NASCAR will make history this weekend, contesting the inaugural Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado -- the first points-paying Cup Series race ever held on an active military installation.
The temporary 3.4-mile street circuit winds through the San Diego base past docked Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and naval aviation hangars, with narrow passages, sharp 90-degree corners and notoriously rough asphalt. Drivers have been bracing for a survival test on an unfamiliar, bumpy layout.
"San Diego is going to be badass. It's always fun to go somewhere new and try new things," said Kaulig Racing's AJ Allmendinger. "It's all about the atmosphere and the feeling you get when you show up." He is wary of the circuit itself, however. "I was shocked to see how long the lap is already. I know they are trying to repave parts of it and make it smoother, but it's going to be rough."
Ty Dillon, Allmendinger's Kaulig team-mate, expects attrition to shape the result. "I think San Diego is going to be an interesting race. It's going to be a bit of survival with the roughness of the track, the length of the track and the amount of technicality that leads into long straightaways," he said. "I have no clue what to expect, but I know the event is going to be top notch. I've been out there at the track, and it's a beautiful, beautiful spot."
The military setting runs deep through the weekend. Each Cup team has been paired with a base squadron -- Allmendinger's No. 16 with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group One, Dillon's No. 10 with the Coronado-based carrier USS Carl Vinson. Dillon will carry a "The Fallen Outdoors" paint scheme bearing the names of more than 7,000 U.S. service members killed in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
The race also falls on Father's Day, a coincidence not lost on either driver. "Father's Day has a special meaning. I've been fortunate to win on Father's Day twice in my life, and to be able to share that with my dad, being at those races both times, has been amazing," Allmendinger said. "Hopefully, we'll get to share that moment again." Dillon, a father himself, put it more simply: "Being a father is the greatest honor in my life. I feel like every day is Father's Day for me because I get to wake up and spend life with them."
Beyond the novelty, the weekend carries championship weight. Tyler Reddick leads the standings, but Denny Hamlin has hauled himself back into the picture with a run of victories capped by a three-peat at Pocono, narrowing the gap as the Cup Series ventures somewhere it has never raced.
Local authorities, meanwhile, are bracing for the influx, warning of heavy traffic across Coronado and the wider San Diego area as fans descend on the base for one of the most unusual venues in NASCAR history.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/nascar-heads-to-a-naval-base-for-historic-san-diego-debut). Visit for full coverage.*
