From oceanside events atop famous aircraft carriers to drivers taking in the world-renowned San Diego Zoo, NASCAR’s debut in Southern California is the talk of the town.
The community has gone all-out to welcome race teams to San Diego for the weekend’s inaugural three-race event around the 3.4-mile street course on Naval Base Coronado – capped with the NASCAR Cup Series’ Anduril 250 on Sunday (4 p.m. ET on Prime Video, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The locals are eager to host the sport and drivers and teams have embraced the new opportunity. Now to race.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin shows up in California on an unprecedented career hot streak winning his third race in a row – from pole position – last week at Pocono (Pa) Raceway to cut 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick’s one-time hundred-point plus championship lead to only 19-points.
The 16-turn never-raced San Diego street course, however, may prove to be a true equalizer for the field.
Hamlin’s win at the traditional Watkins Glen, N.Y. road course 10 years ago is his only NASCAR Cup Series win on a road course. Reddick has four road course wins and his 9.88 average finish is third best among the field. He, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell lead active drivers with 11 top-five road course finishes.
Only Trackhouse Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen (418) has led more road course laps than Reddick (267) in the Next Gen Era. And Reddick’s 7.13 is the second best average finish to Van Gisbergen’s incredible mark (1.75). Reddick’s streak of six top-10 finishes is second only to Van Gisbergen’s 10.
As good as they’ve been all season, however, both Hamlin and Reddick – as well as the entire starting field – realize the weekend storyline will likely come down to who can beat Van Gisbergen. He and Elliott are tied for most road course wins among active drivers with seven each. Elliott’s 489 laps led (seventh most) and Van Gisbergen’s 418 laps led (10th most) already place them among the top-10 in history in that category.
The New Zealander and former Australian Supercar Series champion Van Gisbergen has been absolutely dominant on street and road courses and is particularly good at first-time stops on the circuit – claiming trophies at both the inaugural Chicago Street Course and at Mexico City’s famed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
The driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet is currently turning in his most productive NASCAR Cup Series season on the ovals too and has positioned himself inside the top-16 in the standings. A victory could be significant for him as he’s ranked 14th – only 10 points above the cutoff line of drivers that will eventually advance to The Chase to settle the title.
There’s a lot on the line for Van Gisbergen – and the field – and this week’s San Diego event brings a particularly high-profile chance to hoist a trophy. And Van Gisbergen’s statistics in this brand of competition are astounding. He’s won half the road course races he’s entered in the series – seven of 14 – and his average finish of 6.71 on road courses is second best all time among drivers with at least four starts, behind only NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts (2.78).
This weekend, Van Gisbergen can become the first driver to claim his first eight NASCAR Cup Series wins all on road courses. He’s run inside the top-10 for 95 percent of the laps run on road courses since 2025 and he owns four of the five largest margins of victory in the series’ Next Gen car era.
“I only saw a little bit of the layout, but it was really cool,” Van Gisbergen said of a recent visit to the Naval Base Coronado track. “It’s going to be a really rough and technical course, a lot of unknowns. Thursday will be an important day, when we get on-site and can have a look around the track, get a feel for everything.”
“The surface changes stood out to me the most. Some of it’s really nice, there is new tarmac there in Turn 2, and a couple of other places. Then, it’s really rough like Sebring (International Raceway), kind of with the big cracks and old asphalt. It’s going to be a real challenge to have a car that works all kind of surfaces and transitions to them.”
It’s odd but that makes it a really good challenge,” he continued. “Getting in a rhythm will be really tough but will be important.”
Of note, San Diego native, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will steer his Legacy Motor Club team’s No. 84 Toyota in his “hometown” race. Trackhouse Racing will field the No. 91 Chevrolet for former Formula One star Kevin Magnussen in its Project 91 entry and former NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Corey Heim will drive the No. 67 Toyota for 23XI Racing.
NASCAR Cup Series opening practice is Friday at 5 p.m. ET (Prime Video, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Busch Light Pole Qualifying is set for Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET (Prime Video, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
— NASCAR News Wire —