“They’re Not Going to Travel to Chicagoland!” Denny Hamlin Urges NASCAR to Continue Racing at Chicago Streets

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin has shared his thoughts on the potential of Chicago Street race date being moved to other venues.

“They’re Not Going to Travel to Chicagoland!” Denny Hamlin Urges NASCAR to Continue Racing at Chicago Streets

Denny Hamlin (Via newsminimalist.com)

NASCAR garage produced one of the best Cup Series and Xfinity series race of the 2025 season, with Shane van Gisbergen winning both events. Despite the success of the Grant Park 165, just as the previous two renditions of the race, the future of NASCAR street racing is in a limbo. The contract with the city ended and reportedly negotiations are going on about more future events.

But a contract extension won’t be easy as both NASCAR and the City government will have new demands added to the deal. Driver has mixed feeling about the future of the event, as some wants the sport to move on to another city. Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin though doesn’t want that to happen as he wants a perfect replacement lined up first to make the decision.

I mean, what’s the alternative? 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 what some of the ovals that we go through, simply because of the atmosphere of where it’s at.

Denny Hamlin said in Chicago media session.

The track and the new fanbase that has been developed in Chicago is something that is unique, with it featuring younger demographic than the regular NASCAR fans. Hamlin pointed out that this young group of fans doesn’t seem to want the race moved to tracks like Chicagoland which requires them to travel outside the city.

The exposure to new fans that are here casually in the city… These are younger people, they’re not going to travel to Chicagoland to go to race…I don’t know if anyone shares the same sentiment I do, but I don’t run the series, 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.

Denny Hamlin added.

Denny Hamlin slams NASCAR over poor officiating at Chicago

While racing was impressive at Chicago, NASCAR received a lot of slack for poor officiating. Unlike in the normal races, the race control was controlled from Charlotte, and this created situation where multiple calls were late. This created more drama, as there has been multiple instances this season where NASCAR officials made the wrong calls.

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (Via IMAGO)

The major point of discussion was the Cody Ware wreck, where the veteran racer slammed hard into the tier barrier after losing his breaks. It took over 30 seconds for the caution to come out, while it should have come earlier.  This even sparked conspiracy claims online and this was disappointing from the perspective of Denny Hamlin.

You know they’re (NASCAR) calling this race from Charlotte, North Carolina, right? I would like to know how many people they have watching the corners. If you got camera at every corner, which they say they do, you have to have a person per camera. You can’t look at multiple monitors and think you’re catching it all. That’s not realistic.

Denny Hamlin said via Actions Detrimental.

In the conversation, Denny Hamlin highlighted how there has been poor calls from the past and how NASCAR should have put more manpower into the sport. There will be more criticism coming against the officials this week and it would be interesting to see how the sanctioning body is going to respond to it.

Also Read: NASCAR Insider Brands Shane van Gisbergen as the “Greatest Road Course Racers Ever” in History