NASCAR, Navy and San Diego: Why Southern Cal street race seems perfect

Yahoo

3 days ago

Everybody happy now?
Well, maybe not. Universal acceptance went behind the wall years ago.
But I think we can agree that many of you are, at least, less unhappy. Naval Base Coronado, connected by sandbar to downtown San Diego, now joins the ranks of modern NASCAR race hosts, alphabetically slotted between Nashville and New Hampshire.
And I'm betting you can live with that.
A NASCAR street race in San Diego area has plenty of pros
NASCAR seems likely to continue this infatuation with road courses, including a street course on the yearly menu — while also insisting on a Southern Cal race date, by the way. So adding a famous U.S. naval air station to the schedule sounds like a welcome consolation to those who grew up with NASCAR on ovals and prefer to die that way.
Oh, and this: It's very, very, very unlikely it'll rain. Say what you want about the Golden State, but they haven't found a way to screw up the weather. Sunny and 72 has been the mid-June norm since Spaniards first planted a flag 500 years ago.
After three years of angry weathermen in Chicago, that's quite welcomed.
Since they weren't going to add (for now, anyway) another one of the beloved old ovals many crave (Rockingham, Nashville Fairgrounds), this seems like the perfect fit, especially for a sport never shy about its respect for flag and country.
We all saw San Diego coming, but I don't recall hearing talk about Coronado's naval base. It's not just the U.S. Navy tie-in and backdrops to rival F1's Monte Carlo festival, but logistically it should be monumentally easier than retrofitting downtown Chicago into a workable racetrack.
Easier, in fact, than any of the other major cities that jumped on and off the rumor mill in recent months. Unless they manage to incorporate an aircraft carrier deck as a short chute between, say, Turns 9 and 10, they couldn't have landed on a better alternative.
And it's not a bad business deal for the Navy, by the way. The military branches are always exploring unique promotional strategies for recruitment, and this will likely become a high-visibility opportunity. Anchors aweigh!
Now, let's reach into the bag of residuals for a downer.
What happened to NASCAR races at Fontana?
Didn't NASCAR already have a Southern California presence — before this, and even before that three-year fling with the L.A. Coliseum?
Yes, it was called Auto Club Speedway, over yonder in Fontana, which the snobs like to call Fontucky because it has the gall to sit some 60 miles inland and depend heavily on manufacturing and logistics.
The Fontana track had been slowly bleeding cachet (and fans!) over recent years, and if some of those 1½-mile tracks had to go, Auto Club was the first on many folks' lists. But it was ticketed for renovation, not desertion.
After a certain amount of demo, Auto Club would re-emerge as a half-mile showplace, albeit surrounded by the Inland Empire's most common modern crop — warehouses. Low overhead, big rent checks. But still, Auto Club would be NASCAR's California residence for as far as the eyes can see.
Inflated construction costs and diverted priorities are two of the reasons listed for the officially licensed status of Fontana's NASCAR future: 'Holding pattern.'
A common banking term (conveniently) — permanent hold — might come into play for Fontana if this Coronado venture turns out to be a keeper for all involved. And from this view, 11 months out, it's not lacking potential.
— Email Ken Willis at [e-mail]
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR is recruited to San Diego's naval air base for 2026 street race