NASCAR star notably absent as incredible new race venue confirmed

NASCAR will have a new race on the calendar in 2026, announcing on Wednesday that next year will see them race around a live US Navy base.

Wednesday's announcement confirmed that all three series will travel to San Diego on Father's Day weekend to race around Naval Base Coronado, on a street course planned to be around three miles long.

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The race was announced with an incredible three-minute trailer titled Project: Race the Base in which a number of Cup Series stars features, complete with Navy Seal-style nicknames.

The crew were Chase “Peaches” Elliott, Joey “Zamboni” Logano, Carson “Hot Shot” Hocevar, Noah “Rizz” Gragson, Chase “Hoosier” Briscoe and William “Flame” Byron, but even the drivers themselves noted one major absence.

Navy's 250th anniversary set to go in style

After the drivers had been put through their paces in high-speed fighter jets, they were shown a track layout (not the one the drivers will actually race around, which is yet to be finalized) and told to 'make it to the finish line without getting caught by the Navy's security force, with Hocevar asking 'Why did we not bring SVG?'

Shane van Gisbergen has been synonymous with road and street courses since his arrival in NASCAR, winning three races in five weeks between June and July between Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, and will almost certainly be installed as the race's heavy favorite as soon as the odds are released.

Some on social media joked that the US may be obliged to hand over control of the base to New Zealand if the Kiwi driver beats out his American counterparts to take victory.

Naval Base Coronado is made up of a number of Navy installations in southern California, with Naval Air Station North Island the specific one being used for what will (unsurprisingly) be the first NASCAR races at an active military base.

Next year will mark the 250th anniversary of both the signing of the Declaration of Independence (July 4th) and the founding of the US Navy (October 13th), with NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovation officer Ben Kennedy admitting that those milestones will make the event even more special.

"So for now, we're focused on 2026. It is naturally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to celebrate this special anniversary of the Navy and our country and put on one of the biggest sporting events of 2026. Then, we'll certainly put our heads together on what the future could potentially look like after that."

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