“Chicagoland is not a substitute”: Denny Hamlin makes feelings clear regarding the Chicago Street race amid replacement rumors

Denny Hamlin weighed in on the future of the Chicago Street Race amid speculation that it could be dropped from the Cup Series calendar. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran backed Chicagoland Speedway's return as well, although not as 'a substitute', but as an addition to the calendar.

With NASCAR's three-year deal with the city set to expire this season, reports suggest San Diego is being considered as a potential replacement for the street race. Chicago currently hosts the only street race in the Cup Series calendar, and yet another street circuit could challenge its exclusivity and long-term place on the schedule.

Reflecting upon the same, Hamlin spoke to the media on Saturday, July 5.

"I personally would like to see them do everything they can to keep it here....I can just tell you that non-racing fans at the hotel I'm staying at are talking about the race and so I think that it's certainly got some sort of economical impact to the city itself," he said via Youtube/Cup Scene. [7:48 onwards]

"I still would like to see, you know, Chicagoland is not a substitute for this race, I'd like to see us run both," he added.

Denny Hamlin also highlighted his 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan's deep ties with Chicago, noting how the race weekend usually drives major fan activations for the team.

The JGR ace is off to a bad start this weekend. He suffered a blown engine during Saturday's practice, leaving him unable to compete in qualifying. As a result, he starts dead last for Sunday's The Grant Park 165. Notably, Hamlin previously fell victim to blown engines at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, two events that ended in a DNF for the 40-year-old.

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Denny Hamlin responds to Ty Dillon 'rivalry' in the In-Season Challenge

Denny Hamlin shared his take on the In-Season Challenge, producing an unexpected rivalry with Ty Dillon, suggesting that such matchups were one of the main goals of the bracket-style tournament. This was in response to Dillon's post-race comments after he defeated Hamlin in Round 1 at Atlanta.

"I think that that's one of the things that the In-season tournament was meant to do, right? Is to create a rivalry that maybe you wouldn't think of and it's, you know, while that rivalry may only last one week, the social media content will live on for forever for it," Denny Hamlin said. [6:12 onwards]

In the season's second outing at Echopark Speedway(formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), Hamlin triggered a multi-car wreck that ultimately took him out of contention. This allowed Ty Dillon to advance to the next round of the In-Season Challenge, where he's set to face off against RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski.