NASCAR heading to San Diego next year will “mark the sixth straight year that NASCAR has introduced a new venue to the tour,” but the first time that all three divisions — Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series — “will be running in a first-time event,” according to Bill Center of SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. NASCAR Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer Ben Kennedy said with the “tie to the Navy and the nation’s anniversary,” it was “important to have all three series” in San Diego. Kennedy: “One of the questions in our planning was timing. Do we do it in 2026, 2027 or beyond? We wanted to have it happen next year. It’s a once-in-a-generation program for us.” Center noted NASCAR has been “eager to return to Southern California since Auto Club Speedway closed.” In 2023-2024, NASCAR held its preseason Busch Clash race at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, but that has since been moved to Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. What is “unknown” is whether San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado will “remain on the NASCAR schedule after 2026 or whether the military-themed event will be moved to other bases” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/23).
STREET LEVEL: In Chicago, Kyle Williams wrote the Chicago Street Race “faced obstacles from the city and weather during its three-year run,” but racers “loved the course because of the change of pace from their usual oval courses.” Many drivers said that they “wanted to continue the street race regardless of where it was held.” Williams noted the Chicago Street Race — along with NASCAR holding the preseason Clash inside the Coliseum — “imbued NASCAR with the confidence to continue experimenting on where they could hold races” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/23). FIELD LEVEL MEDIA’s Samuel Stubbs wrote the move to San Diego is one that “seemed like something out of ‘The Twilight Zone’ as recently as a decade ago.” But three years of racing in downtown Chicago proved NASCAR “could successfully have a race on a street course.” It is “another bold, new-age scheduling decision” from Kennedy (FIELD LEVEL MEDIA, 7/23).
MARKET EXPANSION: Stubbs noted San Diego “makes sense in a modern motorsports landscape focused on taking a racing product to major markets and potential new fans that otherwise wouldn’t seek it out.” San Diego is a “much-needed addition to the NASCAR schedule and a return to the Southern California market.” Stubbs: “If you dig deeper, it’s also the first in what could be a long line of experiments with regard to new, untapped markets that are being pursued by NASCAR” (FIELD LEVEL MEDIA, 7/23). Center in a separate piece noted Legacy Motor Club owner Jimmie Johnson also sees NASCAR’s move into markets like San Diego, Chicago and Mexico City “as ways to expand the sport.” Johnson said, “The more we can move into major markets and also hit new pockets around the country where we haven’t traditionally been will only grow the sport. And it bolsters relationships that we already have.” He added it is a “really smart strategy moving into new markets and moving dates around to do what is best for the sport” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/23).
WILL YOU BE BACK? In Chicago, Robert Channick noted whether NASCAR returns to Chicago “remains to be seen,” but NASCAR is “maintaining its Chicago office” and reiterated yesterday it “hopes to be racing again on the streets of Chicago down the road” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/23). In Chicago, Jack Grieve noted NASCAR “wants to bring racing back to the Chicagoland Speedway.” Rumors have “circulated for months that NASCAR could target the facility for a rebirth.” A NASCAR spokesperson said that it “does have a desire to race there again.” Grieve noted the racetrack has “sat mostly dormant since the pandemic.” The last Cup Series race was held there in 2019, though NASCAR has “maintained an active business license with the state at the site” (CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS, 7/23).