NASCAR’s Chicago Weekend Erases Denny Hamlin’s Skepticism

Getty Denny Hamlin poses after winning the Busch Light Pole Award.

When NASCAR announced that it would head to Chicago for a pair of street races, Denny Hamlin was not convinced it was a good idea. Fast-forward to July 1, and he is a fan.

Hamlin provided comments about the change after winning the Busch Light Pole Award in Chicago. He explained that rain could have disrupted his qualifying effort, but he still remained optimistic about the event overall. Hamlin then said that this was probably the “single best day at the race track” that he has experienced in his career because he and his team performed so well.

“Just really props to NASCAR and the city for making it happen,” Hamlin said. “I certainly was pessimistic when it was first announced. I started warming up to it a little bit in the months leading up, but obviously when you see the fans that are walking around here on a Saturday — their excitement of just seeing a NASCAR race car up close taking pictures.

“It kind of is like this is what we’re supposed to do here. I mentioned on the podcast last week, the sooner we just kind of understand the gravity of the event and not get caught up too much in the on-track stuff I think the better off we’re going to be.”

The Initial Concerns Focused on Racing Surfaces

GettyDenny Hamlin qualifies on the streets of Chicago.

The Cup Series veterans are used to competing on a variety of surfaces. They have dealt with tracks falling apart in the middle of races, something that happened to Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2021. They have also competed on smooth surfaces that have no imperfections.

The streets of Chicago are something else entirely. There are parts of the track that are concrete, others that are asphalt. There are also numerous manhole covers that the drivers have to contend with while competing. However, the crews tried to alleviate concerns about the surface by doing some extra work ahead of the race weekend.

“One of the things was from running the simulator and seeing how bumpy it was,” Hamlin added. “It was a mess, but when we came out here and saw all of the extra paving that they did for the race track it made it significantly better. They really did a good job of smoothing out some of the big jumps that we had in the straightaways. That was one.

“And, certainly, just how tight it is. It is a tight race track, but it is what it is. I think it’s got three to four major passing zones that if you can stay close enough, you’ll be able to make passes. I was worried about this thing just going single file and that’s how you’re going to finish. I think that there’s an opportunity if you have a fast car, you’re going to move forward.”

Hamlin Could See the Event Growing

There will continue to be questions about the inaugural Chicago Street Race until the Cup Series drivers complete all of the laps and one celebrates with a brand-new trophy. Only then will they have a true idea about whether the event is worth continuing in future seasons.

Hamlin has expressed the opinion that there is potential for the event to grow whether NASCAR moves it to a new city or keeps it in Chicago as part of the original deal. The crews now know exactly how to build the course, and they have the barriers in their possession. The costs should be lower, and the building process should be faster.

“I think that with it hopefully being a three-year thing here, I think that there’s a potential to continue to build it up bigger and bigger,” Hamlin said. “Certainly, after the trial and error that you have the first year here, there’s way more efficiencies that they can gain by doing it the second time around.

They’re going to understand their timing better, be way more prepared when we get to the race track. The time to put it together would probably be cut 10 to 15 percent. Yes, but let’s not lose too far from where we are.

“I think that it’s great that we’re visiting, doing a street race and we have so many different disciplines, but you certainly have got to keep us doing what we do best and that’s side-by-side racing on ovals quite a bit.”