NASCAR to race in San Diego in 2026

SAN DIEGO — NASCAR announced Wednesday they are taking their street race to San Diego with all three national series in 2026.

The NASCAR Cup Series will take to Naval Base Coronado, June 21. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will open the weekend with races June 20 and 21 respectively.

NASCAR race in San Diego on the third weekend of June in 2026, a weekend that saw NASCAR go to Mexico City in 2025. In 2026, that weekend will see the city in the thick of hosting FIFA World Cup matches. NASCAR is working with officials to come up with a date that won’t conflict.

San Diego will stand alone in 2026. The Chicago Street Race won’t return in 2026 but may return in the future.

While NASCAR has visited the Chicago and Mexico City metropolitan areas before their recent returns, they’ve never been to San Diego metro area before. In fact, it has been nearly 20 years since NASCAR entered a major metro area for the first time ever.

In 2007, NASCAR entered the Montreal metro area with the NASCAR Xfinity Series racing at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Six years before, in 2001, NASCAR entered the Kansas City metro area with Cup and Xfinity Series races christening Kansas Speedway.

Except for 2019, the NASCAR Cup Series has added a track to the schedule every year since 2018:

• 2018
  • Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval
• 2020
  • Daytona International Speedway road course
• 2021
  • Bristol dirt
  • Circuit of the Americas
  • Road America
  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course
  • Nashville Superspeedway
• 2022
  • World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• 2023
  • Chicago Street Race
  • North Wilkesboro Speedway NASCAR All-Star Race
• 2024
• 2025
  • Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium
  • Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City
• 2026

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com