Blake Lenoir remembers bonding with his great-grandfather by watching NASCAR races every Sunday morning while growing up. Lenoir learned about the racers and imagined himself as a future racer or engineer.
The Chicago artist felt like he’d come full circle Friday morning as he held his 3-year-old son, Brayson, who loves cars, at the unveiling of a new exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry featuring a custom-painted NASCAR Chicago Street Race show car.
“My heart is still pounding out of my chest right now,” said Lenoir, who helped paint the car. “I can’t stop thinking about my grandfather’s face right now, picturing him smiling about even this whole opportunity coming into fruition. This day has quickly and slowly become about him.”
The car was painted in partnership with Paint the City, an artist-led nonprofit organization, and NASCAR Chicago Street Race.
Created to honor Chicago’s history and highlight the science and mechanics behind street racing, the car will be on display at least until NASCAR’s next Chicago street race in July. The visuals on the car are designed to showcase Chicago’s culture and bring in parts of Chicago’s flag as well as elements intended to bring to mind speed and the experience of racing.
The artists also brought elements of their own culture to the design. Artist Mario Mena took inspiration from his Mexican heritage.
“Most of my work has to do with metamorphosis and transformation, so I did a monarch butterfly, which also represents my culture,” he said.
The artists also painted three replica helmets and three canvases that will be auctioned on the NASCAR Foundation’s website. Proceeds from the auction will support the NASCAR Foundation and Paint the City’s campaign to create impactful murals in and around schools in communities most in need.
Museum President Chevy Humphrey said the staff is developing programming around the car to explore the physics behind racing.
“The kids really get excited about how this car is put together, what happens. Not that they just go fast, but how did they do this?” she said. “The curiosity just keeps going and going and going.”
The car also shows that science is present in everyday life, she said.
Humphrey said the show car represents the museum’s mission of representing all cultures and allows visitors to learn about racing and about Chicago’s history and communities.
“A lot of the kids that come in, and the families that come in, represent all communities here, and it’s just exciting for them to see themselves,” she said.
Paint the City co-founder Missy Perkins said the nonprofit, which was formed in 2020, prioritizes working with local artists of color. The NASCAR project was completed in two days, she said.
Julie Giese, president of NASCAR Chicago Street Race, said every time she looks at the car she finds something new, but what stands out most to her is the vibrancy of the colors.
“Everything we do, we try and be very intentional to showcase Chicago and lean into things that make Chicago so amazing,” Giese said.
She said she hopes the car will inspire the next generation of racers and engineers, calling the display a “love letter” to the city and its shared history with NASCAR.
Humphrey said the exhibit could already be inspiring young visitors.
“Every time people come down there, they always stop and they just ponder and they discover new things when they view the car,” she said. “Kids try to climb over the glass wall.”
