What an amazing day of racing at Naval Base Coronado! The iconic backdrop for a brand-new street course race delivered in every form, from both the spectacle and the on-track action.
The place was sold out, and the racing was fierce from green flag to checkered flag. All three events culminated with a dramatic pass for the win, while Sunday featured a first-time Cup winner and future superstar of the sport.
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So, let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from the NASCAR Cup weekend in San Diego:
WINNER: Heim, but also 23XI for giving him a fulltime ride in 2027
Watch: Heim takes late lead, wins at Coronado
What a drive by Corey Heim. We already knew he was one of the top rising stars in NASCAR, but Sunday took it to another level. Driving a part-time unchartered entry for 23XI Racing, he battled head-to-head with championship leader Tyler Reddick, besting his teammate to earn his first career win in just his 13th career start. The victory even stunned Denny Hamlin, who has often praised Heim for his natural ability, but said “he’s going to be a problem” after his big Cup win.
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Naval Base Corando a historic win for Corey Heim and NASCAR
San Diego was supposed to be a huge opportunity for SVG to gain points in the Chase battle, but it ended up being the worst case scenario. He scored just one point, failing to secure any stage points, and wrecking out of the race in a restart pileup at the front. SVG had nowhere to go in the incident, and dropped three spots in the standings, now 5pts outside of the Chase. The good news is that there’s another road course just ahead, but it is also the last one of the 2026 season. He now has to earn maximum points there to keep his Chase hopes alive.
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WINNER: Bubba Wallace fights back from two laps down
Where did the No. 23 come from? Wallace started the day strong, but it all came apart when a right-front wheel didn’t get secured properly during an early pit stop. Wallace lost the wheel on track, and was handed a two-lap penalty. While furious, Wallace remained determined to claw back the lost ground, eventually earning back both laps back and finishing a wildly impressive second in a 1-2 finish for 23XI Racing. That’s the kind of days that will keep his Chase and title hopes alive.
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LOSER: Tyler Reddick loses big in the championship battle
Watch: Reddick after lead battle with Heim: ‘I overdid it … that wasn’t right’
In the final five laps of the NASCAR Cup race, Reddick lost 43 points in the regular season title fight — 20 when he lost the lead, and another 23 when he cut a tire after contact with Heim. That means that Denny Hamlin, who expected to lose ground at the street course, actually gained on Reddick. His 129-point lead from one month ago is now down to just eight points, and Reddick blamed himself for making several mistakes throughout the weekend. It started with an incident in qualifying that forced him to the rear of the field, and then a mid-race spin, and finally the clash with Heim while trying to capture the checkered flag. Just a very sloppy weekend from the No. 45, and they can’t afford that with the No. 11 JGR Toyota rapidly running them down.
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WINNER: Ryan Preece’s huge points day, and the biggest mover in the standings
Ryan Preece pit stop, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Ryan Preece pit stop, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
What a rally for the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford after a tough month. Preece (along with Allmendinger) scored more points than any other driver in the field on Sunday, even though he finished 11th. That’s because Preece also collected 19 of a possible 20 stage points, making it a huge day for him in the championship. Preece is suddenly back inside the top 16, but just five points clear of the cut-line.
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LOSER: Bell/Crews swap doesn’t work out due to engine issue
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell continues to lose ground in the weeks since suffering a 63G crash at Michigan, which left him with a fractured wrist. Between the Michigan crash, running out of fuel at Pocono, and an engine failure in San Diego, Bell has scored just 23 points across the last three weeks. As a result, he has dropped outside the top ten in the standings, and has another difficult road course ahead of him where he may again need relief driver Brent Crews.
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WINNER: AJ Allmendinger continues to do a lot with so very little
AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing
No shared data, no simulator, and no support from Chevrolet — that doesn’t seem to be a problem for the veteran Kaulig Racing driver. For context, due to Kaulig’s relationship with Ram in Trucks, they no longer get any help from Chevy in Cup. But Allmendinger still earned a top five finish in San Diego, and is now just 21 points outside of the Chase. With another road course next weekend, he could get even closer to that cut-line in what has been a surprisingly impressive season from the No. 16 team.
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LOSER: Austin Hill’s big win overshadowed by Sunday error
Austin Hill, No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Austin Hill, No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Hill was on top of the world on Saturday, passing Taylor Gray on the final lap and securing an emotional NASCAR O’Reilly win for Richard Childress Racing, honoring Kyle Busch in his post-race celebrations. He was also impressive in the Cup car, qualifying tenth and running up front during Sunday’s race. Unfortunately, discussions around his big win were replaced by criticism over a restart blunder, where he crashed from the lead, taking several cars with him after missing the apex of Turn 1. That wreck eliminated both Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen, as well as Hill himself.
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WINNER: Kevin Magnussen gets the full NASCAR experience
K-Mag seemed to enjoy his NASCAR Cup debut in San Diego, battling throughout the field, and even pitting late for fresh tires to snag the fastest lap bonus. He also got the full NASCAR experience, as he engaged in a multi-lap feud with Noah Gragson, sending him into the wall after running out of patience with the FRM driver. After the race, Gragson confronted Magnussen, who didn’t seem fazed by the encounter, repeatedly telling him to ‘f*** off’ in some form or another. After all that, Magnussen expressed a desire to come back and try NASCAR again, and after all that he went through in San Diego, he seems to fit right in.
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LOSER: The fan who got himself arrested
This didn’t happen in the Cup race, but we just had to mention it. An intoxicated fan decided to run out onto the track during a red flag in Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly race. He chatted with Sheldon Creed, and then fled over two fences, losing a flip-flop in the process. It’s never a good idea to run out onto a race track, but it’s an even worse idea to do that on an active military base. Federal agents from the NCIS quickly apprehended the individual, and we likely won’t see him at a race anytime soon…
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