NASCAR Cup Series Heads to San Diego Street Course in 2026

NASCAR will hold a street race on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego next June to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy by hosting all three of its national series over a three-day weekend.

It will be NASCAR’s second street race in the sport’s history, following a three-year run in Chicago and first on an active military base. The course layout is not complete but is expected to be around 3 miles.

“This a huge win for San Diego and we are so grateful to NASCAR for their partnership,” said Mark Neville, Sports San Diego chief executive officer. “Without a doubt, the NASCAR San Diego Weekend will have a significant and favorable impact on San Diego’s tourism and hospitality industry. On top of that, being the first ever NASCAR race on an active military base is going to be quite the spectacle and you can’t beat Naval Base Coronado.”

NASCAR is partnering with Sports San Diego on operational and promotional support for the race weekend. The San Diego weekend will be a replacement for its downtown Chicago event that ran the past three years. The move to the San Diego area does not eliminate a return to Chicago, where NASCAR will still maintain an office and effort an eventual return, perhaps as early as 2027.

“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,” Ben Kennedy, executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovations officer, said Wednesday. “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 base is known as the “West Coast Quarterdeck” and is a consortium of nine Navy installations that stretch from San Clemente Island 50 miles off the coast of Long Beach to the Mountain Warfare Training Facility 50 miles east of San Diego.

NASCAR named Amy Lupo, who has been with the series since 2021, as president of the race. She spent more than 20 years at ESPN expanding the X Games when she lived in San Diego early in her career.