Denny Hamlin 'really' looking forward to NASCAR Chicago return next year

Denny Hamlin can’t wait to return to Chicago following the success of the NASCAR Cup Series’ Grant Park 220 Chicago Street Race Sunday.

“I couldn’t believe how many people were there,” Hamlin said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast Monday. “It’s pouring rain, there’s absolutely not a soul there for our intros. I mean, a hundred people I felt like were maybe there. All of a sudden we walk out to get in our cars and it’s like ‘Oh, it’s filling up here. They’re starting to file in. And at the end of the race, I get out of the car and the stands are full. I was like wow. People were committed. Definitely committed to going and that just tells you the enthusiasm at that whole place.”

Hamlin, who started on the pole and picked up a P11 finish, added he viewed the event as a “huge success.”

“We were trying something new and I thought it was a huge success. I really look forward to having the opportunity to come back next year… It seemed like they [Chicago] were really excited to have us there. Definitely hope that we’re able to keep this going for the next two years.”

Success would be an understatement, as the Grant Park 220 pulled in record viewers on NBC and Peacock. The first-ever Cup Series city street race averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 4.795 million viewers, according to NBC Sports.

The Grant Park 220 was the most-watched Cup Series race on NBC in six years (Indianapolis in 2017), as well as the network’s most-streamed NASCAR race ever. Viewership peaked at 5.383 million TV-only viewers from 9:15-9:30 p.m. ET when Shane van Gisbergen took the checkered flag to notch his first victory in his Cup Series debut.

NASCAR committed to Chicago Street Race for multiple years

NASCAR recorded the monster rating despite the weather doing its best to put a damper on the weekend. After being forced to call The Loop 121 Xfinity Series race Sunday, the Grant Park 220 took place on a wet surface, resulting in some slipping and sliding from the competitors.

Under the current agreement with the city of Chicago, NASCAR will stage a race in the downtown streets in 2024 and ’25. The city, which received $500,000 this year, will receive $550,000 in 2024, and $605,000 in 2025.