Dale Earnhardt Jr. has backed plenty of NASCAR’s bold schedule moves over the years. But this latest Chicago update clearly tested that patient. Last August, Dale Junior sounded convinced that racing at the Winy City’s historic oval was finally gaining traction, confidently saying, “I feel like that was the worst-kept secret, I’m excited about that, and I think it’ll happen.” Now, though, NASCAR’s attitude around reviving the Chicago Street course in 2027 has prompted a very blunt response from Junior.

“Chicagoland, ” Junior wrote on X. That was enough to dismiss NASCAR’s latest update.

The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi reported on May 13 that there is “growing optimism” toward the Chicago Street Race returning to NASCAR’s 2027 schedule. And it’s no secret the Hall of Famer had been pushing hard for Chicagoland’s revival, advocating for all three national series, Cup, O’Reilly, and Trucks, to race the 1.5-mile oval, not just for a one-off year.

But NASCAR’s current Chicagoland commitment is exactly that, one year, with no long-term deal in place. And now, with 2027 Street Race talks heating up again, Junior knows what the calculus likely looks like.

He said as much in 2025: “There could be nothing else that comes out about the schedule. It might be San Diego, and Chicagoland comes back, and we lose Mexico City and the Chicago Street Course, and that’s that.”

He was floating it as a scenario he could accept. Instead, NASCAR appears ready to keep betting on the street spectacle. The lack of long-term commitment for Chicagoland’s future, set against NASCAR’s aggressive push to revive the Chicago Street Race, is what’s driving Junior’s frustration.

To be fair, NASCAR never really hid its intentions with the street race in the Windy City. Even during the 2026 hiatus announcement, executives repeatedly stressed the pause was designed to fix logistical headaches, not kill the event. The three-year run on the 12-turn, 2.2-mile Grant Park circuit had drawn massive audiences, as the inaugural 2023 race pulled 4.795 million viewers on NBC, the most-watched Cup race on that network since the 2017 Brickyard 400.

But the operational toll was real, as construction windows ran 43 days in year one before being trimmed to 25 by 2025, and the July 4th date had become a recurring sticking point with city officials and residents. Bianchi’s report indicates the race is now likely to move off that holiday weekend entirely.

“Thank you for all that you have done to make the NASCAR Chicago Street Race one of the most iconic events in global sports. Following the success of the first three years, the Chicago Street Race will hit pause in 2026 to afford us the time necessary to work collaboratively with the City of Chicago to explore a new potential date to develop a plan that further optimizes operational efficiencies, with a goal to return to the streets of Chicago in 2027,” NASCAR’s press release from July 2025 read.

Despite criticism from local officials and traditional oval fans alike, NASCAR leadership stayed publicly bullish about bringing the race back. Following the 2019 season, Chicagoland slowly faded from the calendar, with the pandemic reshuffle in 2020 becoming the initial shove, and NASCAR never looked back as it chased new venues and fresh formats.

The facility sat largely idle for years. Junior wasn’t content to watch it collect dust. Beyond the podcast drumbeat, he also teased on X last August that the schedule shakeup wasn’t finished: “And this ain’t the last big domino to fall I hear.”

He was right since North Wilkesboro got a points race, San Diego got a street course, and Chicagoland got one year back. One. Many fans feel Chicagoland never got a fair second life in the Next Gen era.

That said, Kyle Larson, for one, is more than ready to make the case for it on track.

Kyle Larson welcomes Chicagoland’s comeback

Kyle Larson’s relationship with Chicagoland is personal. The two-time Cup champion has four top-five finishes in six starts at the oval. But the track’s final two Cup races before the hiatus both ended the same way for him, with a runner-up finish, watching someone else go to Victory Lane.

Driving the No. 42 for Chip Ganassi at the time, Larson finished second in both 2018 and 2019. The 2018 edition stings hardest, as on the final lap, he attempted a slide job on Kyle Busch in Turn 1, made contact, gave up the lead, and then watched Busch retaliate by turning him sideways entering Turn 3. Busch won while the crowd booed.

However, with Chicago and finally back on NASCAR’s radar, Larson has already started revisiting old footage to prepare himself for the return. Even during the recent entire test, the excitement around the speedway was hard to ignore.

“Seeing the crowd in the stands just for practice was awesome,” he said. “So I would imagine the crowd will be big for (July’s race) this first time back. And hopefully we’ll continue to come back and we can put on a good show.”

Hopefully, we’ll continue to come back. That’s the part Junior is waiting to hear NASCAR say.