to my heart. And just to see it kind of come full circle, never in my wildest dreams did I expect a little girl from Chicago that used to attend the races become the GM of Chicagoland Speedway.”
Those memories as a little girl come flooding back to her now. Herrera, the self-proclaimed tomboy among her two sisters, recalls her first experience at the track when Tony Stewart won on a day she and her father went to the race by themselves. Forgotten sunscreen left her burnt in the summer sun, but “that was actually probably one of my best memories with my dad.”
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“It was just exciting to see, being there as a young kid, seeing all the race fans my first race and actually seeing what racing was about,” she said. “My dad had always talked about it. He had been to a few races without us and with a couple buddies, and we all became die-hard NASCAR fans growing up.”
Years later, Herrera returns to Chicagoland as NASCAR heads back to the 1.5-mile tri-oval for the first time since 2019 but with plenty of experience under her belt to boot. Herrera spent the last three years as Director of Community Relations for the Chicago Street Race, fostering relationships within the city that connected both her and NASCAR to local leaders and organizations around the area.
Those experiences, she said, will be invaluable as she transitions that focus to the Joliet property.
“One of the most important parts of my job,” Herrera said, “is getting to know and build these relationships with the local community, with city officials and different departments and just see and listen to the people that live in this area as well. See what’s working, what’s not working. How can we better ourselves? Better what we’re doing in the community, how we can implement new initiatives, either with partnerships with Chicago Public Schools, or After School Matters or anyone that we’re working with.
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“To see those kids become race fans, I think that’s probably the best part of my job — basically being out there serving the community that we race in and making sure that we are actually having an impact in the community.”
kyle busch celebrates a chicagoland win in 2018
Before her time with the Street Race, Herrera held a similar role as Director of Community Engagement at Tapestry 360 Health in addition to time as Director of External Affairs and Communications at Humboldt Park Health. There, her teams worked in government relations, public information, marketing and event management.
But the common thread for Herrera has always been community, a staple ingrained in her by her upbringing.
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“My mother is from the south,” Herrera said. “That southern hospitality of always just making sure everyone feels like family as soon as they step in the door, as soon as you have a conversation. I’m also Mexican, so I think a lot of that comes from my culture. Whereas we’re used to giving handshakes, I’m very much like a ‘hug and a kiss on the cheek’ kind of person. Even if I first met you, I mean, we’ll be best friends.”
NASCAR’s return to Joliet is set for July 3-5, with ARCA Menards Series racing slated for July 3, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series racing on July 4 and the Cup Series headliner on July 5. There is work to be done around the facility, but Herrera is optimistic about what’s to come.
“The property’s already in good condition,” Herrera explained. “We do have our team — shout out to Dawn (Martin) and Collette (Nelson) at Chicagoland. They are already starting to make those updates and renovations, and then we have a lot of work ahead of us in the coming months, weeks, days.”
Ultimately, Herrera’s hope is that she can help deliver families attending NASCAR races at Chicagoland the same experiences that shaped her life as a child in the grandstands years ago. Her goal?
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“To make it the best race a NASCAR fan has ever attended,” Herrera said. “At the core of it, that’s exactly what I want. I want any person that walks through our doors to walk away and say, ‘This is the best damn thing I’ve ever done,’ and walk away with thinking, ‘I’m going to return to a NASCAR race,’ or ‘I’m going to go to another race.’ Just to have them come experience NASCAR, come out to Chicagoland and see that, hey, this is a badass event.”
Tickets are now available for purchase for NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland Speedway over Independence Day weekend on July 3-5, 2026, featuring the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (previously NASCAR Xfinity Series) and ARCA Menards Series at ChicagolandSpeedway.com or 855-796-7223.
To stay up-to-date with Chicagoland Speedway, fans can subscribe to receive exclusive emails, follow @Chicagolndspdwy on Facebook, Instagram and X and download the NASCAR Tracks App for the latest real-time updates on all aspects of the event.
