Nascar's San Diego Announcement Is The Next Step In A Nationwide Takeover

Forbes

5 days ago

Drivers compete during the Grant Park 165 race of NASCAR Cup Series at the Chicago Street Course in ... More Chicago, Illinois, United States on July 6, 2025. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Nascar is making a major move by traveling to San Diego in 2025. Not only will the Nascar Cup Series be competing in America's Finest City, but so will the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series from June 19-21, 2026.
While the race will be held at the Naval Base Coronado, the city is enthusiastic to host a Nascar weekend. Unlike Chicago, which had a negative perception of Nascar from the initial announcement, San Diego appears to be welcoming of stock car racing. Sports Business Journal reported that the contract is between Nascar and the U.S. Navy, and Sports San Diego will help run operations and promote the event.
'As part of our nation's 250th anniversary, we are honored for Nascar to join the celebration as we host our first street race at a military base, Naval Base Coronado,' Nascar's Ben Kennedy, EVP, Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer, said in a statement. 'Nascar San Diego Weekend will honor the Navy's history and the men and women who serve as we take the best motorsports in the world to the streets of Naval Base Coronado.'
The Cup race will be streamed on Amazon Prime as part of its summer stretch of races.
This is a major step for Nascar, which is expanding its presence on the West Coast after leaving the L.A. Coliseum (an exhibition race) and Fontana's Auto Club Speedway. Not only does this announcement keep Nascar viable in a major market, but it also shows the sanctioning body's creativity is endless right now.
While Nascar nearly settled on racing in Downtown San Diego, they opted for the Naval base to create a patriotic twist to the spectacle. Kennedy told SBJ that racing in San Diego on a base is 'naturally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to celebrate this special anniversary of the Navy and our country.'
Another great element to the event is that iRacing, which will launch the first mainstream Nascar video game in several years, helped create the track.
The announcement is expected to generate not only waves of interest from drivers and sports executives, but also potential sponsors. Nascar has welcomed in a plethora of new partners in 2025, and an announcement like this will certainly generate additional key sponsor interest.
Nascar will not return to Chicago in 2026, but it will likely return to Chicagoland Speedway in nearby Joliet. The Mexico race's status has yet to be determined.
But an announcement like this makes it clear: Kennedy and his team are leading Nascar to push the limits and get creative.