Denny Hamlin looks back on impressive top 5 finish at Chicago after starting last

Denny Hamlin and road courses haven’t exactly gotten along in the Next Gen era. Entering Sunday’s Chicago Street Race, Hamlin had just one top 10 finish in 18 road course starts.

The weekend got off to the worst possible start. Hamlin blew his engine out not even half a lap into Saturday’s practice session for Chicago Street Race. His No. 11 team had to make an engine change on his Toyota Camry, meaning Hamlin would start last in Sunday’s race. After 165 miles of racing, Hamlin fought his way to a fourth-place finish. Not even he — one of NASCAR‘s best — could have ever imagined he’d end the weekend with a top five finish.

P40 -> P4 on a street course 🤷🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/SqRnh9cy0V

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) July 6, 2025

Hamlin will gladly take that and move on to next Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway. Obviously, it’s another road course for Hamlin to solve, though with three wins in the bank, Hamlin has to like where he stands now 19 races into the 2025 season.

“It was probably our first incident-free [road course] race in the Next Gen era,” Hamlin said after the race. “I thought it was good. Honestly, I feel like my pace was good when I was able to go. I could have some decent pace. It’s good to get a decent finish and not have to do anything crazy to do it. Just keep it up front with fast cars and that’s what we had.”

Aside from a hiccup in last Saturday’s race in Atlanta, Hamlin has been on fire. His five top 10s in the last nine races are tied for second most among drivers. It couldn’t have been possible without his effort on Sunday at a street course he hopes remains on the schedule.

Denny Hamlin advocates for Chicago Street Race to remain on NASCAR schedule

This marked the final race of NASCAR’s three-year contract with the city of Chicago. There are, however, options years in the contract. Meanwhile, a San Diego street course has been reported to be on the way. There has been support in the garage for NASCAR to return to Chicagoland Speedway. Hamlin sees the value in racing in the streets of downtown Chicago.

“Until we know the alternative, I don’t know whether they’re ones better or worse than this,” Hamlin said Saturday, via Kelly Crandall of RACER. “I just feel like this is a bigger event than some of the ovals that we go through, simply because of the atmosphere of where it’s at. The exposure to new fans that are here casually in the city. I can only speak from my experiences in the casual people that for instance, I go shopping yesterday. I go to all these different stores, ‘What are you in town for? Oh yeah, there’s a race. We were talking about going to that. We didn’t go last year because the rain, but we’re thinking about going.’

“You want these are younger people that they’re not going to travel to Chicagoland to go to a race. You have to have it right here where they can walk to it. I don’t know if anyone shares the same sentiment I do, but I don’t run the series, I don’t make the decisions. But it just seems like from my standpoint, there’s more excitement around the venue itself than what a normal NASCAR race venue has.”