The 2020s have been an experimental time inside NASCAR. From introducing the wildly different Next-Gen car to adding multiple road course races to the NASCAR schedule, the sport has explored different avenues. This tendency has hardly stopped, as another road course is currently in the works. With potential extensions of the Chicago Street Race and the Mexico City race unconfirmed, San Diego is peeking around the corner. However, there are a few caveats.

Southern California last hosted a Cup Series race in 2023. Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway was a fixture on the NASCAR schedule from 1997 to 2023, before the track’s custodians allotted much of the plot to industrial use. A revival of that former Californian glory seems exciting – but a military veteran recently revealed some fissures in the impending project.

Thorns for NASCAR schedule’s new project

Well, there have been red flags before as well. NASCAR went to the Los Angeles Coliseum in 2022, but wrapped up its operations after the 2024 race. A potential replacement at Dodger Stadium has not come together. The Chicago Street Race concluded its 2025 event this month, with Shane van Gisbergen clinching his third win there. However, the sport may not renew its three-year contract, which ends at the end of this season, due to the city’s administrative problems. This trend of experimenting with a new venue on the NASCAR schedule and then giving up on it may not stop anytime soon. On top of that, the prospect of San Diego looks vague due to the location’s features.

While the Chicago Street Course was run downtown in Grant Park, the San Diego race could go across a bridge from the city’s own downtown. It would then reach the tiny island of Coronado, which is a naval base. Jerrod Sessler, U.S. Army veteran and former NASCAR driver, said, “The bridge is long, huge, and tolled. It is a 4 lane bridge and dumps you onto the 5 near downtown San Diego.” He traced some more of the proposed racetrack, including “the strand” which is the arm of the peninsula connecting North Island to the mainland down south. What is concerning is that the strand is “loaded with explosives” that could be blown to allow ships to exit amidst an emergency.

Sessler then highlighted a problem that even the Chicago Street Race had faced. Like the Grant Park 165 race blocked traffic and citizens had to take inconveniently rerouted roads, the San Diego race may pose a similar issue. Hence, the NASCAR schedule is up for another logistical nightmare, as Sessler wrote, “The truth is no one will drive the strand because it is miles around. The bigger issue will be traffic on the island. The streets are all neighborhood streets and although there is plenty of space on the base, it is going to take hours to get there and back because of the surface streets in town.”

Sessler suggested booking a room at a hotel in Seaport Village. But despite being located downtown and being a fun spot, NASCAR fans would face issues there as well. He wrote, “They will MOST LIKELY be running ferries from there across to North Island where you can walk to the race. My guess is this is going to be heavily promoted because they know traffic will be a total mess.”

Clearly, San Diego may not be a smooth option for the NASCAR schedule. One Cup Series driver is very excited about its addition, nonetheless.

Eager for another bout of street magic

The Kiwi speedster’s brilliance was visible from the moment he stepped inside NASCAR. Shane van Gisbergen won the 2023 Chicago Street Race on his Cup Series debut. Since then, he has followed up with 8 more NASCAR race trophies, both in the Xfinity and the Cup Series. This year, SVG had a fascinating rival on his heels in the Windy City. Michael McDowell started from the pole and dominated for the first 31 laps. It initially looked like nobody, not even SVG, could challenge the Spire Motorsports driver’s incredible pace. However, McDowell had to bow out after a throttle cable broke in his No. 71 Chevrolet. He missed the next 20 laps due to repairs.

Nevertheless, Michael McDowell thoroughly enjoyed Chicago: “It’s a great atmosphere, really cool racetrack.” While he bids adieu to Chicago, McDowell is ready to welcome San Diego to the NASCAR schedule. He said recently, “It’d be awesome. I mean, obviously, I’m biased. Street courses are a lot of fun and going to new cities and new opportunities to try new things. I haven’t seen a course layout or potential of a layout (for the proposed San Diego street race). So I don’t know what that could look like. But I feel like we’re getting more experience in understanding what makes a course raceable for us and our cars. And so I look forward to the challenge, for sure.”

Evidently, the reception is mixed about San Diego’s impending addition to the NASCAR schedule. Let us wait and see how the new street course would fit in.