NASCAR’s San Diego Street Race:
Inside the Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado
For the first time in NASCAR history, the Cup Series is racing on an active U.S. military base. Here is everything about the 16-turn Qualcomm Circuit, how it came together, who qualified on pole, and what to expect from the historic Anduril 250.
NASCAR’s San Diego Street Race — Inside the Anduril 250
NASCAR’s first-ever race on an active military base. The course, the history, and how to watch.
NASCAR has raced on ovals, road courses, dirt tracks, and even inside a football stadium. However, nothing in the sport’s 78-year history compares to what is unfolding this weekend at Naval Base Coronado. For the first time ever, the NASCAR Cup Series is competing on an active United States military installation — a 16-turn, 3.4-mile temporary street circuit winding past aircraft carriers, hangars, and a runway built for F/A-18 fighter jets.
The event is called the Anduril 250, named for its title sponsor, the California-based defense technology company. It marks the centerpiece of NASCAR San Diego Weekend, a three-day celebration that coincides with the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy. Furthermore, it represents NASCAR’s boldest experiment yet in its ongoing push toward non-traditional venues — following the success of the Chicago Street Race and the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
This guide covers the full story: how the San Diego street race came together, what the Qualcomm Circuit course actually looks like, who claimed pole position, how this event compares to Chicago, and exactly how to watch the historic Anduril 250.
What Is the NASCAR San Diego Street Race?
The NASCAR San Diego street race — officially the Anduril 250 — is a NASCAR Cup Series points race held on a temporary street circuit built inside Naval Base Coronado, specifically at Naval Air Station North Island. It is the 17th race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, contested over 75 laps on a 3.4-mile, 16-turn road course. Moreover, it is the first time in NASCAR’s history that any of its national series has raced on an active U.S. military base.
The full weekend is branded NASCAR San Diego Weekend, and it unfolds as a tripleheader. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opened the schedule on Friday, June 19. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (Xfinity Series) followed on Saturday, June 20, alongside Cup Series qualifying. Sunday, June 21, belongs to the Cup Series stars in the Anduril 250 itself, with green flag scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
The race weekend was deliberately scheduled to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy, alongside the broader 250th anniversary of the United States itself. “What a special way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Navy, 250th anniversary of our country and put on what is going to be undoubtedly the most anticipated event of 2026,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s executive vice president, chief venue and racing innovation officer, when the race was announced. Naval Base Coronado’s Commanding Officer, Captain Loren Jacobi, called it an honor to “showcase the dedication of our Sailors alongside NASCAR’s finest” as part of the celebration.
Inside the Qualcomm Circuit: Course Layout Explained
The street course built for this race carries an official name: the Qualcomm Circuit, secured through a naming rights partnership between NASCAR and the San Diego-based technology company. It is a 16-turn, 3.4-mile (5.5 km) layout constructed entirely within the working footprint of Naval Air Station North Island — a genuinely unprecedented build for a NASCAR street course.
Unlike Chicago’s circuit, which wound through closed-off downtown city streets, the Coronado layout blends real base roadways with sections of active runway tarmac. “It’ll be a blend of traditional street racing in a way where we’ll be winding our ways through some of the streets on the base,” Ben Kennedy explained when the course was first discussed. “They’ll be going past [aircraft] carriers. They’ll eventually go out onto the tarmac, probably by some military aircraft, maybe a couple of F-18s out there, and then back towards the entrance to the base.”
Kennedy described the course design as deliberately split between fixed and flexible sections. “Part of the course will be a bit set in stone because we can’t move many of the streets around, but part of it will also be a blank canvas as well,” he said. “Once we go out on the tarmac, whether it’s hairpins or chicanes or S-turns, long straightaways, we’re playing with a handful of configurations.” NASCAR officially revealed the finished 16-turn layout in October 2025, alongside renderings showing the circuit’s run along the carrier piers.
Drivers and media who experienced the track in person this weekend described it as one of the more demanding circuits on the current Cup Series calendar. According to qualifying coverage from Yahoo Sports, the 16-turn, 3.4-mile road course “delivered the longest qualifying times in NASCAR this season, with drivers struggling to navigate one of the most difficult courses ever.” Furthermore, the circuit marked the third road or street course on the 2026 Cup Series calendar — a clear sign of NASCAR’s continued investment in non-oval racing.
Qualifying Results: Van Gisbergen Takes the Pole
Shane van Gisbergen claimed pole position for the Anduril 250 on Saturday, June 20 — continuing his dominant run on NASCAR’s road and street courses. Driving the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, the New Zealander turned a lap of 134.788 seconds (90.809 mph) around the 3.4-mile circuit, edging Carson Hocevar by just 0.156 seconds for the top starting spot.
“Amazing to get the first pole here,” van Gisbergen said after the session. “It’s your first lap of the day and there’s corners you’re going through for the first time… I made a meal of it, but the rest of the lap was pretty decent.” The pole marked his second of the 2026 season and the sixth of his Cup Series career across just 67 starts.
| Pos | Driver | Team / Manufacturer | Qualifying Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing — Chevrolet | 134.788s (90.809 mph) |
| 2 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports — Chevrolet | +0.156s |
| 3 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske — Ford | +0.600s (approx.) |
| 4 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports — Ford | — |
| 5 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports — Ford | — |
| 8 | Connor Zilisch | Trackhouse Racing — Chevrolet (Rookie) | Fastest rookie qualifier |
Chevrolet locked out the front row courtesy of van Gisbergen and Hocevar, while Ryan Blaney’s third-place lap secured Ford’s best starting position of the weekend. Front Row Motorsports impressed with both Zane Smith and Todd Gilliland qualifying inside the top five — a strong early signal for the Ford camp heading into Sunday. Rookie Connor Zilisch, meanwhile, posted the fastest qualifying lap among first-year Cup Series drivers, starting eighth.
“I think it emphasizes the fact that not only can we race literally anywhere in the world, but that we have some of the best and most versatile drivers in all of motorsports as well.”
— Ben Kennedy, NASCAR EVP, Chief Venue & Racing Innovation OfficerGoing into Sunday’s race, betting markets reflected van Gisbergen’s road-course pedigree clearly. According to pre-race odds coverage, the Trackhouse Racing driver opened as a heavy favorite — backed by a career road and street course win rate that includes victory in the inaugural Chicago Street Race during his rookie Cup season. Every one of his seven career Cup wins has come on a road or street course.
How NASCAR’s San Diego Race Came Together
The road to San Diego began with an ending elsewhere. Rumors of a Southern California street race intensified after NASCAR confirmed, on July 18, 2025, that the Chicago Street Race would not return for the 2026 season. Chicago’s three-year run had been a genuine success commercially, but city officials and NASCAR could not align on dates — the race had run on Independence Day weekend each year, which created scheduling friction.
The venue itself carries its own racing history, even if NASCAR had never used it before. The site previously hosted the Global MX-5 Cup in 2012 and 2013, and Stadium Super Trucks in 2014, as part of the long-running Coronado Speed Festival held between 1997 and 2016. Therefore, while a Cup Series race on an active base is unprecedented, motorsport itself is not entirely new to this stretch of San Diego coastline.
San Diego vs Chicago: How the Street Races Compare
San Diego inherits the street-race mantle from Chicago, but the two events differ in almost every meaningful way beyond the general format. Chicago ran through closed public roads in a dense downtown core, framed by Lake Michigan and the city skyline. Coronado, by contrast, unfolds inside a working military installation — a setting NASCAR has never had access to before, and one that comes with an entirely different logistical and security framework.
“I think it emphasizes the fact that we can race literally anywhere in the world,” Ben Kennedy said, framing San Diego as a natural extension of NASCAR’s diversification strategy rather than a simple Chicago replacement. Moreover, San Diego marks the final race of Prime Video’s five-race Cup broadcast window for 2026, while the Xfinity (O’Reilly) race airs on The CW and the Truck Series race airs on FOX Sports — a distribution spread that reflects NASCAR’s increasingly fragmented but expansive broadcast strategy.
How to Watch the Anduril 250
Craftsman Truck Series
Friday, June 19 — opens NASCAR San Diego Weekend. Friday access at the base is reserved for active-duty Navy personnel and a limited number of Coronado residents, with the broader public welcomed from Saturday onward.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Saturday, June 20 — the Xfinity-tier series takes center stage alongside Cup Series qualifying, where Shane van Gisbergen claimed the historic first pole at Naval Base Coronado.
Cup Series — Anduril 250
Sunday, June 21 — green flag at 4:00 p.m. ET. The 75-lap feature race closes out NASCAR San Diego Weekend and marks the final stop of Prime Video’s five-race Cup broadcast window for the 2026 season.
Because the event is held on an active federal military base, access requires a government-issued ID for all U.S. citizen guests aged 18 and older, and a passport for foreign nationals. Furthermore, fans should plan for significant walking — the event footprint requires roughly 15 to 20 minutes (about one mile) on foot between the rideshare drop-off point and the venue entrance, and a similar distance between fan zones inside the venue.
For those following remotely, the NASCAR San Diego mobile app offers tickets, course maps, live race updates, and free in-car camera access during the event. Furthermore, fans on-site can take part in a passport-style challenge across Coronado and San Diego from June 15 through 22, unlocking offers and digital badges at participating local restaurants and attractions throughout race week.
Frequently Asked Questions — NASCAR San Diego Street Race
A New Kind of NASCAR Weekend
The Anduril 250 represents something NASCAR has never attempted before — a points-paying Cup Series race inside an active military installation, run past the aircraft carriers and runways that define daily life at Naval Air Station North Island. Whatever happens when the green flag drops Sunday afternoon, the sport has already cleared a logistical and symbolic hurdle that no previous street race came close to attempting.
Shane van Gisbergen heads into Sunday as the heavy favorite, backed by a road and street course resume few in the current Cup Series field can match. However, with 16 demanding turns, a brand-new surface, and the unpredictability that defines first-time circuits, the Anduril 250 carries the kind of genuine uncertainty that makes new venues must-watch events.
For continuing coverage of the race result, full finishing order, and what San Diego means for NASCAR’s future scheduling strategy, check back at worldofspeed.org/nascar as the story develops.
