JOLIET, ILLINOIS - JULY 05: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Insurance Toyota, leads the field on a pace lap prior to the NASCAR Cup Series eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 05, 2026 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)Getty ImagesFor years, NASCAR had a Chicago problem.After Sunday it now it has a Chicago dilemma.After spending three seasons racing through the streets of downtown Chicago, NASCAR returned this weekend to Chicagoland Speedway, the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet that had sat dormant on the Cup Series schedule since 2019.The timing couldn't have been more interesting.With NASCAR expected to unveil its 2027 schedule in the coming weeks, industry speculation has increasingly pointed toward a return to the downtown street course next season. If that happens, the obvious question becomes whether Chicagoland Speedway was simply a one-year reunion or the beginning of something more permanent.And it turns out it's not a bad problem to have.NASCAR’s Chicago ExperimentFor years, fans questioned why NASCAR walked away from one of the Midwest's premier speedways. The answer wasn't that the sanctioning body wanted out of the Chicago market. Quite the opposite.In 2022, NASCAR announced it would trade the suburbs for the city itself, replacing Chicagoland Speedway with a temporary street course winding through Grant Park. The inaugural race in 2023 became the Cup Series' first modern-era street race and delivered one of the sport's most memorable moments when Shane van Gisbergen won in his series debut.MORE FOR YOUCHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 02: Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 CRAFTSMAN Racing For A Miracle Toyota,and Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #91 Enhance Health Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course on July 02, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)Getty ImagesOn the streets, the experiment worked.Off the streets, things became considerably more complicated.Residents complained about weeks of road closures, restricted access to Grant Park and disruptions to businesses and summer events. Several Chicago aldermen criticized how the agreement came together, arguing there had been too little public input before it was finalized. NASCAR and city officials responded by shortening construction schedules and reducing the amount of time roads and park space were occupied, but the debate over whether the event's economic benefits outweighed the inconvenience never completely disappeared.Then came Sunday.Chicagoland Makes Its CaseIf NASCAR wanted to find out whether Chicagoland Speedway still mattered, it received a convincing answer.Despite days of heavy rain that turned several grass parking lots into swamps, track officials adjusted parking plans and welcomed a sellout crowd, the sixth sellout in the last seven NASCAR Cup Series races this season. Once the green flag waved, the racing did the rest.The return to Chicagoland produced a track-record 28 lead changes and ended with Indiana native Chase Briscoe celebrating in Victory Lane, just a few hours from his hometown.Suddenly, NASCAR's scheduling decision became even more complicated.The Drivers Have A Different IdeaBefore the race, Briscoe had already made it clear he hoped Chicagoland Speedway wasn't simply making a one-year cameo."I hope that we can continue to come here," Briscoe said Saturday. "Hopefully it puts on an amazing race. Hopefully the fans turn out and if so, hopefully we can keep coming back even if there is a Chicago street race again. Maybe we can do two different races here."The Indiana native argued that the upper Midwest remains one of NASCAR's strongest yet least-served regions."I enjoy coming back to the Midwest," Briscoe said. "I feel like there's a ton of race fans in this region, whether it's Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana. There's not a whole lot of races up in the northern part of the Midwest, so hopefully they can keep coming."At the same time, Briscoe doesn't believe NASCAR should abandon the thinking that produced the Chicago Street Race."I think we need to keep doing stuff like we did with the Chicago Street Race or San Diego," he said. "Take the race to fans that would never see us."Twenty-four hours later, after proving his point with a victory, Briscoe admitted winning so close to home made the weekend even more meaningful."Chicago is kind of like a second home track," Briscoe said Sunday. "It's four and a half hours from home. I have a lot of people here that don't get to see me race at a lot of other places. Just being able to win here and being relatively close to home is always nice."Briscoe's team owner, Joe Gibbs, sees little reason NASCAR should abandon the market again.“I think there's been a lot put into this, and I think this part of America is huge for our sport...”