NASCAR on Tuesday revealed the layout for next year’s race at Naval Base Coronado, introducing a 16-turn, 3.4-mile course that incorporates parts of the tarmac and road on the active military base across San Diego Bay from the California city’s downtown.
The track length makes it the longest on NASCAR’s 2026 schedule for any of its three national series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks).
There are nods throughout the Coronado layout that pay homage to the United States Navy and the unique setting on the home base for several aircraft carriers from the Pacific Fleet. The start-finish line is named in honor of Theodore Ellyson, the first U.S. Naval aviator. Turn 5 will see competitors race on a section of the track, dubbed “Carrier Corner,” located between two aircraft carrier docking stations.
The 16-turn course around Naval Air Station North Island goes past an aircraft carrier docking area and the base’s runway. Downtown San Diego is across the water from Turn 5. (Courtesy of NASCAR)
When NASCAR announced earlier this summer that it would race in 2026 on a temporary circuit built on the base, officials were still determining the exact course layout.
“It’s so exciting to finally share the street course layout and provide this first look for our long-time and new fans,” NASCAR San Diego president Amy Lupo said.
Naval Air Station North Island, the area where the NASCAR race is to be held, is part of Naval Base Coronado, a consortium of eight military facilities. Coronado has hosted other racing series, but this marks the first time NASCAR has ever raced on an active military base.
As it has done with recent track projects, NASCAR worked with iRacing, a company renowned for making an online racing simulator with intricate detail and accuracy, to determine the exact layout for the San Diego circuit. iRacing helped design the layout for the temporary street course NASCAR constructed in downtown Chicago around Grant Park. That circuit, which was utilized from 2023-2025, drew rave reviews from drivers.
Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovation officer, explained in July the approach the league and iRacing were taking in designing the Coronado circuit
“Part of the course will be a bit set in stone, because we can’t move many of the streets around,” Kennedy said. “But part of it will also be a blank canvas. Once we go out on the tarmac, whether it’s hairpins or chicanes or S turns or long straightaways, we’re playing with a handful of configurations. … I would expect it to look unlike anything they’ve had in the past around the base.”
The San Diego race weekend is scheduled for June 19-21, 2026, with the premier Cup Series race to be held on that Sunday, Father’s Day.