Latest news with #streetcourse
New York Times
23-07-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
NASCAR at Naval Base Coronado: What we know about the San Diego street race
NASCAR will race on an active military base for the first time in its history next year, bringing all three of its national series to compete at a new street course on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego. Though the circuit layout won't be finalized until this fall, the race will be held entirely inside the Navy base and is expected to wind its way past both aircraft carriers and fighter jets as cars race on the tarmac — all with the San Diego skyline and San Diego Bay as a backdrop. Advertisement The races will be held on Father's Day weekend, with the Cup Series competing on June 21. 'What a special way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Navy, the 250th anniversary of our country,' said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR's executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovation officer. But how will this all work? And how did this come together? Here's a look at some of the backstory and logistics involved in NASCAR's latest big splash event. Naval Base Coronado is a consortium of Navy installations in Southern California, including the location of the NASCAR race — Naval Air Station North Island. As you might guess by the name, NAS North Island is located at the north end of the spectacular Coronado peninsula across the bay from downtown San Diego. It is the home base for several aircraft carriers from the Pacific Fleet, as well as a variety of naval aviation units. Although there have been races on NAS North Island's runways in the past — as part of the Coronado Speed Festival — NASCAR is planning an entirely new circuit that incorporates both streets on the base and the tarmac. It is using the iRacing service to test potential track layouts, and Kennedy is imagining a lap distance 'in the ballpark of three miles.' 'Part of the course will be a bit set in stone, because we can't move many of the streets around,' Kennedy said. 'But part of it will also be a blank canvas. Once we go out on the tarmac, whether it's hairpins or chicanes or S turns or long straightaways, we're playing with a handful of configurations … I would expect it to look unlike anything they've had in the past around the base.' Despite the race being held on a military base, Kennedy said there will be plenty of opportunity for the public to buy tickets and attend — with potential attendance numbering "tens of thousands of people." "The great part about it is the base has plenty of space to use, and the course will be pretty sizable, too," Kennedy said. "We'll have grandstands and suites and hospitality areas, but we'll also be selling more of a general admission ticket, which will probably have a lot of volume. So we would expect quite a few people to be attending this event." Advertisement Publicly accessible events at a military base are nothing new; the nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, for instance, hosts an annual air show that attracts an attendance of around 700,000 over three days. Each week, Kennedy chairs a scheduling committee whose task is to plan the schedule for the following years — through 2031. From these conversations, the idea of staging a race in the San Diego area was born, as it meets several criteria for NASCAR's special events. Since California Speedway — in Fontana, just outside of Los Angeles — closed after its 2022 race, and with the end of the three-year stint (2022-24) of staging the exhibition Clash race inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASCAR has looked for ways to continue racing in Southern California. San Diego certainly checks this box. The city is among the top 30 media markets in the United States, enhancing its appeal in a sponsor-driven sport. The idea to race on Naval Base Coronado was suggested in one of Kennedy's weekly schedule meetings, with someone on the committee pointing to how other leagues have successfully staged games on military bases. And with 2026 representing the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy, NASCAR's close ties to the military, and the availability of a tarmac and public roads to construct a course, the pieces all came together to race at the Naval Base Coronado next year. "It felt like just such a natural opportunity for us to explore," Kennedy said. "The idea came about, I would say, probably three or four years ago, and we've talked to a handful of military bases, and this one was a really good fit for us." NASCAR announced last week it will not return to Chicago in 2026, leaving the site of its inaugural street race (although it left the door open for 2027 and beyond). Part of the Chicago storyline was pushback from the downtown residents and community about street closures and course build time, which NASCAR worked to shorten during its three-year stay. Advertisement But a military base could pose less potential disruption and headaches for neighbors — although being on an active base poses challenges of its own, given people live and work there. "We can set up a majority of the course without having a good impact on people," Kennedy said. "For example, the walls and fencing on the straightaways will be able to go in quite a bit earlier than the corners. And then once we get closer to Thursday and Friday of the event weekend, we'll close down the corners. "But we've been collaborating with the base on load-in and load-out times. Thankfully, we've got a pretty good track record over the past couple of years in Chicago." Kennedy said the course layout will be designed to make sure NASCAR is "minimizing the impact on their daily operations at the base" and said the base is "going to stay active pretty much the entire time." Historically, when NASCAR adds a new event to its calendar, the plan is to be there multiple seasons. In the case of the temporary races held in Los Angeles and downtown Chicago, each ran for three years. But the unique circumstances of racing on a military base combined with this being promoted as a celebration to the Navy means NASCAR isn't envisioning Naval Base Coronado being a long-term fixture on the schedule. The league won't rule out a longer partnership, but extending beyond one year at this location is not a certainty. NASCAR sees San Diego as a potential launching point for other similar opportunities. "We've always talked about this a lot internally, is we would love to kick it off and be at Naval Base Coronado for a number of years, but this could also be an opportunity for us to move into other military installations across the country, too," Kennedy said. "So for now, we're focused on 2026. It is naturally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to celebrate this special anniversary of the Navy and our country and put on one of the biggest sporting events of 2026. Then, we'll certainly put our heads together on what the future could potentially look like after that." (Top photo of the USS Stockdale leaving Naval Base Coronado in January 2016: Gregory Bull / AP)
Fox News
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
Siegel Back On Track, DeFrancesco Back At Home: What To Know For INDYCAR At Toronto
TORONTO — The lone INDYCAR race this season across the border goes green this weekend on the streets of Exhibition Place and Lake Ontario. The 2.874-kilometer course (OK, you want it in miles, 1.786-mile) has 11 turns and has been part of a summer festival for 37 years. The tight course requires precision and also handling a pit road that isn't straight but instead has some curves. At 90 laps, it is five laps longer this year (noon ET on FOX). The 27-driver field is the same as it has been for most races in 2025. And that wasn't a certainty until Thursday morning for the final street course race of the season. Let's dive into a few things you need to know about this race. Nolan Siegel Cleared The Arrow McLaren driver was cleared Thursday to race after missing the event Sunday at Iowa following a hard crash Saturday in Iowa. "Missing out on Sunday's race in Iowa was definitely tough, especially after qualifying fifth," Siegel said in a statement. "After a week of rest and recovery, I'm looking forward to being back in the car." Siegel said Friday at the track that he feels good. "Just coming here, if anything, I just have a greater appreciation for what I'm doing," Siegel said. "It was hard to sit out on Sunday and watch. That was not a fun time for me, and I've just been itching to get back in the car these past few days. "I will never take that for granted again and really, really excited to get back in." Drivers have accelerometers in their ears, so INDYCAR doctors know how hard the hit is when they evaluate the driver. Any accident that registers 80Gs in any axis or direction is required to return for further evaluation. INDYCAR, like most sports leagues, uses the King-Devick test from the Mayo Clinic among its tools. INDYCAR's head neurologist, Dr. Bert Vargas, along with INDYCAR medical director Dr. Julia Vaizer, typically does the evaluation to clear a driver to return. Vargas serves as a member of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee and is also a sideline unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant for the NFL. Earlier this year, Marcus Armstrong had to return to the medical center at Indianapolis a few hours after an accident to be cleared for the next session. Siegel had to revisit Sunday morning and was not cleared. Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan missed a race in 2001 because of a concussion so he knows how hard it is for the driver to sit out. "I crashed in Detroit on Saturday, got a concussion," Kanaan said. "They sat me out in the race on Sunday, but we had Portland next week, and I am sure I wasn't right because that weekend, I was so slow in Portland. I started that and I crashed again in the first lap, and I couldn't understand why. And I felt fine. "We've come a long way, and this is probably one of the worst things because when ... you're looking at yourself, you're perfectly fine, and you think you're fine. Those type of injuries are so frustrating." Siegel said Friday he had little doubt he would be ready to go this weekend. He wanted and felt OK to race Sunday. "As much as I hated sitting out and wanted to get back in the car and wanted to argue with [the INDYCAR doctors], they know more about this than I do," Siegel said. "That's the end of it. They know more about this than all of us do. And when they say, you can't do it, you can't do it. "So once they said that, they put their plan together, they helped me get back in. They did everything they possibly could to help me get back this weekend. And I'm grateful for their help." In the last 12 years, there have been two drivers who have not returned to INDYCAR because of concussions — Dario Franchitti and Simon Pagenaud. Alex Tagliani was the replacement when Franchitti got hurt and Conor Daly was the replacement when Pagenaud got hurt. Linus Lundqvist, the 2024 INDYCAR rookie of the year, is on standby for Siegel. Jack Harvey was the last driver before Pagenaud in 2023 to miss a race because of a concussion. He missed the race at Texas after a crash in practice in 2022 and was replaced by Santino Ferrucci. In 2021, Felix Rosenqvist missed two races following an accident in 2021 at Detroit. He was never diagnosed with a concussion but did not perform well on the post-crash concussion protocol tests. Oliver Askew and Kevin Magnussen replaced him in those races. Robb Car Escapes Damage in Hauler Fire About 150 miles into the trip from Iowa last Sunday, the transporter carrying Sting Ray Robb's car blew a tire, which broke a seal on the axle and started a fire. It burned the hole of about 5- to 6-feet high, according to Colona Township Fire Department Chief John Swan. The fire department is about four miles from where the accident occurred on Interstate 74/280 in Illinois and that was critical, Swan said, in keeping the car from getting damaged. The fire didn't penetrate the inside wall of the transporter, and equipment suffered smoke and heat damage. The Juncos Hollinger Racing team has both of its cars at Toronto. It is using its Indy NXT hauler for Robb this weekend. Comeback ... Of Performance Kind While all the Andretti drivers raced last weekend, they probably feel they need as much of a comeback as a driver such as Siegel. All three of the drivers blew right front tires during the Iowa doubleheader weekend. Since that race was on an oval, there isn't a lot of correlation between the loads last week and this week. "It sucks," driver Colton Herta said. "I don't like to think about it for sure, and it makes me annoyed. But as far as what were the problems there, and are they going to come into this weekend? "There's almost zero percent chance. Such a different race, such different setup." Herta said they will figure out why they had the issue and no other organizations did in the coming weeks as they need to focus on the upcoming races here at Toronto and next week at Laguna Seca. "It's something that we're definitely not taking lightly. And it's important for the team to do that, just because for my peace of mind, too, inside the car, for blowing tires ... because there's a chance that you have a big one at some point," Herta said. "But at the end of the day, it's part of it. This is the first for us at Andretti, so I think we're learning this together for the first time." Herta is the defending winner of the Toronto race. "It's a track that poses a lot of different challenges," Herta said. "It's a street circuit. So no room for error, and the concrete walls are not good friends. So any little mistake turns into quite a big one here very fast. "It's a good mix of high-speed, low-speed corners. The pit stops are always difficult on this curvy pit lane that we have." Adjusting Goals? Bouncing back will be vital for Andretti driver Kyle Kirkwood, who has won two of the street-course races this year. Kirkwood went from 113 points behind series leader Alex Palou to 180 points behind after the Iowa doubleheader. With just five races left, Kirkwood doesn't think he has a reasonable shot at the title. "That seems unattainable from this point," Kirkwood said. "As long as it's mathematically possible to beat him, we're going to keep trying to get wins. At the same time, we put ourselves in a pretty big hole. "We're just going to go out and try and get some wins here, show that we are a championship-capable winning team, which I believe we are." So now is it win or don't care considering the championship is out of reach? "Winning races does win championships," said Kirkwood, whose three wins rank only behind Palou's seven this season. "Palou is proving that this season. That is the No. 1 focus. "Of course, it would be nice to claw back some and give ourselves an opportunity to be in the second position because in a lot of cases, getting a second this year is like getting a win in the championship." Home-Country Pressure And, finally, since the race is in Canada, that means it will be special for the one Canadian-born driver in the field. Devlin DeFrancesco believes his first Toronto Grand Prix was in 2013. "I feel very relaxed," DeFrancesco said. "I'm excited to be home. I like this track." He said he doesn't know how many friends and family are coming but he has a suite and has let someone else handle all the requests. "There's a tidal wave of support this weekend," DeFrancesco said. "Toronto is one of the biggest turnouts for fans. It's a hugely popular event. ... It'd be amazing to be able to go back somewhere like Edmonton [too] or somewhere like that." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
An Ill-timed Caution Ended Newgarden's Chances at Iowa, Alex Palou Captures Seventh Win
Alex Palou has now won on a street course, road courses, the Indianapolis 500, and on a short oval in 2025 to win seven of the 12 IndyCar races this season. Palou started on the pole for the second Iowa race, but the win was far from promised. Penske's Josef Newgarden advanced through the field twice due to being caught on the pitting undercut when cautions came out. When Newgarden went for his second pit stop with 140 laps remaining, Marcus Ericsson hit the wall, and the rest of the field that had yet to pit benefited. He then ran through the field to the lead, and with 20 laps to go, a second Andretti, Colton Herta, hit the wall. With less than 20 laps remaining on the restart, the lapped cars were run through the pits to set up everyone on the lead lap. Newgarden would restart eighth with only 13 laps to go and get trapped away from the podium, and his win drought extended. On the restart, Palou led Marcus Armstrong, a Meyer Shank Racing driver chasing his first win. Palou's teammate, Scott Dixon, made it by for another Chip Ganassi Racing 1-2 in 2025. Saturday's winner, Pato O'Ward, finished fifth behind David Malukas, both pitted just before Newgarden and lost position due to the undercut as well. "We all got hosed by the same thing," O'Ward told IndyCar on Fox. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR at Chicago live updates: Lineup, weather forecast, how to watch race
USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. Arguably the most unique event on the NASCAR calendar is here. The streets of Chicago will be filled with the sounds of Cup Series racing for the third year in a row. This year's race comes with an added wrinkle; it's round two of NASCAR's inaugural in-season challenge. Round one last week in Atlanta saw multiple upsets of the top seeds thanks to a collision-filled race with nearly one-third of the field failing to finish. Advertisement In the end, Chase Elliott won his home race by just 0.168 seconds over Brad Keselowski. That win was his first in more than a calendar year and closed the gap from him to championship leader William Byron. The Grant Park 165 will be another challenge for the remaining 16 drivers in contention for the in-season challenge title. It's the only street course event of the season and the prior two runnings were impacted by rain. USA TODAY Sports will have coverage of the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. Follow along for all the action and results: How to watch NASCAR Cup race in Chicago Race: Grant Park 165 Time: 2 p.m. ET Location: Chicago Street Course, Chicago T V: TNT, alternate telecast on truTV Streaming: Stream the Grant Park 165 on Sling Advertisement What time does the NASCAR Cup race in Chicago start? The Grant Park 165 is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. local) Sunday, July 6, on the street course in downtown Chicago. What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup race in Chicago on? The Grant Park 165 will be broadcast on TNT. It's the second of four races to be broadcast on the network. Pre-race coverage will start at 1 p.m. ET. Will there be a live stream of the NASCAR Cup race in Chicago? Yes, the Grant Park 165 will be streamed on WatchTNT, Max and Sling TV. Stream the NASCAR race at Chicago on Sling How many laps is the NASCAR Cup race in Chicago? The Grant Park 165 is 75 laps around the 2.2-mile track for a total of 165 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 20 laps; Stage 2: 25 laps; Stage 3: 30 laps. Advertisement Who won the NASCAR Cup race at Chicago last year? Alex Bowman led the final eight laps, taking the lead on Lap 51 of the shortened race that ended with a countdown clock on Lap 58 instead of the scheduled 75 after weather disrupted the race. When the clock hit zero, Bowman needed to maintain his lead for two laps – taking the white flag and the checkered flag – to earn his lone victory of 2024. Bowman pulled away from Tyler Reddick and won by 2.863 seconds. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR race today live: TV channel, lineup, weather for Chicago
Arab News
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Shane van Gisbergen wins the pole for Cup Series race in downtown Chicago
CHICAGO: When it comes to NASCAR's street course in downtown Chicago, there is Shane van Gisbergen, and then there is everyone else. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
