NASCAR working to host street-course race in San Diego: Report
NASCAR is entering its third season racing at the Chicago street course. (Photo by Ben Hsu/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Could NASCAR have a new street-course race next season?
According to The Athletic, the sanctioning body is working with San Diego to host a race on the streets of the city. NASCAR currently has just one points race in the state of California and no races in Southern California.
NASCAR and the city of San Diego have not yet agreed on a deal, but discussions are ongoing, and it is expected that an agreement will be reached, according to those sources. An announcement is tentatively slated for next month, pending a finalized deal.
NASCAR and Sports San Diego, the city's sports tourism commission, declined comment.
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NASCAR hasn't raced in Southern California since Auto Club Speedway closed in 2023. The exhibition Clash was briefly held at the Los Angeles Coliseum, but it was at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2025 and appears to be in line to rotate among other short tracks.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule has not been announced and a race in San Diego could be one of many different pieces on the schedule. The Chicago street-course race is entering its third year in 2025, but there is no long-term agreement beyond this season to keep NASCAR racing in Chicago. The first Chicago race weekend in 2023 was plagued by rain.
The Chicago street-course race was added after NASCAR stopped racing at Chicagoland Speedway in 2020. Unlike Auto Club Speedway, the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway has not been torn down.
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If San Diego is added to the schedule in 2026, would it take the place of an existing road-course race? Simple math reasons that it would. Among the 36 races on the 2025 Cup Series schedule, five are being held on road and street courses. While it's not impossible NASCAR would go to a sixth road-course race, it also may create too much of an imbalance between traditional oval racing and road-course racing.
Last week's race in Mexico City became the fifth road race on the schedule. The race won by Shane van Gisbergen was the first Cup Series race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. At the moment, NASCAR and race officials have not agreed on a contract to return for 2026.
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