NASCAR will return to Southern California in 2026 with first-of-its-kind street races at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, the sanctioning body announced Wednesday.
The NASCAR San Diego Weekend marks a full-throttle, three-day event for the first NASCAR events ever contested on an active military base, with the Craftsman Truck Series headlining Friday, June 19, the Xfinity Series racing on June 20 and Cup stars shining for the feature event on June 21.
San Diego will host just the second street course in NASCAR’s modern era. The Chicago Street Course hosted Cup and Xfinity action for each of the past three seasons. The race weekend will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy.
Naval Base Coronado will become the first active military base to host NASCAR racing. The naval base encompasses eight military facilities stretching from San Clemente Island to the La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility.
San Diego will mark the final race of Prime Video’s five-race window of broadcast coverage for Cup racing in 2026, while the Xfinity Series race will air on The CW and Trucks on FOX Sports.
The San Diego street race marks NASCAR’s return to Southern California for the first time since February 2024, when the Clash at the LA Coliseum kicked off the season from 2022 through 2024. From 1997 through 2023, NASCAR previously raced in Fontana, California, at California Speedway, formerly a 2-mile oval that sat approximately 120 miles north from Naval Base Coronado.
To coordinate the event, NASCAR is partnering with nonprofit Sports San Diego for operational and promotional support. Sports San Diego’s focus is to drive visitor demand to economically benefit the San Diego region through producing, recruiting, supporting and hosting world-class sports events, previously including the Super Bowl, X Games, the MLB All-Star Game and more.
“This a huge win for San Diego and we are so grateful to NASCAR for their partnership,” Sports San Diego CEO Mark Neville stated in a release. “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.”
The addition of a street race on a military base continues the growing trend of NASCAR’s willingness to push its boundaries. After adding an exhibition race inside the LA Coliseum for three years and creating a world-class street course on the streets of downtown Chicago, NASCAR continues to lay ground where it has never been previously.
Tickets for the 2026 NASCAR San Diego Weekend will go on sale this fall.
