From wagon roads to a national highway system
Route 66 grew from older trails, local roads and the early federal push for a connected national road network.
1926–2026 Centennial · Main Street of America
Route 66 America
Route 66 is more than nostalgia. It connected Chicago to Los Angeles, tied rural Main Streets to national markets, carried Dust Bowl migrants west, supported wartime movement, powered postwar road-trip culture, and became one of America's strongest symbols of freedom, mobility and small-town entrepreneurship.
Motta 2028 proposal: make Route 66 a permanent America Outdoors / National Heritage corridor — preserve historic places, promote every state along the road, connect national parks and public lands, support locally owned businesses, celebrate auto culture and racing, and use the road as a traveling classroom for American history.
History in plain English
Why Route 66 matters
U.S. Highway 66 is born
The federal highway system designated Route 66 from Chicago toward Los Angeles. The road ultimately stretched roughly 2,400 miles through eight states.
Migration and survival
During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, Route 66 became a major westward migration route and a symbol of seeking work and a better life.
Military and industry
The corridor helped move people, equipment and goods during World War II and connected industrial centers with the West.
Family road-trip boom
Postwar automobile ownership created diners, motels, service stations, roadside attractions and a new culture of family mobility.
Decommissioned — but not forgotten
Interstates replaced Route 66 as a federal highway, but preservation groups, towns and government agencies began protecting its historic resources.
NPS preservation
Congress recognized Route 66's national importance, leading to National Park Service study and corridor-preservation work.
100 years
The Route 66 Centennial is being celebrated across the eight states with caravans, exhibitions, races, festivals and heritage events.
Eight-state road
Chicago to the Pacific
Illinois
Missouri
Kansas
Oklahoma
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Campaign idea: every Route 66 state gets a dedicated pavilion in the national fair with its towns, food, parks, agriculture, music, auto history, Native/tribal history where appropriate, and locally owned businesses.
Illinois · beginning of the Mother Road
Route 66 starts here
Chicago
Historic Route 66 began at Chicago's lakefront. During the 2026 Centennial, Navy Pier was designated a new symbolic starting point for the Route 66 journey.
Joliet
Old Joliet Prison, Route 66 signs, local diners and the motorsports complex make Joliet one of the strongest “old road meets speed” stops on the Illinois corridor.
Wilmington + Midewin
Historic Route 66/Illinois 53 leads toward Wilmington and the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie area, where American bison can be viewed from designated public areas.
Pontiac
Route 66 murals, museum culture and classic-car tourism make Pontiac a natural family road-trip stop.
Springfield
Route 66 intersects Illinois history, Lincoln heritage, the Illinois State Fair and 2026 Centennial events.
Rural Main Streets
Illinois Route 66 runs through farm country, grain-elevator towns, old filling stations and communities whose economies were changed by the highway.
Joliet speed corridor
Historic Route 66 meets American motorsports
Route 66 Raceway
500 Speedway Blvd, Joliet, Illinois. NHRA says the track is on Route 53 — historic Route 66 — about 30 miles southwest of Chicago. The May 14–17, 2026 Route 66 NHRA Nationals brought Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, motorcycles and sportsman racing to Joliet.
NHRA described the venue as a fan-favorite stadium-style facility and reported 340-mph, 12,000-horsepower nitro racing during the 2026 event.
Chicagoland Speedway
The neighboring 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway brought NASCAR Cup racing back to Joliet in July 2026 after a seven-year absence. The speedway is already advertising another NASCAR race weekend for June 25–27, 2027.
Campaign idea: pair Route 66 heritage with modern motorsports, STEM, automotive trades, EV/alternative-fuel engineering, safety and youth career education.
Accuracy note: these venues host major scheduled race weekends and other events; the page does not claim that professional races occur every day or every week. Always check the official current calendar before traveling.
National parks + public lands
Route 66 as a National Parks gateway
Petrified Forest National Park
The National Park Service says Petrified Forest is the only National Park System unit containing a section of Historic Route 66. Old roadbed and telephone poles still mark the alignment.
Grand Canyon gateway
Historic Route 66 towns such as Williams and Flagstaff became major gateways for Grand Canyon travelers. Use Route 66 tourism to teach visitors how road history and park tourism grew together.
Gateway Arch / St. Louis
Route 66 crossed the Mississippi in the St. Louis region. Add National Park Service history, river history and westward-expansion interpretation to the road trip.
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
Midewin is a U.S. Forest Service site, not a National Park Service unit. That distinction is useful voter education: “public lands” include national parks, national forests/grasslands, wildlife refuges and state/local lands with different missions.
2026 Centennial
Turn the 100th birthday into a permanent heritage program
Centennial Caravan
The national Route 66 Centennial program is organizing caravans that highlight preservation successes and remaining needs.
Illinois celebrations
Illinois' 2026 calendar includes exhibits, road events, 6.6K races, fairs, festivals, film screenings and community celebrations.
Motta 2028 — after the birthday
Create a permanent digital Route 66 passport, small-business directory, public-land map, racing calendar, fair calendar and preservation scorecard rather than letting interest disappear after the Centennial.
YouTube
Route 66, racing and Midewin
Racers United
2026 NHRA Route 66 Nationals — Final Rounds
Recent Route 66 Raceway race footage from Joliet/Elwood.
USDA Forest Service
USDA Forest Service Introduces Bison to Midewin
Official public-land video linking the Route 66/Wilmington corridor with Midewin bison restoration.
Travels with Darley
See Bison Along Route 66 in Illinois | Midewin
Route 66 travel / Midewin bison segment.
Campaign booth ideas
Route 66 at the National & State Fairs
Route 66 Passport
Scan all eight states, historic sites, parks, diners, small businesses, racetracks and family attractions.
Motorsports & STEM
NHRA/NASCAR history, engines, safety, mechanics, welding, engineering, automotive careers and future fuels.
Main Street Marketplace
Feature locally owned businesses rather than only national chains.
Roadside America
Celebrate diners, neon, motels, oddball attractions, wax museums, Wisconsin Dells-style fun and family road-trip culture.
Farm & Ranch Route
Connect Illinois farms, cattle, Midewin bison, ranch states, farmers markets and rural towns to Farm & Ranch America.
National Parks Gateway
Teach which public lands are NPS, Forest Service, state parks or other agencies — and help families plan lawful, safe recreation.
Route 66 infrastructure spotlight
Wilmington Dam: a Route 66 river-safety case study
Historic Route 66 / Illinois 53 passes through Wilmington. Add the dam, South Island Park and the Kankakee River to the Route 66 civic-infrastructure story: preserve local identity while fixing documented hazards.
Zoos + aquariums + endangered species
National family tour with Georgia Aquarium, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Brookfield/Lincoln Park, marine mammals/fish education, endangered species, Jeremy Wade and evidence-labeled cryptid research.
Open America Wild →