Denny Hamlin Reacts To NASCAR’s 2026 San Diego Announcement originally appeared on The Spun.
Denny Hamlin addressed NASCAR’s major plans for the 2026 Cup Series calendar.
NASCAR announced last week that it’ll run a first-ever street race at San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado next year. The event replaces the Chicago Street Race, which NASCAR has held each of the last three years. NASCAR labeled the move from Chicago as a “pause” with the potential to return as soon as 2027.
On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin looked forward to the new venue despite lamenting the Chicago split. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also celebrated a “really good” promotion to introduce the San Diego race.
“I’m excited to go to San Diego,” Hamlin said. “Certainly, if we were going to stay on the streets somewhere, I’ve advocated that I’d like Chicago. I think we should stay at Chicago. They’re going to work out whatever deal they’ve got with the city there. Maybe, hopefully. I wouldn’t count on it. I think it was more of a soft breakup than anything.”
Hamlin called San Diego “a good alternative” to Chicago, particularly from a business perspective.
“We’re back in Southern California again,” he said. “That should be good for our sponsors.”
The race itself is more of a mystery to Hamlin, who doesn’t know what to expect from a “really long” track running close to three miles.
“I’m going to stay positive about it because it looks like it’s going to be very cool,” Hamlin said. “And certainly, the city is one that is a great place to go.”
NASCAR will hold a three-day event, the first ever at an active military base, from June 19-21. It marks the sport’s return to Southern California, which hosted the Clash at the LA Coliseum from 2022 to 2024.
NASCAR executive vice president Ben Kennedy expressed optimism that the San Diego race would represent “the best sporting event of the year.”
“I think it emphasizes the fact that not only we can race literally anywhere in the world, but that we have some of the best and most versatile drivers in all of motorsports as well,” Kennedy said in NASCAR’s announcement. “It’s the most diverse schedule that we have in our sport, and I would argue the most diverse schedule across all of motorsports when you consider the different amounts of track types that we race at.”
Related: Denny Hamlin Gets Very Honest With ‘Bittersweet’ Bubba Wallace Admission
Denny Hamlin Reacts To NASCAR’s 2026 San Diego Announcement first appeared on The Spun on Jul 29, 2025
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
