Dear NASCAR Fans,

I know. Most of you may see me as that rabid, insane IndyCar fan. Just hear me out on this one, OK? Great.

I saw that the Sprint Cup is off this week. Given the nearing end of the regular season, that has to be a letdown. What then is a race fan to do to get a fix? For that, I present the IndyCar Series race Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway.

It’s a fact. Indy cars in Chicago produce amazing racing. Of the 10 closest 1-2 finishes in series history, four of them happened at Chicagoland, including the top two. Last year’s race ranks #2, with Helio Castroneves defeating Scott Dixon by .0033 seconds. The whole race will be like that, with many instances of 2-wide and even 3-wide racing all throughout the field, inches apart at 210+ mph. As some may know, racing like that, formally IndyCar’s calling card, has been lacking much of the season. However, aerodynamic changes made before the Kentucky race appeared to have fixed the problem, and given Chicagoland’s history, the racing could easily take another step forward

While this year’s race won’t have the added significance of being the championship decider, it will be at night for the first time, which can only add to the proceedings aesthetically. The race will also still have an impact on what that has been yet another fantastic championship battle. With three races left, Ryan Briscoe leads Dario Franchitti by just 4 points. Defending champion Dixon is right behind in 3rd place, just 20 points back. The championship lead has changed after 13 of 14 races this year, downright unheard of movement.

Yes, obviously IndyCar is screwed up off-track, as fans can note in great, laborious detail, and yes, a certain driver that rhymes with Banica Matrick will likely receive much more coverage that her placing deserves (although it would be much worse on ESPN than it is on Versus). Still, when it comes to the on-track product, IndyCar doesn’t get better than Chicagoland, and in my opinion, racing doesn’t get much better than this. I’m not saying watch the series full-time (although I heartily encourage that), but I am saying with NASCAR’s top series off for the week, give this one race a try. I guarantee you will enjoy it.