Following a report last month from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic that stated NASCAR was nearing a deal for a street race in San Diego for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Kelly Crandall of Racer authored a report, which released on Thursday, which says the deal for the San Diego street race is completed and that an announcement could come as soon as next week.
The announcement would help NASCAR fill the void of the Southern California market, which was opened due to the destruction of the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway following its final event in 2023. The 2-mile track was set to be converted into a short track, but has seen its transformation delayed by NASCAR.
NASCAR and the City of Chicago are still working on a potential return of the Chicago Street Race for the 2026 season. If those talks are able to result in a continuation of the deal, which has been running for the last three seasons, the NASCAR Cup Series would have two street races on the schedule in 2026.
Chicago has expressed a desire to move its NASCAR race weekend away from the July 4th weekend.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule has had a lot of rumors, including a potential return to the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. There have been no indications as to which race the San Diego Street Race will replace from the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
It all seems to still be a very fluid situation as NASCAR continues to hammer out the details on the 2026 schedule, which is not expected to drop for a few months.
As far as what has been confirmed to be on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, NASCAR has officially announced a return to Bowman Gray Stadium, which will again host the Cook Out Clash, a preseason exhibition event that will be contested on February 1, 2026.
NASCAR has also confirmed the date of the 2026 Daytona 500. The 68th edition of The Great American Race will take place on Sunday, February 15, 2026.
Speedway Motorsports has also opened up ticket sales for 2026 NASCAR Cup Series events at Circuit of the Americas and North Wilkesboro Speedway, which indicates both of those tracks will likely return to the schedule in 2026. Wilkesboro is expected to once again host the NASCAR All-Star Race next year.
