Ryan Blaney wants to keep his eyes on the road as returns to Southern California with a race through the bone-jarring streets of San Diego鈥檚 Coronado Island.
Yet is worried about being distracted Sunday as his No. 12 Ford barrels toward the third turn with directly in its path.
鈥淚 hope I鈥檓 paying more attention to the corner and not the carrier when I brake into that corner,鈥� Blaney said with a laugh. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see. It鈥檇 be a heck of a way to go.鈥�
There will be a dive team on hand in the highly unlikely scenario that a car lands in the water, but the 16-turn, 3.4-mile layout at Naval Base Coronado will already make a splash in many other ways.
It鈥檚 the second street course in the 77-year history of the Cup Series and the first that NASCAR will hold on a military installation. Amazon Prime Video , putting its studio set on the deck and its announcing booth in the bridge of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The picturesque views of battleships and the San Diego Bay will be juxtaposed with a track that鈥檚 the roughest yet on the Next Gen car, which made its debut in 2022.
鈥淭his is quite possibly the hardest thing we鈥檝e done in a race car,鈥� Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Chris Buescher said after practice Friday. 鈥淚t was very difficult to find your marks, and then you just really don鈥檛 have much room for error.鈥�
Points leader Tyler Reddick balanced taking in the scenery while taming a course with massive railroad-style ties that were launching cars off the asphalt.
鈥淗old your breath,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat Turn 3 braking zone is difficult. Hopefully, nobody gets distracted by the aircraft carrier, but it鈥檚 quite the sight in front of you.鈥�
NASCAR wants to make an impression with its first points race in Southern California three years ago. NASCAR chief operating officer Ben Kennedy said racing in a market of more than 20 million is 鈥減aramount,鈥� and he鈥檚 been aggressive with building schedules to reach new fans. Last year, a street race in downtown Chicago , and a road course in Mexico City .
鈥淲hen I started racing in the Cup Series, NASCAR was very schedule risk-averse,鈥� said 2012 champion Brad Keselowski, who鈥檚 in his 17th season. 鈥淢aybe a date changed year to year, but basically they were all the same racks. And now it feels like the culture has just flipped 180, and we鈥檙e just major schedule innovations. I welcome that.鈥�
The 2027 schedule is being formulated and might not include Chicago, Mexico City or San Diego, but Keselowski (who sits in on planning meetings as a team owner) hinted it鈥檒l have more surprises. He would like to see NASCAR embrace more ovals (such as the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway short track in Tennessee).
Coronado has still been a breath of fresh, salty ocean air. Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron said he was excited to tackle a unique track that Cup drivers are commuting to with scooters.
鈥淭he muck of the Cup series is just kind of grinding,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e conditioned well for a new challenge.鈥�
Debut for Magnussen
A week after racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for BMW鈥檚 top sports car team, Formula One veteran Kevin Magnussen will make his NASCAR debut in Trackhouse Racing鈥檚 Project 91 Chevrolet. Magnussen joins and as drivers of the No. 91 Chevrolet, which aims to bring stars from other series to NASCAR.
Magnussen’s father, Jan, finished 12th at Sonoma Raceway in 2010.
鈥淚 always loved NASCAR,鈥� Kevin Magnussen said. 鈥淢y dad loved it so much and had such a great experience. It鈥檚 a big privilege. Not many European drivers get that opportunity, so I鈥檓 very thankful and privileged to be here. A Formula 1 car is more like a fighter jet with wheels than it is a car. These are real cars.鈥�
Sticking around
Buescher signed a multiyear contract extension to stay at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, where he made his NASCAR debut in 2011. Buescher, who is ranked seventh in the points standings, has five Cup wins for the team since taking over the No. 17 Ford in 2020, and Keselowski said 鈥渋t was not a layup for us to re-sign him鈥� because of interest from rivals.
鈥淔rom a performance standpoint, we鈥檙e in a good spot, but we have to be able to better it yet,鈥� Buescher said about why he returned. 鈥淪ome of it is feeling like you have a home, and the other part of it is truly feeling like the competition level is at the cusp of truly being great.鈥�
Odds and ends
Shane van Gisbergen is the overwhelming favorite over Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch and points leader Tyler Reddick.
鈥淚 feel like it disrespects my competition,” van Gisbergen said. “I know there鈥檚 probably 10 guys that can win on pure pace. In NASCAR, so much stuff can happen, so I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to be easy.鈥�
At 3.4 miles, the 16-turn layout is the fifth-longest track in Cup Series history. The Daytona Beach, Florida, road course used from 1949-58 holds the record at 4.17 miles. 鈥� Christopher Bell, who still is recovering , will have Brent Crews on standby as a relief driver. 鈥� Addressing concerns from teams about wear, NASCAR added a set of tires for the Cup race.
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