MADISON, Illinois — On June 5, the eyes of the racing world will be on the St. Louis area.
NASCAR is coming to town with the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway, and it's promising to be an event unlike any we've ever seen in St. Louis before.
Forty of the top racers in the world will be going nearly 200 miles per hour competing for a $7 million purse.
We've seen races in St. Louis before, but nothing like this.
"This NASCAR Cup race, which is very important... We've had the Xfinity Series, which is kind of like triple A. We've had the double A which is the truck series. This is like getting a football team for the City of St. Louis, again," local racing legend Kenny Wallace told 5 On Your Side's Frank Cusumano on Sports Plus. "The NASCAR Cup Series coming to St. Louis is by far the biggest thing in automotive history that's ever happened to the city or the surrounding areas of St. Louis. And here's why... Because it is the NFL. It is Major League Baseball. It is the highest form of motorsports. As they said when I was a kid growing up, 'You're going to see all your stars and cars.' It's nationally covered."
The "Wallace" name is a famous one when it comes to St. Louis racing. Kenny's brothers Rusty and Mike also raced on NASCAR circuits, and Kenny is still out there running in dirt races to this day.
Wallace said "pride" will be the overwhelming feeling for him when he sees the Cup Series on the track in his hometown.
"I've always been asked, 'Why do you carry that STL logo on the hood of your racecar'? My dirt car that I run right now, I've got a Cardinal logo. And I said, 'That's my way I represent.' I represent St. Louis. I'm proud of this community, I'm proud of this town. We're no different than anybody else, we can always be better. But listen, we're the gateway to the west, the Mississippi River, the Arch... There's a lot of legend in this town," Wallace said.
There's a lot to prep for ahead of the big weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. It's a full schedule, with events from Tuesday, May 31 all the way through the big race on Sunday, June 5.
Friday will be Richard Petty Day at the track with a ceremonial first lap around WWTR by "The King" himself.
Saturday will play host to Enjoy Illinois 300 qualifying and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200.
And on Sunday, the Enjoy Illinois 300 begins its' 240-lap prime-time showcase at 2:30 p.m.
Wallace said everyone working to make the weekend great can't wait to show off all their hard work, but that the weekend will also come with a sense of relief.
"I'm very excited for that day. I know that we're all exhausted. It's kind of a deal where we're all excited for it, but on Monday morning we're all going to breathe, because there's a lot of work going on right now," Wallace said.