NASCAR is set to make history in the coming days as drivers prepare to race on what Chase Briscoe described as the “most technical racetrack” he had ever driven on. And of course, while this is an extremely special run for the entire grid, Ryan Blaney has a completely different concern.

“The race track is extremely rough,” Blaney said in an interview with Kay Adams. “When you have these courses that are not made normally to have race cars, they’re really, really rough.” When NASCAR drivers usually go racing, it’s not on a normal public road, but on a dedicated track made specifically for racing. Even when racing at other road courses, like the Watkins Glen International or the Circuit of the Americas, everything, from the smallest of bumps to the tiniest of irregularities on the surface, is taken care of to make the surface as even as possible. Considering the cars run on slick tires, even the smallest uneven bit of the surface could destabilize the cars.

However, a road course such as the Naval Base Coronado is not purpose-built for racing. It’s built for the general public to drive on, and over the course of several years, they do tend to develop some bumps. While this might be invisible to the naked eye, they tend to cause trouble for NASCAR drivers.

“Thousands of cars going through that road every single day, right, is going to make the surface rough. Unlike other tracks that we go to, they’re made, and they’re paved smooth, and they get rougher over time, but these streets are super rough. They don’t go in and repave for us to make it smooth; we just race on the elements, and I think that’s what adds a unique character to a place like this,” Blaney added.

At the same time, there is almost no margin for errors on the entire track. The track will have close walls, not giving the drivers much to play around with, and as Blaney also mentioned, the cars could reach a top speed of 170 mph. Hitting even a small bump at that speed near walls risks a crash.

Moreover, with not enough spotter locations, it could be a very challenging day for the teams. The 3.4-mile circuit has 16 turns, and some of them are extremely challenging, considering the chicanes that could get the drivers in a difficult position, especially when battling for positions.

These issues usually arise with new tracks, as the drivers have little to no experience of racing on them. Simulator prep may not fully prepare drivers for live racing.

Ryan Blaney’s fellow Cup driver reviews the San Diego circuit.

Although they now have an increasing number of road courses on the calendar, most of the NASCAR drivers spend years racing on ovals, which are relatively easy to learn. But when they’re faced with a massive new challenge, especially with a circuit like the Naval Base Coronado one, it can get tricky – or at least that was the situation that William Byron found himself in.

“It took me a good 45 minutes to an hour to learn the track and figure out which turn was coming up next,” Byron said, as per Autoweek, after spending some time on the simulator, practicing the track. “It’s tough. It’s visually difficult because you’re just trying to figure out what corner is coming up next. It is way more complicated… than Chicago was the first time.”

When the drivers took on the Chicago Street Course, it was easier to get used to, since it mostly featured straights with a few turns. However, the Naval Base Coronado, as mentioned, has 16 turns within a span of just 3.4 miles. It can be extremely challenging for the drivers to learn the track completely in a short span of time, but it is something that they need to do right now.

With the use of simulators, it still becomes a lot easier. But the main issue starts with the weekend, when the drivers will also have to dodge others on the track during the race. Doing that on a bumpy circuit, as Ryan Blaney said, could be rather risky. However, there is still much excitement surrounding the race.

It is a special event that NASCAR is hosting ahead of America’s 250th Independence Day this 4th of July. A part of the circuit actually goes through the Naval Base, and so, it is an unprecedented event in the sport’s history. The drivers will just have to be extremely disciplined during the race, but it would be interesting to see the challenge it poses.