As the NASCAR Cup Series prepares to run the Chicago Street Race, questions persist about whether NASCAR should and will return to Chicago in 2026 for a fourth consecutive year.
One driver who’s pretty adamant that NASCAR stay the course at the Chicago Street Course is veteran Denny Hamlin.
Why Is Denny Hamlin So Gung-Ho About NASCAR Sticking With Chicago Street Race?
Denny Hamlin has been in the NASCAR Cup Series longer than any other active driver.
Since joining NASCAR’s premier division full time in 2006, the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman has seen numerous race tracks come and go from the Cup Series tour.
That gives Hamlin a more informed perspective than most of his fellow drivers have on what makes for a good race track. To put it another way: Hamlin knows a track and a race worth keeping when he sees them.
And the Chicago Street Race is an event that he believe it’s in NASCAR’s best interests to leave on the Cup Series schedule.
“I personally would like to see them do everything they can to keep it here,” Hamlin said on Saturday at the temporary 2.2-mile, 12-turn course in downtown Chicago. “I’d like to see the city rally behind this race. I could just tell you that non-racing fans at the hotel I’m staying at are talking about the race. I think that it’s certainly got some sort of economic impact to the city itself. We’re certainly exposing some new fans to this.
“I think it’s very important. I think you try everything you can to get this thing back here in Chicago, because I believe it is an important place for us.”
Denny Hamlin Is Unsure If Other Drivers Share His Appetite For Racing On Chicago Streets
Although the Chicago Street Race might not be everyone’s cup of tea (after all, rain impacted the race in each of its first two years), Denny Hamlin sees no real downsides to NASCAR keeping its date in the Windy City.
“I mean, what’s the alternative?” Hamlin asked bluntly in rhetorical fashion. “Until we know the alternative, I don’t know whether they’re ones better or worse than this. I just feel like this is a bigger event than, you know, some of the ovals that we go to, simply because of the atmosphere of where it’s at. And the exposure to new fans that are here casually in the city.
“For instance, I went shopping yesterday. I go to all these different stores, and it’s, ‘What are you in town for?’ ‘Oh yeah, there’s a race. We were talking about going to that. We didn’t go last year because of the rain, but we’re thinking about going.’ These are younger people that are not going to travel to Chicagoland (Speedway, about 45 minutes away in Joliet, Illinois) to go to a race. You have to have it right here where they can walk to it.”
As for whether other NASCAR Cup Series drivers agree with his opinion on NASCAR returning to the Chicago Street Course next season, Hamlin is unsure. But the three-time Daytona 500 winner made it crystal clear on Saturday where he stands.
“I don’t know if anyone shares the same sentiment I do,” Hamlin said. “I don’t run the series, and I don’t make the decisions.
“But it just seems like from my standpoint, there’s more excitement around the venue itself than what a normal NASCAR race venue has.”
