The recently concluded race weekend at Chicagoland was a mess for the NASCAR fans. From having to save themselves from pouring rain to tackling the parking issue, the fans went through an enormous ordeal. Denny Hamlin, one of NASCAR's most renowned faces, has now come out in support of the fans and slammed the governing body.

In the latest Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin shed light on the mismanagement by NASCAR and the race organiser during the eero 400. "I want them to work on their infrastructure," Hamlin said.

Further explaining his stance, the Joe Gibbs Racing star said, "Fan experience stuff. I mean, not being able to get in the racetrack. I get it that it rained, but it rains in that area. We've been there in that area at that time. Remember Chicago? Like it rains and it rains a lot."

Rain around the track is not a rare occurrence, as NASCAR has encountered such conditions before as well. However, they did not get things right even after coming back here after a seven-year hiatus. Hamlin said on this,

"So, you got to regrade your surfaces or pave it or put gravel down or something. It's like, man, I and you know I took a video of like the car graveyard of the people that had to leave their car there from Saturday, and it's just like telling you that's the tough part," he further added in the podcast.

Notably, the Chicagoland Cup Series race drew an enormous crowd, and with them were their private vehicles. However, the parking lot and other reserved spaces were simply not enough.

Firstly, several parking lots, such as A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and P, were flooded after rain and had muddy water, making the space unfit for parking.

On top of this, the fans found themselves stuck after traffic control blocked turning lanes, forcing them to merge in a single line.

As a result, there was no movement, as thousands of fans were stuck in the middle of the field, a couple of miles away from the racetrack.

Many fans had to be stuck for more than two hours before the jam thinned, but by that time, many missed the race to witness Chase Briscoe claim his first win of the season.

Chase Briscoe held off teammates to seal maiden win in 2026

Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe claimed his first win of the season at Chicagoland as he held off his teammates, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. With this, he secured his sixth win in the series and became the third JGR driver to claim a win in 2026.

"What an unbelievable weekend!" Briscoe told the media after the race. "What a cool weekend to win a NASCAR race. Felt like I was struggling in practicing and qualifying.

"James and the group did a great job (getting the car right). James, me and him are about the two most polar opposite people in the world. He just stays on me. He makes me be perfect each and every lap and does such a great job of keeping me honest."

Briscoe started the race from seventh place, a place behind his teammate, Bell. He improved to fifth place in Stage 1 and then further improved to second place in Stage 2. In the end, Briscoe held off Bell by 0.276 seconds to seal the victory.

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Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason