Denny Hamlin on NASCAR shortening Grant Park 220 to 75 laps: 'Really changed the outcome'

Denny Hamlin believes NASCAR “really changed the outcome” of Sunday’s Grant Park 220 Chicago Street Race by shortening the race to 75 laps.

The race, originally scheduled for 100 laps, had to be cut short due to a loss of daylight in downtown Chicago.

“Once we got in the middle of the pack, that was tough,” Hamlin said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast Monday. “I mean, we had a tough pit stop first of all. But before the pit stop, NASCAR comes on the radio and we were gonna pit probably I don’t know… Did we think the race was going to be shortened? Yes. Just because of the time constraints. But, did we think it was going to be Lap 75? No…

“They made a call there that really changed the outcome of the race. In their mind it changed nothing because SVG won and he was on that strategy of everyone that got screwed when they made that call. But again, that’s one person. There was many that never made it back to where they were supposed to be. And you flip-flopped the field from the back guys to the front guys.”

Denny Hamlin picks up quality finish in Chicago Street Race

Hamlin, who sat on the pole, finished P11 in what he described as a “really fast car.”

“We had a really fast car,” Hamlin said, via Dustin Long of NBC Sports. “We were extremely fast, and we’ve made such huge strides on road courses, that was a lot of fun. I wish I didn’t give up the track position early in the wet. Once we got dry this thing was just so fast. Then, we got flipped [in the running order] because they changed the end of the race. There were 15 cars there that unfortunately ended up with a better strategy that was unplanned. I’m pretty happy with our Yahoo Camry and I’m looking forward to going to the Indy road course now.”

Shane van Gisbergen picks up victory in NASCAR Cup Series debut

Nobody benefited more from the shortened Grant Park 220 than the winner, Shane van Gisbergen. Making his NASCAR Cup Series debut, van Gisbergen conquered the 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course to pick up the win. The New Zealand native chased down Chase Elliott and Justin Haley in the final laps on a rainy Sunday evening to become the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.

van Gisbergen chuckled when asked if he thought victory in the Chicago Street Race was possible.

“No, of course not, but you always dream of it,” he said, via Reid Spencer of NASCAR.com. “Thank you so much to the Trackhouse team and [sponsor] Enhance Health, Project 91. What an experience in the crowd out here. This was so cool. This is what you dream of. Hopefully, I can come and do more.”