Denny Hamlin reacts to Chicago reception for 2025 Street Race, addresses whether NASCAR should return

Denny Hamlin had a tremendous result during this past weekend’s Chicago Street Race, finishing P4. Now, he’s wondering if he’s raced at the track for the final time, or if NASCAR will return to the Windy City in 2026.

During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin explained why he thought this season’s iteration of the event was a success overall. He thinks racing in the streets of Chicago is important for growing the sport, but the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman knows it’s not up to his discretion.

“I thought it was a good weekend overall. Seemed like still a lot of fans there. A lot of new fans. It seems like the area is starting to embrace it. It seemed like the build wasn’t quite — it didn’t have quite the build-out that it had before. It was probably easier to, put up and take down,” Hamlin stated.

“I thought NASCAR definitely tried to oversell the premium experience. Remember they had that big thing on the front straightaway, and they were trying to sell these packages, like an F1 race? It just didn’t have quite the demand that they had. So, they didn’t have that, that I saw, but there was quite a few hospitality trailers and whatnot on the back.

“I don’t know, it still felt really good to me. Walking down the front stretch, you still feel like you’re at a legit racetrack. I don’t know, hopefully — (Chicago) has a two-year option, I guess, on this. The city has that option. They’ll need to talk about it, for sure, and see if it makes financial sense for everyone involved.

“I certainly hope that we go back. … We’ll see where it goes. This is just one (of the road courses) I think that that should stay. The others, you know, take them or leave them. I certainly believe this one is just important to exposing new fans.”

Even though the Chicago Street Race has been dominated by Shane van Gisbergen, it’s evident Hamlin is a fan. Chicago is a huge hub, and it’s a solid area for the sponsors of Hamlin’s 23XI Racing team. He might be a little biased, but his opinion is his opinion.

Time will tell what the future is for NASCAR is Chicago. They could opt to bring their street course back to the Windy City, choose to move the date to Chicagoland and bring a street race to a new city, or scrap the idea altogether. Denny Hamlin is a fan, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the sport is.