NASCAR set to announce new track as Chicago’s | Sports News

NASCAR seems to be in line for a return to Southern California, with San Diego seemingly quickly to be confirmed as the following home of a Cup Series race.

San Diego has long been linked as a potential new home for NASCAR, and with the longer term of Chicago up within the air after its three-year deal lately expired following the Grant Park 165, which was gained by Shane van Gisbergen, it seems an announcement is imminent confirming the west coast metropolis as a host for 2026.

Precisely the place NASCAR might set up store in San Diego stays an unknown publicly, though Coronado could possibly be an option, as per Racer. Equally unsure is how NASCAR plans to match San Diego into its schedule, with Mexico City additionally presumably lining up for a return to the combination subsequent season after its latest debut – additionally gained by van Gisbergen.

Should San Diego be formally confirmed as a host metropolis by NASCAR, it could mark the primary time the coastal metropolis has hosted a race. What’s more, it could see NASCAR return to Southern California for the primary time in three years, after Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway was dropped, and subsequently partially demolished, in 2023.

Originally opened in 1997, the 2-mile oval hosted the Pala Casino 400 on 26 events, with the 2020 race being moved to Daytona amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Kyle Busch completed as the track’s most profitable driver with 4 Cup Series wins between 2013 and 2023, whereas Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson all gained the race 3 times.

The 122,000 capability venue closed its doorways for good in 2023, with NASCAR planning to return to the location down the road, reconstructing it as a short-track through its Next Gen California project.

After plans have been submitted by NASCAR to the San Bernardino Council for the proposed track in 2020, which might have saved the prevailing pit street and grandstand, vice president and chief innovation officer Craig Neeb stated, through Fox, “This is our first step towards creating a state-of-the-art facility that would deliver the intense short-track racing our fans love, an intimate viewing experience, and upgraded suites and hospitality areas that would position Auto Club Speedway among the top entertainment venues in the market.”

Following its closure in 2023, NASCAR bought a lot of the property for redevelopment, leaving solely the aforementioned components supposed for repurposing as a half of the new track.

Unfortunately for locals, it doesn’t seem seemingly these plans can be going by means of any time quickly, with Commissioner Steve Phelps saying in April that whereas that market is “important,” he was “unsure” of the longer term of the power.

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“Do I think creating a short track out there would be a cool thing for us? Yes,” Phelps stated on the ‘Hauler Talk‘ podcast. “With that said, it’s $300 million to build that facility. Is that the best use of that money? That is the big question. The cost of capital right now is still really high, so for us to just press pause right now is essentially what we’re doing.

“But, yeah, I’d love to build a facility out there. When that is going to happen or if that is going to happen, I don’t have a timeline.”

Outside of San Diego, NASCAR has additionally been closely linked with a return to the dormant Chicagoland Speedway, the place present Cup Series star Carson Hocevar lately stopped by for a go to, including fuel to hypothesis of its potential comeback.