If anyone had said 5 years ago that NASCAR could race at a naval base, people would’ve laughed it off as some crazy theory. Now, in 2026, people are amped up and eagerly waiting for the drivers to start their engines and lap the Naval Base Coronado for the San Diego street race. But this out-of-the-box experiment is not the end of NASCAR’s antics. The sport might end up bringing a few changes to the schedule once again to give fans a unique taste of racing where they can least expect it to happen.
NASCAR executive teases new plans for upcoming season
During a recent appearance on the Future of Fandom podcast, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Media and Revenue Officer, Brian Herbst, made a statement that feels like a teaser for the future of NASCAR. Especially, he assures that something new is going to take place in the 2027 season with an updated schedule.
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“If you think about the last five years, we’ve run a race inside the Coliseum, torn up a football field, raced inside the LA Coliseum, talked earlier about the first international event that we ran in Mexico City since 1958, and run our first street course ever in Chicago in 2023. We’ll have another new bell and whistle, I’m sure, in 2027.”
It is a bold declaration to the public that anything can happen in the sport. The stagnation and boredom that struck NASCAR were one of the biggest reasons for gripes among fans. Since 2021, the sport has been actively trying to switch things up and make it more enjoyable and interesting.
And the recent news on track might have already revealed what’s going to happen in 2027. The ‘new bell and whistle’ that Herbst is talking about might be related to a recent rumor that has spread among the fandom. NASCAR was upset with Bowman Gray Stadium hosting the Preseason Clash.
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Rumors are suggesting that NASCAR might end up moving the clash to Daytona, like the fans were urging them to. Since NASCAR has yet to announce the 2027 schedule or comment on the possibility of this rumor, the switch to Daytona for the Clash might end up being the change Herbst was talking about. However, these are just theories.
Additionally, the way Brian Herbst was dropping hints made it seem like the sport had something big planned for the upcoming season. Either way, his statement is going to cause a stir in the community and force multiple debates and discussions about the future of the sport.
Speaking about new experiments in the calendar, NASCAR has already issued warnings to the drivers and teams about their upcoming race in San Diego.
NASCAR San Diego introduces a problematic section for drivers
Running a road course in a NASCAR is already a huge ask for the drivers who are used to oval and superspeedway racing. Especially when it comes to a new track, the drivers have to practice a lot and experiment wildly with their setups to work on their lap times in order to perfect a race track for the Sunday race.
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The sport is still months away from visiting Coronado Naval Base, but NASCAR officials have already issued a heads-up for the drivers.
According to John Probst, “I can report that we do have a final course layout at this point that will require some paving of the track. There are areas of it, particularly turn 4, where we have to do some work.
“There are some tracks that they use to load the aircraft carriers that are probably a little bit problematic for the cars, but they are certainly something that will be unique to that racetrack, something that we will have to sort of mitigate.”
The naval base is a far cry from a purpose-built race track. Hence, its presence is sure to cause problems for the cars and drivers with unique asphalt and driving conditions. Drivers like SVG, Christopher Bell, and William Byron are working together to get NASCAR to perfect its San Diego racetrack. They will run multiple versions of the track before the officials end up finalizing the course.
