Motorsports
The Nicole Scherzinger theory behind Lewis Hamilton's F1 performances
“When he first came into this sport, we used to joke amongst the team that Lewis’s performance was so intrinsically linked to the state of their relationship,” Priestley said on his Pitlane Life Lessons podcast.“As in, on a good day, he performed well. When their relationship was in the doldrums, and they were so off and […]


“When he first came into this sport, we used to joke amongst the team that Lewis’s performance was so intrinsically linked to the state of their relationship,” Priestley said on his Pitlane Life Lessons podcast.“As in, on a good day, he performed well. When their relationship was in the doldrums, and they were so off and on, it was a bit like an emotional roller coaster – when he was in these low points in the relationship, you could clearly track the performance in the car to the way their relationship status seemed to be.
Lewis Hamilton’s relationship with Nicole Scherzinger could be ‘clearly tracked’
“Lewis told me he’s been working constantly on trying to correct that self-story. He’s been working on trying to understand what he can do differently about what he tells himself.
“He said he came to an understanding and an appreciation that clearly that wasn’t good for him, and the more that he kept telling himself that story, that it was his fault, that he wasn’t good enough, that’s Lewis telling himself a story in his own mind that then backs up the beliefs that he isn’t good enough,” he said.
“We joked that there seemed to be more lap time in keeping those two together than there ever could be with anything we could do with the car!
“To get the driver, who’s a key part of that debrief, in a state where he’s just throwing petulance [with] answers that are unhelpful to you because he’s so down, that’s not in any way productive and doesn’t help us get closer to a solution.
“But he’d often go away on a Saturday night, he’d disappear, and I wouldn’t see him on a Saturday evening. He would sometimes even cancel commitments to sponsors and partners. He would disappear and shut himself in a room, and he probably pondered over it for quite some time, digging himself into an even bigger and deeper hole, is how he’s described it to me in years gone by.
“It’s not a strength necessarily or a weakness, it’s just part of who we are and our individualism. Lewis has some unbelievable strengths that many of us can only dream of being able to achieve.
“Lewis is a guy who’s quite emotional. He wears his heart on his sleeve so, without the ability to really control those emotions to the level that some other people might be able to do or might find easier to do, we were faced with an unbelievably talented racing driver whose performance was, in some way, affected by how his emotional state was, which varied greatly at different times over a race weekend or a season.”
“The more we tell ourselves those stories, the more that story embeds itself in our mind. What happens when that situation occurs is that, over time, we’ll have another disappointing day, and the first thing our mind goes to is this embedded self story that we’re not good enough, that the reason it hasn’t gone well on a Saturday in qualifying or in our own lives, and whatever might have not worked out the way we expected, we jump to this embedded self-story that we’ve been telling ourselves sometimes for years, in many people’s cases, that we’re simply not good enough, or that we’re not as good as the people around us.
“It may be that you’ve had a couple of bad days. It may be that you’re still performing at a very high level, but someone else has come along who’s performing at a higher level. That’s real, and that’s okay, by the way, we can’t control what others do around us, only what we control about what we do ourselves.
“He’d come out of the car on a Saturday after qualifying when it’s been disappointing, and he would go away that evening, and he’d be very quiet. He’d be very down. He wouldn’t offer very much in terms of the debrief.
“But there was a serious point to that, in that it was about understanding and appreciating that Lewis’s emotional state clearly affected his performance. This is not just linked to Lewis Hamilton; of course, we all face these challenges in life.
But, as has been evidenced on countless occasions over the years, Hamilton had, and has, an uncanny ability to brush off negativity.
“Actually, you could easily look at his comments in a post-session debrief after a really difficult Saturday, and he could come across as being petulant. It was often one-word answers. It was the same sort of thing you see in an interview sometimes that you see post-race in the modern era – he can sometimes give flippant or one-word answers that are not in any way really helpful to the process.
The tumultuous nature of the relationship, which was quite often in the public eye due to the celebrity status of both Hamilton and Scherzinger, led his McLaren mechanics to be able to hazard guesses at how well things were going off-track for Hamilton, with Marc Priestley revealing how the garage crew would joke about Scherzinger being the biggest contributor to laptime than any car upgrade.
“Now he finds that quite a difficult thing to do because of that disposition that he has around finding it hard to regulate his own emotions. His emotional state can be so overwhelmingly powerful for him that if something negative happens, it’s very difficult to remember this idea of trying to be confident, to be positive, to tell yourself a good self story.
One of Lewis Hamilton’s former McLaren mechanics has joked how the state of his relationship with Nicole Scherzinger could be tracked by his in-car performances.
“He mulled it over in his mind and continued to tell himself that same story – that he wasn’t doing a good enough job. He would beat himself up emotionally. He would completely reiterate the negative thought processes that he’d been having that afternoon right through into the night until he went to sleep.”
“It’s something that’s intentional that stops the flow of any other thoughts getting in. If you’re intentional about what the thought is, the one thought you’re going to think about and focus everything on it, there is no space for anything else to come in, and that’s the way you create a period of space in your mind. You calm things down. You create this blank space where, at the end of that meditation, where you’re feeling calm, you’re feeling relaxed, but importantly, your mind is free of all of the mess that was in it before.
Upon arriving in Formula 1 in 2007, Hamilton began a long-term relationship with Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, which proved to be quite on and off before the couple split for good in 2015.
“‘Well, now look, I’m verging on 40. I’m creeping into the latter stages of my career. Maybe that’s the reason that I’m now being beaten by this young gun’. Well, the reality is it may be that, but there’s a very high chance it’s not that.
👉 Lewis Hamilton net worth: Where does he rank amongst the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes?
“In Formula 1, it’s really easy to look at other great people in this sport, other teams that might be winning, or drivers that might be winning and measure ourselves against them. If you’re going up against a Max Verstappen, for example, who’s much younger than a Lewis Hamilton that’s now in his 40s, if you’re measuring yourself up against that guy, one of the stories you’re likely to start allowing to creep in is that age must be the factor, because ‘I used to be able to beat him. I used to be able to beat everybody’.
More on Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1
“He creates that freedom and space by eradicating everything and thinking about just one single thing, whether it’s your breath or a kind of mantra that you repeat to yourself, whatever it might be.
“But one thing he was quite good at was waking up the next day with a fresh perspective. He always said to me that this was a new day, a new set of opportunities,” Priestley said.
What methods does Lewis Hamilton use to help control his emotions?
“I’m talking about the thought processes, the constant conversations we all have with ourselves. The person we speak to most in this world, for all of us, is ourselves, and we do that all the time, don’t we? We ask ourselves questions, we tell ourselves things. We question our ability at times, sometimes it might be telling us positive things, and that’s what Lewis said he’d been trying to work on doing, constantly telling himself positive things over and above negative things, even when negative things had been happening.
“How often do we see a way better Sunday than we see him have on a Saturday? That was the same quite often, even way back when he first came into the sport working with us at McLaren.”
“To try and stop that, Lewis has found a way of creating an area of space in his mind, a period of time where he allows nothing to go on in his mind other than this very intentional thought through his meditation.
“So, trying to create a positive emotional state is going to help create a more positive outcome in your performance. So that’s Lewis Hamilton’s idea around meditation, around clearing the mind and resetting the mind. He was able to do that very, very successfully.”
“He may not have expectations that he might have had going into Saturday. His expectations might have had to be reset but, in doing so, he takes away some pressure. He relieves himself of that burden that was overwhelming him on a Saturday. And we go into Sunday with a Lewis that’s there, ready to take the opportunities, to push like crazy.
“The more he hears that story internally, the more substantiated it becomes, and the more ingrained in his own belief system that message becomes. It’s the same for all of us – if we continually tell ourselves that we have messed something up, that it was our fault, that maybe we start to question our own ability, our own performance levels, whatever it is, whether we’re getting old and we can’t do things the way we used to, which, I have no doubt, has crept into Lewis’s mind at times.
“Some of us find it slightly easier to manage and regulate emotions and others. Others of us don’t.
“He says when he wakes up early, he just does the meditation, he clears his mind, and then he goes straight out for a run. Off the back of that, he goes into an exercise regime, which is obviously part of his physical preparation, but because he’s got clear mind and a clear space in his head when he goes for a run, he’s able to think about what he wants to achieve that day, whether it’s in a car or in any other area of his life. This is a really powerful practice, which does take some skill and some practice.
“This was a case of coming in to try and do it better. If you ever see a TV interview on a Sunday morning after a Saturday afternoon where he struggled in qualifying, even today, that’s generally what you get. You get a new Lewis Hamilton where he’s no longer down. He’s no longer struggling with emotions. He’s now got this fresh perspective where he sees nothing but opportunity in front of him.
“But, emotion regulation is probably not one of the things that he finds easiest to do.
“Now, you get to start from a fresh like a blank sheet of paper where you can insert whatever you want to happen next.
Hamilton’s emotional control may not have been exemplary at this point in time, with Priestley revealing how frank conversations he’s had with Hamilton over the years since has seen the now-seven-time F1 World Champion explain how he dealt with tough days at the track.
“As engineers, our only goal was to try and improve things so that it could be better the next day or the next time out.
Read Next: Follow PlanetF1.com’s WhatsApp and Facebook channels for all the F1 breaking news!
👉 Lewis Hamilton car collection: Take a closer look at his incredible private garage
“Lewis Hamilton, when he was struggling, when he’s having those tough days, as I said, he might have had a difficult Saturday,” Priestley said.
“Go back to that interview in 2024 where he came out of the car on a Saturday, and he quoted to say, ‘I’m just not fast anymore’.
A primary method Hamilton uses, Priestley explained, is in meditation. An interview the former McLaren mechanic-turned-broadcaster and presenter carried out with Hamilton in 2023 led to a conversation in which Priestley revealed how Hamilton employs the practice to help address his mental state.
Motorsports
NASCAR announces San Diego street race for 2026
With Chicago on hold, NASCAR announced Wednesday that it is headed to San Diego next summer to host a new street race weekend on an active naval base. The three-day event, dubbed the NASCAR San Diego Weekend, will take place in June 2026, filling the void on the schedule left by the Chicago Street Race, […]

With Chicago on hold, NASCAR announced Wednesday that it is headed to San Diego next summer to host a new street race weekend on an active naval base.
The three-day event, dubbed the NASCAR San Diego Weekend, will take place in June 2026, filling the void on the schedule left by the Chicago Street Race, which last week was paused after three years.
The San Diego street race will feature a very different and likely less disruptive setting, trading Grant Park for Naval Base Coronado, Lake Michigan for San Diego Bay and bus routes for runways.
“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, NASCAR’s executive vice president, said in a news release. “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 toward the entrance to the base.”
The NASCAR San Diego Weekend, set for June 19 to June 21, will include Xfinity and Cup Series events, adding a Craftsman Truck Series race to the opening day lineup. The street race weekend coincides with the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy.
The agreement to hold the San Diego street race is a one-year deal, NASCAR confirmed Wednesday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This is a huge win for San Diego and we are so grateful to NASCAR for their partnership,” Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego, said in the release. “Without a doubt, the NASCAR San Diego Weekend will have a significant and favorable impact on San Diego’s tourism and hospitality industry.”
Last year, the Chicago Street Race generated $128 million in total economic impact and drew 53,036 unique visitors, according to a study commissioned by Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism arm. The nationally televised Cup Series race also generated $43.6 million in media value for Chicago, according to a companion report.
While attendance figures for the third annual Fourth of July weekend run through Grant Park have yet to be released, TV ratings for the Cup Series race on July 6 were down for the third consecutive year, averaging 2.1 million viewers on cable channel TNT, according to Nielsen. The Xfinity race on July 5 averaged 1.1 million viewers on its new TV home, the CW broadcast network, according to Nielsen.
NASCAR sent a notice last week to Mayor Brandon Johnson putting the Chicago Street Race on hold for 2026, but leaving open the door to return on a different date the following year.
NASCAR said it paused the Chicago Street Race because it needs more time to explore rescheduling the event away from Independence Day and finding ways to speed up the build-out and breakdown of the pop-up racecourse, in response to concerns from the city.
The three-year deal with NASCAR to host the street race was struck during former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration and included a two-year renewal option.
NASCAR said in the release that it will build on its experiences with the first street race in Chicago and apply it to San Diego, including “how to load into and out of a city efficiently.”
While the details of the temporary San Diego racecourse have yet to be finalized, it will certainly look different than the 12-turn, 2.2-mile circuit through Grant Park, down DuSable Lake Shore Drive and up Michigan Avenue, which has popped up in Chicago over the last three summers.
“We’re not going to be on city grounds,” Kennedy said. “We’re going to be working with different partners in this area and I think in ways, it will be a little bit more simple, and then in other areas we’ll just have to be mindful of schedules and how they coordinate people on and off the base.”
Chicago hosted the first street race in NASCAR’s 75-year history. San Diego will be the second street race, and the first held on an active military base.
The San Diego street race will also mark NASCAR’s first return to Southern California since February 2024, when it last held the Clash at the LA Coliseum. Before that, NASCAR raced at Fontana Speedway, a traditional oval track east of Los Angeles, for 26 years.
Whether NASCAR returns to Chicago remains to be seen. But NASCAR is maintaining its Chicago office and reiterated Wednesday it hopes to be racing again on the streets of Chicago down the road.
“We hope to still return in 2027,” a NASCAR spokesperson said.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
Originally Published:
Motorsports
NASCAR street race moving to San Diego: The Rundown
Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, and it’s dangerously hot out. Here’s how you can stay safe. And here’s what else you need to know today. 1. NASCAR is taking its street race to San Diego in 2026 After previously announcing it was pausing the Chicago Street Race, NASCAR said today it was holding a race at […]

Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, and it’s dangerously hot out. Here’s how you can stay safe. And here’s what else you need to know today.
1. NASCAR is taking its street race to San Diego in 2026
After previously announcing it was pausing the Chicago Street Race, NASCAR said today it was holding a race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego next year, Kyle Williams reports for the Chicago Sun-Times.
The race will occur Father’s Day weekend.
The Chicago Street Race faced obstacles from the city and the weather during its three-year run. But racers loved the course because of the change of pace from their usual oval tracks.
Naval Base Coronado will become the first active military base to host NASCAR. Drivers will race past aircraft carriers and F-18s, but the official course layout has yet to be finalized.
The Chicago Street Race — along with NASCAR holding an exhibition race inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — imbued NASCAR with the confidence to continue experimenting with where they hold races. [Chicago Sun-Times]
2. CPS board members asked Gov. Pritzker and lawmakers to call a special session on school funding
As they stare down a $734 million budget deficit, some Chicago Board of Education members are calling on the governor to hold a special legislative session this summer to drum up money for schools, my colleague Sarah Karp reports for WBEZ.
They say this is an urgent need not just for Chicago but also for school districts across the state that also are grappling with budget troubles. These come as federal COVID-19 relief money runs out and the Trump administration puts other federal funding in jeopardy.
Two board members in particular — Aaron “Jitu” Brown, an elected member who represents the West Side, and Debby Pope, an appointed member from the North Side — are echoing the demands of the Chicago Teachers Union.
The CTU held a news conference this month where officials and members said Illinois leaders must “Trump-proof” the state with additional funding for schools. [WBEZ]
3. Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an order to snuff out smoking on CTA trains
Mayor Brandon Johnson said he has “had enough” of cigarette smokers lighting up on L trains. He called the act “unthinkable” and signed an executive order aimed at cracking down on CTA smokers, WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel reports.
Johnson said the effort will include placing social workers at CTA stops, starting an anti-smoking campaign on the “detrimental effects of smoking” and tasking city agencies with finding other short-term and long-term interventions “to end smoking on our transit system.”
The order came as a surprise to Ald. Bill Conway (34th), who introduced a resolution last month calling for “data-driven” enforcement of the city’s ban on CTA smoking. He said the mayor did not reach out to him for input or to inform him of the new plan.
Conway criticized the mayor’s approach, saying he doesn’t “really quite know how community meetings or social workers help with the cause.” [WBEZ]
4. ComEd bills will likely remain high as AI and data centers suck up power
PJM Interconnection, the multistate electric grid operator that serves Northern Illinois, confirmed yesterday that power demand continues to be high and the price of electricity is likely going up next year, Brett Chase reports for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Power consumption nationwide has skyrocketed as big data centers and artificial intelligence operations have proliferated. ComEd’s rate hikes this summer are directly related to high demand across the country.
Meanwhile, new sources of renewable energy, including wind and solar power, have been slow to connect to an electric grid that spans from Northern Illinois to the East Coast. Renewable sources were supposed to take the place of coal plants, which have been shutting down. [Chicago Sun-Times]
5. Kim Deal on making music with Steve Albini and warming up crowds for Olivia Rodrigo
There’s no way to start a conversation about Chicago with Kim Deal without the name Steve Albini.
The late, great producer and audio engineer behind Chicago’s Electrical Audio recording studio was basically on Deal’s speed dial for almost 40 years, as she came up the ranks in iconic acts like Pixies and The Breeders. From his legendary Studio A, he zeroed in on the raw power and vociferous noise characteristic of Deal’s many seminal projects — albums like Pixies’ “Surfer Rosa,” The Breeders’ “Pod” and her 2024 solo debut “Nobody Loves You More.”
Among those who appreciate Deal’s catalog is pop star Olivia Rodrigo: Last year, Rodrigo recruited The Breeders to open on her Guts World Tour. Every night, Rodrigo told audiences how much The Breeders meant to her, particularly their uberhit “Cannonball.”
Now, Deal returns to Chicago for a solo set at Thalia Hall tonight, Selena Fragassi reports for the Chicago Sun-Times. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Here’s what else is happening
- The White House revealed its “AI Action Plan,” which was heavily shaped by President Donald Trump’s Silicon Valley supporters. [AP]
- Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison for murdering four University of Idaho students nearly three years ago. [AP]
- The feds want 15 months for former City Club President Jay Doherty in the ComEd Madigan plot. [Chicago Sun-Times]
- A who’s who of female Chicago chefs will guest star at Ravinia’s musical supper club. [WBEZ]
Oh, and one more thing …
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League, currently in its inaugural season, is far from the first women’s pro softball league to captivate audiences, my WBEZ colleague Erin Allen reports for Curious City.
Before the current women’s sports boom, before Title IX, women stepped up to the plate in the 1940s and ‘50s. You may be thinking of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, celebrated in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own.”
But there was a lesser-known professional league based in the Chicago area called the National Girls Baseball League. The name was misleading in that the teams were all local, not national; the players were mostly women, not girls; and they played softball, not baseball.
It was a pro league that gave the All-American league a run for its money. The two didn’t regularly play against each other, but they did have a heated rivalry. And the NGBL left behind its own storied legacy. [WBEZ]
Tell me something good …
What hobbies are you into these days?
Dan writes:
“A year ago, I signed up for my first senior citizen class. I thought that they were just for old people, but since I’m only 70, I did it anyway.
The class was stained glass, and due to the fact that we have a great class and teacher, I’ve stuck with it. The Vatican will never call to give me a commission, but I’ve completed a number of projects including college and NFL emblems (not for sale).
Our instructor had a commission to do a stained glass Italian Beef and I was allowed to give her a small amount of assistance with that.
So I guess I’d call it a new hobby.”
Feel free to email me, and your responses may be used in the newsletter this week.
Motorsports
Packers’ soaring profits showcase NFL’s revenue growth
A number of smart, experienced executives responded to a question: What are the headwinds and potential pitfalls that could slow the growth of the sports business? A few pushed back on the concept, believing the mindset must remain bullish. Here are the most common themes from respondents, who are given anonymity (each paragraph represents an […]

A number of smart, experienced executives responded to a question: What are the headwinds and potential pitfalls that could slow the growth of the sports business? A few pushed back on the concept, believing the mindset must remain bullish. Here are the most common themes from respondents, who are given anonymity (each paragraph represents an individual’s response):
Fans Of The Future: “Data indicates that sports is already behind music, actors and influencers with Gen Z, and the trend lines are scary. When you’re already competing against the most addictive content in human history — social media — for young people’s attention and it starts to cost thousands of dollars per year to be a fan, sports just might not capture the masses in favor of other options.”
“Short-form content and highlights are preferred over full-length games. There are numerous studies pointing to younger fans attending fewer games and being less likely to watch full games. Other studies indicate that social media, athlete-led content and personal storylines matter as much, if not more, than the games. This shift is pushing leagues to ‘entertainify’ sports with music acts, influencer integrations, celebrities and alternate streams or kid-focused broadcasts, all to stay relevant.”
“Gen Z and Gen A only want real-time highlights sent to their devices, and they are not as interested in attending sporting events. Also, their interests are more global.”
“Gen Alpha and Gen Z have different sentiment toward live entertainment and event attendance than older generations and prioritize other expenditures. That’s a big worry.”
So Much = Too Much? “More teams in March Madness, more teams in the FIFA World Cup, more teams in CFP, more leagues and teams in general. Everyone is vying for attention. The tinkering — mixed doubles at the U.S. Open — and gimmicks like the NBA All-Star, live interviews while a baseball game is going on, can be interesting, but also can ruin the fan experience or imply that the core product, the game itself, isn’t enough.”
“Too many games, leagues, teams and sports. Fans are overstimulated by options and have a hard time with content discovery. A lot of emerging leagues are going to struggle for eyeballs.”
“The need for colleges to generate additional revenue will result in playing more games, eventually playing football on every day but Sunday.”
“Too much ego; valuations don’t make sense and that puts too much pressure on more revenue and return. Where is that coming from? That will diminish the product and value for fans.”
Fragmentation: “It’s simple. Media dollars will slow, causing major revenue shortfalls.”
“Viewers must have access to numerous services across platforms. It’s not just unaffordable for many. It’s also confusing, juggling multiple apps and logins.”
“Dissemination of sports content has been a real evil. We have to wake up that discoverability is a major threat.”
Where’s The Middle Class Fan? “The never-ending hunt for ‘premium’ experiences is limiting who can actually enjoy sports, which in turn, slowly but surely, minimizes the diversity of the fan base, which in turn erodes the attractiveness of that audience to advertisers.”
Another cited pricing out fans: “We run the risk of making attendance prohibitive for many sectors of our population. We also don’t make it easy for fans.”
Other Concerns: “The biggest fear is a terrorist attack/shooting at a sporting event. We have been lucky to have not seen something like this, as we all know there are gaps in security.”
“Will teams be able to crack the code on monetizing fans in new ways? This will require developing structured data sets for fan data. Even if certain teams establish structured data sets, do individual teams have enough scale with their fan bases to meaningfully drive new revenue? Or will it need to be more of a collective effort across organizations? Can sports organizations truly make their fan bases global?”
“The joy and love of the game is being sucked out of youth sports. These new facilities are amazing, and it’s awesome there’s so much more coaching and everything looks and feels so professional. But to what end? The number of ‘jobs’ available as athletes isn’t getting materially bigger. It feels like more and more of a grift for kids and their families.”
“Many of our CPG clients are bracing for tariffs and a bad economy. Corporate finance is questioning whether sports marketing platforms are driving sales proportionate to the expense of sponsorship and activation. Also, sports properties have to stop continuing to split categories. Brands are at a breaking point.”
“Tougher immigration policies and enforcement in the U.S. could create barriers for both athletes and fans. This could undercut the communal, multicultural spirit that underpins the culture within sports communities.”
“Post-COVID boom for live events is over, so economic instability could really hurt demand.”
What do you think are the headwinds facing our business? Please let me know.
Please Be Thinking About: Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue continues to recuperate at his home in Washington, D.C., after a cardiovascular scare late last month. I know you’ll join me in wishing the Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the truly great people all the best.
Abraham Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
Motorsports
NASCAR will hold first street race on active military base at Naval Base Coronado in 2026
NASCAR will hold a street race on Naval Base Coronado in Southern California next June as a replacement for its downtown Chicago event that ran the last three years. The move to the San Diego area does not eliminate a return to Chicago, where NASCAR will still maintain an office and effort an eventual return, […]

NASCAR will hold a street race on Naval Base Coronado in Southern California next June as a replacement for its downtown Chicago event that ran the last three years.
The move to the San Diego area does not eliminate a return to Chicago, where NASCAR will still maintain an office and effort an eventual return, perhaps as early as 2027.
But the shift next year will allow NASCAR to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy by hosting all three of its national series over a three-day weekend on June 19-21.
“As part of our nation’s 250th anniversary, we are honored for NASCAR to join the celebration as we host our first street race at a military base, Naval Base Coronado,” Ben Kennedy, executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovations officer, said Wednesday. “NASCAR San Diego Weekend will honor the Navy’s history and the men and women who serve as we take the best motorsports in the world to the streets of Naval Base Coronado.”
It will be NASCAR’s second street race in the sport’s history, following the three-year run in Chicago, and first on an active military base. The course layout is not complete but is expected to be around 3 miles.
NASCAR has seen Auto Club Speedway close after the 2023 race. It built a temporary short track inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 2002 through 2024 but moved that event to North Carolina.
Kennedy, who has been bullish on new endeavors for his family business, was the brains of the races at the Coliseum, Chicago, this year’s visit to Mexico City and now next year in San Diego, a venture the Navy is excited about.
“NASCAR embodies the very best of the American spirit through speed, precision and an unyielding pursuit of excellence,” Navy Secretary John C. Phelan said. “Hosting a race aboard Naval Air Station North Island, the birthplace of naval aviation, it’s not just a historic first, it’s a powerful tribute to the values we share: grit, teamwork and love of country.
“From the flight deck to the finish line, this collaboration reflects the operational intensity and unity of purpose that define both the United States Navy and NASCAR.”
The base is known as the “West Coast Quarterdeck” and is a consortium of nine Navy installations that stretch from San Clemente Island 50 miles off the coast of Long Beach to the Mountain Warfare Training Facility 50 miles east of San Diego.
NASCAR named Amy Lupo, who has been with the series since 2021 and helped launch the Coliseum, as president of the race. She spent more than 20 years at ESPN expanding the X Games when she lived in San Diego early in her career. She still lives in Southern California.
Motorsports
Diez: NASCAR adds San Diego to ’26 schedule
The big breaking news story, announced Wednesday, is the NASCAR race in San Diego next year. It will replace the Chicago street race and is scheduled for Fathers’ Day weekend. Naval Air Station North Island, part of the Coronado Naval Base, will provide the venue. The course layout is still being designed. All three top […]

The big breaking news story, announced Wednesday, is the NASCAR race in San Diego next year. It will replace the Chicago street race and is scheduled for Fathers’ Day weekend. Naval Air Station North Island, part of the Coronado Naval Base, will provide the venue. The course layout is still being designed. All three top NASCAR series will participate.
•••
Last weekend, NASCAR was at Dover’s Monster Mile. Denny Hamlin took his fourth win of the season with a last-lap hip check on teammate Chase Briscoe in double-overtime after a rain delay. It was his second Dover win in a row and 58th career victory, putting him 11th on the all-time NASCAR winners’ list. Could this finally be Denny’s championship year? He has the momentum. Chase Elliott has overtaken William Byron for the regular-season points lead, 702 to 686. Kyle Larson is third, Hamlin fourth, and Tyler Reddick, the first winless driver in Playoff contention, is fifth. With 12 drivers posting wins and five regular-season races to go, there are four spots still open in the playoff field.
•••
This weekend, it’s the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After racing on the Indy infield road course from 2021 to 2023, NASCAR returned to the big oval last year with Kyle Larson the winner. He is one of only three active drivers to do so. Brad Keselowski won in 2020 and Kyle Busch in 2015 and 2016. Saturday’s schedule includes Xfinity qualifying on the CW at 10 a.m., Cup qualifying on Tru at 11:35, and the Pennzoil 250 at 1:30 p.m. on the CW. Sunday’s Brickyard 400 airs on TNT and Max at 11 a.m.
•••
Pato O’Ward took his second NTT IndyCar win of the season last Sunday on the streets of Toronto. He benefited from a strategy error by Chip Ganassi Racing and the continuing terrible season for Team Penske. The Ganassi two-stop plan fell apart early on, and Dixon and Palou only managed 10th– and 12th-place finishes. Team Penske’s McLaughlin made an early pit stop but a wheel nut wasn’t fastened, and he crashed on lap 2. Josef Newgarden was taken out when Jacob Abel crashed and landed on top of him, and Will Power finished 11th. Laguna Seca is on the schedule for this weekend, with only three more races remaining. In the five races since Indy cars returned to Laguna Seca in 2019 after a 15-year absence, Colton Herta has won two, Alex Palou two, and Scott Dixon one. Saturday’s schedule calls for practice at 8:30 a.m. and qualifying at 11:30, both on FS1. Sunday’s warmup airs at 9 a.m. on FS2 with the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at noon on FOX.
•••
Formula 1 is also back in action this weekend on one of the longest tracks on the schedule, Spa Francorchamps. Lewis Hamilton leads active drivers with five victories there, Max Verstappen has three, and Charles Leclerc one. Over the past 75 years, Ferrari has scored 18 wins, McLaren 14, Mercedes eight, Red Bull 6, and Williams four. These are the only active teams that have won at Spa. If you have your DVR set to record Formula 1, you can watch the Sprint race that was on ESPN at 3 a.m. Qualifying airs on ESPN2 at 7 a.m. Saturday, with the Belgian Grand Prix at 6 a.m. Sunday on ESPN.
•••
Finally, we bid goodbye to Rex White, NASCAR’s 1960 champion and 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. White scored 28 wins during his career, 27 of them on short tracks. He was 95, and until his death last Friday the oldest living NASCAR champion.
Motorsports
NASCAR to hold street course race in San Diego at Naval Base Coronado in 2026
Getty Images NASCAR announced Wednesday that the sport will race in San Diego, Calif. in 2026 with a new street course race weekend at Naval Base Coronado. NASCAR’s San Diego Weekend, set for June 19-21 of next year, will be the first NASCAR event on an active military base and feature the NASCAR Cup Series, […]


NASCAR announced Wednesday that the sport will race in San Diego, Calif. in 2026 with a new street course race weekend at Naval Base Coronado. NASCAR’s San Diego Weekend, set for June 19-21 of next year, will be the first NASCAR event on an active military base and feature the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series.
The course, which will be approximately three miles in length, will be constructed entirely on Naval Base Coronado with skyline sights of the Pacific Ocean as well as downtown San Diego. San Diego and Naval Base Coronado will serve as the new site of NASCAR’s annual street course race date, which had been held in Chicago’s Grant Park over the past three years. Last week, it had been announced that the Chicago Street Race would not return to NASCAR’s schedule for 2026 as the city explores a new, more optimal date outside of July 4 weekend in looking towards a potential return in 2027.
The exact configuration of the Naval Base Coronado course, as well as other details of the San Diego Weekend — which will also honor the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Navy — will be announced at a later date.
“As part of our nation’s 250th anniversary, we are honored for NASCAR to join the celebration as we host our first street race at a military base, Naval Base Coronado,” said NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy in a statement. “NASCAR San Diego Weekend will honor the Navy’s history and the men and women who serve as we take the best motorsports in the world to the streets of Naval Base Coronado.”
San Diego is the first confirmed new addition to NASCAR’s 2026 schedule, and it returns the sport to the Southern California market after having been away for a year due to a lack of a viable permanent racing facility. Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, which served as NASCAR’s Southern California home for a quarter century, had its original two mile configuration demolished following 2023 and has yet to be redeveloped. NASCAR then held its season-opening Clash exhibition race at a temporary quarter-mile oval within the Los Angeles Coliseum, but that event was moved to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. starting in 2025.
The San Diego race marks the second confirmed major change to NASCAR’s 2026 schedule, which will also see the sport’s Championship Race moved to Homestead-Miami Speedway in the first year of a rotation between racetracks. Homestead will host the season finale for the first time since 2019, after which point the finale was moved to Phoenix Raceway.
-
College Sports2 weeks ago
Why a rising mid-major power with an NCAA Tournament team opted out of revenue-sharing — and advertised it
-
Motorsports3 weeks ago
Team Penske names new leadership
-
Sports2 weeks ago
New 'Bosch' spin
-
Fashion1 week ago
EA Sports College Football 26 review – They got us in the first half, not gonna lie
-
Sports1 week ago
Volleyball Releases 2025 Schedule – Niagara University Athletics
-
College Sports3 weeks ago
MSU Hockey News – The Only Colors
-
Sports2 weeks ago
E.l.f Cosmetics Builds Sports Marketing Game Plan Toward Bigger Goals
-
Health1 week ago
CAREGD Trademark Hits the Streets for Mental Health Month
-
College Sports2 weeks ago
Buford DB Tyriq Green Commits to Georgia
-
Youtube2 weeks ago
Will LeBron James request a trade? 🤔 Windy says MULTIPLE TEAMS would make offers 👀 | NBA Today