DENNY HAMLIN CALLS FOR ICONIC NASCAR TRACK TO BE RE-ADDED TO CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Legendary stock car driver Denny Hamlin called for the NASCAR Cup Series to return to Chicagoland Speedway. Located about 40 miles southeast of America's third-largest city, Chicagoland featured in NASCAR's Cup Series and Xfinity Series circuits from the track's debut in 2001 through 2019.

"Yes, we should definitely go back to Chicagoland," Hamlin said insistently when asked about a return to the track on his 'Actions Detrimental' podcast. The region's legacy in NASCAR was renewed in 2023 with Grant Park 220 held at the makeshift Chicago Street Course just outside the city's iconic Loop. Hamlin is doubling down on the Windy City, stating "I think there's room for both" when asked if returning to Chicagoland would impact the new downtown race.

Chicagoland's debut offered a welcomed temperate summer to a sport with deeply Southern origins, one of just six Cup Series tracks located north of the Mason-Dixon line upon its debut in 2001. Kevin Harvick won the first two events at the Joliet, Illinois venue, and despite developing a reputation as a cookie-cutter track many drivers looked forward to the event in particular.

"Even though it's a 'cookie cutter' race track, I look forward to it because of the 18-degree banking and the fact that it is kind of unique," said retired NASCAR icon Tony Stewart in 2008, who claimed a record three wins in Joliet. "It's a big circle. It's always a track that has been rewarding if you are good in the corners because even the back straightaway has a kink in it. You have to carry a lot of momentum there. It's going to be a different deal this year since it's under the lights, but I think that is going to make it even more fun."

Chicagoland Speedway enjoyed near-sellout crowds during its time on the Cup Series circuit, helped by a relatively meager 47,000 capacity limit, but warning signs flared before the COVID-19 pandemic. A slight attendance dip in 2018 and an 8,000-seat capacity reduction preceded a rained-out disaster the following year while health and safety precautions shut down all events at the Speedway in 2020.

Later that year, it was announced that the majority of staff at the racetrack had been laid off and that Chicagoland Speedway, along with Kentucky Speedway, would lose their NASCAR races in 2021. The Illinois racetrack has hosted just one event in the last five years.

Chicago's return to the NASCAR world came with much different surroundings, swapping the non-descript exurban backdrop of Joliet for the unparalleled Chicago skyline and iconic views of Lake Michigan. The inaugural event lured more than 47,000 fans into Grant Park, a comparable number to Chicagoland, but comments from NASCAR officials have cooled optimism about a potential return to the old speedway.

"For us, the priority was an iconic location," NASCAR executive Julie Giese told ChicagoGlobal. "You talk about Monaco and those views - whether you're familiar with the [Monaco Grand Prix] or not, you have a visual of it, right? I think Chicago lends itself to that with the location we're racing in, around Buckingham Fountain, around Grant Park. You have this amazing skyline. We work very closely with NBC, as well as city officials in Chicago, to create and tell that story."

2024-05-08T17:22:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd