NASCAR fans have a gripe with the way the current schedule operates. As new venues get introduced, famous tracks like Chicagoland are rarely on the schedule. According to Dale Earnhardt Jr., it seems like Chicagoland’s days are numbered.

While discussing the upcoming NASCAR weekend at Chicagoland on his podcast, Dale Jr. Download, he informed the audience about what he knows.

“Chicagoland ought to be badass; I am pretty excited… I heard ticket sales aren’t going well. And I guess Chicago Street Course is coming back. So I don’t know if Chicagoland stays. I am nervous. We hadn’t even gotten it back yet… We already lost it,” said 

This weekend is going to be the first time a Next-Gen car races at  Chicagoland. Since 2019, Chicago has been off the schedule, and when it eventually returned in 2023, NASCAR decided to conduct the race on a street course.

In 2025, NASCAR decided to switch things up a little and give in to the fan demand to bring racing back on the oval instead of a street course.

“Our fans have been asking for a race in Joliet (Illinois) for the past several years,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue & racing innovation officer. “If you look at the racing product on our mile-and-a-half tracks, they’ve been some of the most competitive and compelling events that we’ve had in our season, and we’re confident that Joliet is going to deliver exactly that.”

But this race was never going to be a permanent fixture on the schedule. Even before 2026, NASCAR had already planned and agreed that the Chicago Street Course was a must-have on the 2027 schedule. All signs point to the fact that the removal of the Chicago Street Course this year was only to facilitate a road course event at Coronado.

Had NASCAR tried adding yet another road course while removing tracks like Dover from their points schedule, it would’ve blown the fan frustrations out of proportion. Especially after their lawsuit with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, NASCAR didn’t want to go against its fans while trying to rebuild itself in a new identity.

But the latest news that NASCAR might not return to Chicagoland is not just to be blamed on the sport’s organizers. NASCAR fans keep asking for a better racing product. Yet, they did not accept the racing at Chicagoland due to the Gen-6 cars. As a result, ticket sales went down, and NASCAR couldn’t keep the race on its schedule.

Even though they decided to return this year due to demand, the ticket sales were poor. This puts the sport at a loss once again, which will ultimately cause the track to shut down.

Dale Jr. couldn’t offer any further information, but what he said was enough to start a debate.

NASCAR fans remain divided over Chicagoland’s fate

One fan said, “D****, glad I’m going to Chicagoland this weekend. Will probably be the last; glad I’ll say I went at least once.”

Many agreed with Junior’s point about the diminishing returns with fans not showing up to the races.

“Dale made a good point. If you go back to the Chicagoland races in 2018 and 2019, the stands were empty, like even for a single date. No wonder we lost the track, because nobody went. So if you’re mad that we’re returning to the street course, blame the fans for not buying tickets,” one of them remarked.

Previously, veterans like Kenny Wallace have also called out fans over these ‘hypocritical’ actions where fans demand a racetrack and do not show up.

Another fan was rather frustrated that NASCAR has not even raced at Chicagoland yet in 2026. “⁠⁠Are we throwing Chicagoland away before even getting there?” asked the fan.

One fan argued that the previous generation of cars was not good enough to put on a great show at the track. “Let’s not forget that the Gen 6 car suuuuuuucked on ovals at the end. I just hope this return puts on a banger,” the fan said in optimism.

Meanwhile, others are angry with NASCAR for ignoring other markets and focusing solely on Chicago.

“Why are they so dead set on Chicago? Why not take the Cup Series out west to cities that don’t currently have a NASCAR venue already sitting within their vicinity? Is Chicago the only city willing to play ball with NASCAR?”

One of the reasons behind NASCAR focusing on Chicago is the state’s collaboration with the sport as part of a tourism push. As per a 2025 Capitol News Illinois report, the state of Illinois has spent $7 million to sponsor NASCAR events since 2022.

There is undoubtedly the fact that lower ticket sales do not encourage NASCAR to bring back old tracks. However, another factor influencing the general sentiment among fans is that NASCAR is slowly losing its traditional roots in their eyes.

What comes after this can only be answered after the cars hit Chicagoland’s asphalt for the next race.