Dark clouds threatened NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race weekend for the third straight year. Forecasts predicted thunderstorms could wash out Sunday’s Grant Park 165, echoing 2023 and 2024’s rain-shortened chaos. But the downpour never came during the race.
Denny Hamlin spotted the reason trackside: a fan’s homemade “Anti-Rain Vortex” hat spinning defiantly against the gloom. Days later, the Joe Gibbs Racing star gave full credit to the bizarre contraption for saving the event.
Denny Hamlin Appreciates a Fan’s DIY Vortex Hat That Defied Chicago Forecast
Aaron Moy, a 52-year-old dedicated NASCAR fan, arrived at the Chicago street race prepared. The Morton Grove native engineered his solution after two previous Chicago races were drowned under storms. He created a laminated printer paper spiraling around a plastic shaft atop a red Valvoline hat, powered by a small hidden motor.
“The last two years, the rain’s messed up the race here,” Moy explained. “So I’m thinking, well, maybe I could do something to get the rain away.”
His design tapped into NASCAR’s “vortex theory,” a long-running fan joke claiming that cars circling the track create an atmospheric vortex repelling rain. As storms loomed very close to the track this Sunday, Hamlin spotted Moy’s whirling vortex in action. The clouds halted at the track’s edge. “It worked!” Hamlin declared on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast.
“Man, it did not look like we were going to dodge that rain. I mean, it was like a couple of buildings away, it seemed like. And just kind of stopped right when it got to the track. I did see the fan that had the vortex, and it worked! Yeah, I know. It worked. It kept the rain away. So, thank you for that.”
Showers arrived only after Shane van Gisbergen took the checkered flag, but Moy’s ritual symbolized fan defiance against Chicago’s soggy NASCAR curse. Thousands packed ponchos, yet hoped the vortex theory held. ”
You never know when they’ll say, ‘OK, drivers to your cars,’ and then we gotta rush back in,” Moy said about refusing shelter. His spinning hat became the weekend’s unlikely mascot.
Hamlin’s Playful Nod to NASCAR’s Rain Superstition
Hamlin’s shoutout wasn’t just humor but acknowledged a real fan anxiety. Chicago’s event, in the final year of its initial contract, needed a clean show. Past washouts fueled uncertainty about its future.
“We’ll have those conversations after the race, but right now our focus is on this weekend,” event president Julie Giese said pre-weekend, avoiding commitment. Whereas, drivers like Chase Elliott openly wondered, “I don’t know what the plan is moving forward, whether we come back here or not.”
Moy’s vortex joined the unique list of fan adaptations. A Sunoco employee, Georgene Sergeant, brought along newcomers, stating that street races “draw in people that might not be NASCAR fans and then they become fans.”
Van Gisbergen’s victory sweep cemented Chicago’s legacy, but the weather reprieve stole the subplot. Hamlin, finishing fourth, recognized the deeper win — a whole race delivered. His podcast quip honored fans, turning superstition into solidarity.
It wasn’t just about a hat, but celebrating a community anticipating a spectacle into existence against forecasted gloom. Chicago’s future remains uncertain, but for one weekend, a spinning paper vortex and collective hope kept the storms at bay.