Denny Hamlin proposes bizarre twist on NASCAR street course racing

The concept of street racing in NASCAR is still fairly new. But after almost three years of racing in Chicago, Denny Hamlin has a proposal. The 23XI Racing owner and JGR driver thinks that there is a way to bring oval racing to street racing.

We’re going to call it street racing with oval characteristics. You can’t really bank the corners of a city street. But that would be really cool to try. But there are flat ovals all over the country.

While speaking to the media today in Chicago, Denny Hamlin had an…interesting idea. An oval-ish race on city streets.

Jeff Gluck of The Athletic reports that Hamlin proposed a “street oval” for a future race. “All we need is acceleration, heavy braking points, and turns – and we’ll find a way to make a show out of that.”

A wild idea, but maybe not that wild? If you could manage to make a half-mile, rectangular oval, I think you could see good racing on city streets. The turns and braking points would have to be very specific to create passing opportunities.

It is almost like a Cronenbergian mix of the LA Coliseum race and the Chicago Street Race. While NASCAR is pushing the limits on what can be done in the sport, why not try to marry the traditional with the new-school?

Denny Hamlin won the pole for Chicago in 2023

Remember in 2023 when Denny Hamlin strangely won three road course pole awards in the Cup Series? Sonoma, Chicago Street, and Watkins Glen all went to Hamlin. Not known for his road course prowess, the JGR driver only produced one top-10 from those three poles.

This weekend, the pressure is kind of off Hamlin. No one expects him to win this race. So, what if he goes out there and contends? Whatever decent result and points he can get out of this weekend will be a bit of a bonus.

Denny Hamlin has three wins this season and has shown a ton of speed at most tracks. Chicago and Sonoma back to back aren’t the best two weekends for Hamlin and his team. That doesn’t mean they have to lie over and accept a bad finish. There are ways to maximize these weekends for a team like the 11.

Between racing, 23XI ownership, the lawsuit, and coming up with new street race ideas, Hamlin has a lot going on. Oh yeah, and a newborn at home. Where does he have time to think of things like…rectangular ovals?