The Chicago Street Race, which debuted in 2023, just completed its third year in a three-year deal, as negotiations of a return are still ongoing. Some rumors have swirled of San Diego having a street race that might replace Chicago next year. The $50 million cost to run the race, as well as the rain marring the Chicago race on 2/3 occasions, makes San Diego an enticing prospect. But what about both?

Well, if you ask Denny Hamlin, he would say no, and justifiably so. He’s not alone in criticizing NASCAR’s influx of road and street courses. NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck made an important point that if there is another street course alongside Chicago, then street courses lose their specialty. Meanwhile, veterans like 7-time Champion Richard Petty bluntly blasted road courses after 30th place Shane van Gisbergen locked himself into the playoffs in Mexico City. “You’re making a championship situation by winning a road course, which is not really NASCAR to begin with,” said Petty.

So, NASCAR is at a crossroads. Chicago’s Street Race has given them a lot of popularity, which is why they organized it. In 2024, 53,063 people came for the event, with around 51% of them traveling from 25 countries to catch the race! The economic impact of the 2024 race on the city of Chicago has seen a year-on-year increase, creating $109 million for the city in 2023 and $128 million in 2024. But is all of this worth it? Or should NASCAR add another road course next year instead? Well, let’s see what Denny Hamlin has to say.

Denny Hamlin’s road course criticism

On the latest episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Denny Hamlin talked about the road course trend that has swept NASCAR in recent years. “I’m not a road course fan. I still believe we have too many of them on the schedule,” Hamlin said, referencing the six road and street courses now featured in the 36-race Cup Series calendar, up from just two a decade ago, Sonoma and Watkins Glen.

This expansion, Hamlin said, was a reaction to a brief surge in fan interest: “There was a big giant push for them eight years ago, six years ago, and NASCAR was like, OK, well that’s what you want. The only reason people loved them is that we had green-white-checkered finishes, and it was that people would get wiped out, and it created this excitement. I just think it was fake news.” Hamlin feels that it was just the race-ending wrecks that fans loved to watch, while the actual racing left a lot to be desired.

Street racing is not something NASCAR had ever done till 2023. Traditional road courses are still large pieces of infrastructure built for racing. A street track provides unparalleled excitement and viewership, as it takes place against the backdrop of the city’s skyline. Hamlin was in favor of Chicago, calling it the exception to the rule. “This is just one race. I think that should stay. I certainly believe this one is just important for exposing new fans,” he said. The event’s scale and fan experience have evolved since its debut, with adjustments made to logistics and hospitality offerings. In its third year, the Chicago Street Race drew an estimated 70,000 fans over the weekend, many of whom were attending their first NASCAR event.

Denny Hamlin acknowledged the city’s growing embrace, “By Year 3 when the city’s finally embracing it and the people feel like they’re starting to warm up to it, it’s now where it’s like, well, do we continue this or do we take this elsewhere with what we learned?”. This is the dilemma NASCAR is facing. Two years cursed by rain, when the hype was massive. Then, when the hype dies down in the last year of their deal, the racing is electric, and the rain stays away.

Joey Logano shares his thoughts on the future of Chicago

Well, Joey Logano‘s day at the Grant Park 165 in 2025 was quite eventful. He got bumped into the wall by Ross Chastain, let out his frustration over the radio, and confronted Ross after the race as well. He might not have been in the best mood after the race, but before it, he was more than willing to talk about the present and future of NASCAR’s expansion to new racetracks like Chicago.

Logano spoke about how NASCAR needs to keep things fresh. And while he did like Chicago, he feels it could suffer the same fate as the Coliseum did, which lost all its hype after hosting the Clash for three years, eventually moving to Bowman Gray. Logano said, “The L.A. Coliseum, the first couple of years, was a huge success. I think if you do it too long, it gets stale. I think there are tracks that are part of our roots that we must go to, but I think there’s a handful of tracks that should be on a three-year term kind of thing that you can just move around and go to new places.”

As the sanctioning body weighs whether to renew Chicago’s contract or pivot to new markets, efforts of the past will weigh heavily on them. The Chicago Street Race stands as a test case of whether NASCAR can blend tradition with innovation, or will the pendulum swing back to its oval roots. Let us know what you think in the comments!