Denny Hamlin is currently leading the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. This marks his first time in this position all season. Hamlin has another reason to celebrate as NASCAR returns to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet after a hiatus since 2019. He previously won the Cup Series race in 2015 and consistently finishes in the top 10 in Joliet races.

Hamlin secured the pole for Sunday’s eero 400, building on his local success. In recent competition, he also claimed the pole position in the 2023 street race in downtown Chicago.

I’m a Chicago master, what can I say? Hamlin remarked jokingly.

During eero 400 qualifying, Hamlin narrowly edged out Kyle Larson for the pole by one-thousandth of a second, completing his lap in 30.296 seconds. Close behind him were Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, and Ty Gibbs. Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, and William Byron rounded out the top 10 qualifiers for the race starting at 5 p.m.

Hamlin excels on 1.5-mile tracks like Chicagoland Speedway. He has finished in the top five in his last six races on similar tracks, winning twice. Despite his success, he was surprised by his pole-winning performance:

Generally, these are great race tracks for us. I thought I ran a conservative but solid run into Turns 1 and 2. Three and four, I didn’t quite hit it great but it looked like I got off of turn four better than the competition. This is very surprising, truthfully.

Attention at the track also focuses on the uncertain future of Chicagoland Speedway on the NASCAR schedule. The possibility of a street race returning to Chicago next year leaves questions about Joliet’s fate.

Chase Briscoe, originally from Mitchell, Indiana, expressed hope for Chicagoland’s continued presence:

I love coming back home essentially. It’s in the Midwest. I hope we can continue to come here. I love this track and always have. Hopefully, it’s an amazing race and the fans turn out so we can keep coming back. Even if there’s a Chicago street race, maybe we can do two races in Chicagoland. I don’t know what that looks like, but I love coming here.

Austin Dillon, who qualified 25th, praised the track’s character. He eagerly supports its continuation:

We have to make sure everyone shows up and enjoys it. If we put on a good show, ticket sales will always go up.

Hamlin expressed his commitment to promoting the event:

I’m going to go to downtown Chicago and wave a flag that says, ‘Come to Chicagoland tomorrow,’ Hamlin jested.

Beyond the humor, Hamlin emphasized Chicago’s significance to NASCAR:

I think it’s an important audience for us. We came here for the test run [in April] and there were three cars with no logos on them and there were probably 500 people out here. There was not much to see, but they’ve been wanting for us to get back in this area.

As Sunday’s race approaches, the hope is that a successful event will secure Chicagoland’s position in future schedules.