SAN DIEGO (Aug. 14, 2025) – Today, NASCAR announced Anduril, a renowned defense products company, as the presenting sponsor of the NASCAR San Diego Weekend and NASCAR Cup Series street race entitlement partner of the new event at Naval Base Coronado on June 19-21, 2026. The headline event of NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril will be the Anduril 250 Race the Base Cup Series street race that honors the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy. As part of the multi-year agreement, Anduril has also been named the Official Defense Partner of NASCAR.
“NASCAR has long been woven into the fabric of Americana — it’s a sport that connects with fans across generations and reflects the energy and determination that define us,” said Craig Stimmel, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at NASCAR. “Anduril is an American company that’s pushing boundaries in defense technology, and they bring that same drive and forward-thinking mindset. We’re excited to welcome them as the title partner of NASCAR San Diego Weekend and as NASCAR’s Official Defense Partner. It’s a great match — two high-performance teams coming together with a shared vision for the future, both on and off the track.”
The Anduril 250, second-ever Cup Series street course, will take place on Sunday, June 21, 2026. The NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril will be the first NASCAR event on an active military base. The Anduril 250 will be preceded by high-energy races for the Xfinity Series and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races on Friday, June 19, 2026 and Saturday, June 20, 2026. The official NASCAR San Diego street course layout will be unveiled in the near future.
“NASCAR is one of America’s most iconic platforms with a huge fan base among U.S. service members, veterans and their families, said Jeff Miller, Vice President of Marketing at Anduril. “Partnering with NASCAR for the Race on the Base is a natural fit reflecting our shared values of technical innovation, speed, and support of our military. We’re proud to be part of an event that celebrates the Navy’s 250th anniversary and honors everyone who serves.”
Anduril builds advanced defense technology products designed to strengthen national security and deter conflict. Its systems — including autonomous aircraft, underwater vehicles, AI-powered sensor platforms, and electronic warfare tools — are used by the U.S. Department of Defense and allied militaries around the world. Anduril takes a different approach from traditional defense contractors, combining private capital with rapid product development to deliver advanced capability at speed and scale.
The Anduril 250 will be the final race of Prime Video’s five-race Cup Series broadcast window for 2026. The Xfinity Series race will air on The CW and the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race will be broadcast by FOX Sports.
Tickets for the 2026 NASCAR San Diego Weekend will go on-sale this fall. Tickets are expected to go fast, so fans can put down a deposit for advance pricing today at NASCARSanDiego.com. Additional details and elements of the weekend will be announced soon, and fans can follow @NASCARSanDiego on Facebook, Instagram, and X for the latest real-time updates on all aspects of the event.
Carson Hocevar hasn’t been everyone’s best friend on the track during the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
That continued last weekend at Watkins Glen International as the second-year Spire Motorsports driver had separate run-ins with RFK Racing co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski and Spire teammate Michael McDowell.
During Saturday’s qualifying session at the New York road course, video emerged of Keselowski, the 2012 series titleholder, making a beeline down pit road toward the No. 77 car and appearing to speak to Hocevar before walking away with some No. 6 crew members.
On Wednesday, Hocevar says Keselowski impeded his lap during qualifying and still didn’t know why Keselowski ran at him.
“I didn’t really understand why he was so upset because we were upset at him,” Hocevar said. “I think just emotions get high in qualifying. I felt like we started our lap, and he was kind of in the way, or just let us go in a really bad spot that I felt like it impeded our lap. As we’re doing our cool-down lap, I didn’t want to swerve out of his way or anything going down the backstretch, and I just stayed in line and had him go around me. I think everybody didn’t know the full story, potentially, right? You just get done with your lap, and you feel like somebody gets in your way. I was frustrated. Our group was frustrated, and then, obviously, he was frustrated with us.
“When you get back to your trailers, I would imagine that his guys kind of looked and realized that we just kind of impeded both of our laps, and we can clean it up going forward, or maybe his spotter can make sure that he gives us a little bit more room and we can do the same moving forward.”
Hocevar was able to start eighth on Sunday, while Keselowski went 16th on the grid for the race.
During the 90-lapper at The Glen, Hocevar was spun by McDowell entering Turn 1 on Lap 52. The longtime Cup veteran got to the right-rear quarter panel of Hocevar down the frontstretch, resulting in the No. 71 contacting the No. 77 and sending Hocevar around.
The pair of teammates met again on the final lap, battling for 18th. McDowell contacted Hocevar again and got to the inside of Hocevar, but it was Hocevar outdueling McDowell to the line to get the better of the No. 71 driver.
Hocevar said the two haven’t spoken yet but have plans to when they get to Richmond Raceway for Saturday’s race (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
“No, we hadn’t talked or whatever. He wanted to sit down at Richmond,” Hocevar said. “I’m gone racing, and he’s gone as well. Maybe it’s best-case scenario that we’re both gone. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal to me — either he made a mistake or misjudged and obviously turned me. Then we were just fighting for the last lap and last corner and felt like that was plenty of OK to do considering the contact right. I can play defense for one corner to try to get the spot.”
Hocevar also added that securing a better qualifying draw for Richmond was also on his mind, trying to fend off McDowell for the spot.
“I think Richmond being the next week with qualifying draw being so important, that one spot I think matters a lot for qualifying, especially for how tough that place is to pass, but also super easy to go a lap down at that place,” Hocevar said. “Qualifying means everything, and especially going out late, you’re going to have a massive advantage. So the later we could have got, the better. So I’m glad we at least got a decent position. Michael wanted to sit down and talk about it a little bit of just how we can move forward, and just help each other and next time to avoid that.”
While nothing of note took place between Hocevar and Zane Smith on Sunday, Hocevar shed light on giving a spot up to the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports driver before entering Turn 6 on the road course and why he told Smith on pit road after the race to “expect that in the next couple weeks.”
“He was on newer tires, so he was faster than me,” Hocevar said of letting Smith by. “Number one, I don’t really think it would have been smart for me to play defense, nor could I, so I might as well just let him go right? Like I killed two birds, one stone. It was really gonna be hard for me to play defense for a lap or two left in the race …
“I felt like that was his frustration level over the last few weeks of getting right-reared by Preece and then Bell and then me hitting the bump and wrecking him. I know that kind of boiled over onto us. If I could have just pointed him by where it’s not going to cost me anything, it’s an easy decision for me.”
In the wake of Connor Zilisch’s broken collarbone at Watkins Glen International, NASCAR has no plans to change its Victory Lane protocols in the future. But there will be more attention paid to the location of the window net during driver celebrations.
Zilisch seemed to get his left foot caught in the window net and then took a hard fall while trying to dismount the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.
“I think that was part of the problem that the window net was flapping on the outside,” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said during the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “I think Connor even said that may have been a problem, and one of our safety guys actually mentioned the same thing. So, we may do just sort of a check to make sure that if that’s inside the car, it’s one less thing you can slip on.”
NASCAR has given drivers no guidance to avoid climbing onto their doorsill in Victory Lane celebrations. “We have not put in any policies or best practices or anything like that,” Forde said.
Though Zilisch’s injury made national headlines, injuries have occurred before in the frenzy of Victory Lane. Brad Keselowski needed several stitches in his right hand after breaking a champagne bottle while celebrating a 2014 victory at Kentucky Speedway. A member of Justin Allgaier’s team suffered a similar wound in Phoenix Raceway’s Victory Lane after the 2024 Xfinity championship.
Zilisch underwent surgery Tuesday on his broken collarbone, and his status is uncertain for the Xfinity Series’ Aug. 22 race at Daytona International Speedway. The points leader already secured a playoff waiver for missing the May 2 race at Texas Motor Speedway with a back injury sustained in a crash at Talladega Superspeedway.
Forde confirmed that Zilisch would need to request another waiver to remain championship-eligible if he missed Daytona or subsequent races.
“He has to miss a race first, so we’re probably a good two weeks away from even receiving a waiver request from Connor,” Forde said. “We’ll get with the doctors and find out where he is.”
Zilisch also would need to be medically cleared before returning. Forde said if Zilisch were approved to race by a doctor but wanted to sit out races to continue healing before the playoffs, NASCAR might allow it. While recovering from a concussion in 2022, Alex Bowman missed a race at Martinsville Speedway just after being cleared.
“We would consider it,” Forde said. “It’s a case-by-case basis.”
With the Craftsman Truck Series regular-season finale Friday at Richmond Raceway, NASCAR was awaiting an expected waiver request from injured driver Stewart Friesen, who missed last week’s race at Watkins Glen and could be out the rest of the season. Forde said NASCAR planned to make a decision on Friesen’s status before the truck garage opened Friday morning at Richmond.
If Friesen were granted a waiver, there would be one spot left in the 10-driver field, and Kaden Honeycutt would likely clinch by starting Friday’s race. But if Friesen were excluded from the playoffs, a second spot would be available with multiple drivers in the hunt.
“The goal is to make sure that fans, our broadcast partners at FOX and all the media and everyone knows really what’s on the line Friday night, whether there is one spot available or two,” Forde said. “I think fans will know by Friday morning at the latest.”
Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 27th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— NASCAR will consider making course adjustments at Watkins Glen to establish track limits.
— Why Austin Hill and Connor Zilisch faced no penalties for hooking other drivers in wrecks.
— Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet being inspected after setting the fastest lap.
— Upcoming drivers meetings at Richmond Raceway.
Click on the embed above to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series goes to Richmond Raceway on Friday for the eero 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the final race in the regular season for the trucks. FS2 will air Truck Series qualifying at 3:10 p.m. ET Friday.
NASCAR suspended Marshall Hill, car chief for the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford in the Craftsman Truck Series, following Friday’s Mission 176 at Watkins Glen International. Late in that race, the right-rear axle of the vehicle driven by Ben Rhodes came loose, sending the truck hard into the outside wall and bringing out a caution.
Hill will miss Friday’s eero 250 at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, NRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the regular-season finale in the Truck Series. Rhodes, who finished 26th at Watkins Glen, sits 11 points below the elimination line as the two-time Truck Series champ tries to get back in the playoffs to make a run at title No. 3.
NASCAR listed the infraction as a safety violation noted in Sections 10.5.2.5.G of the Rule Book: the loss or separation of an improperly installed rear axle from the vehicle during the event.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Richmond Raceway as the penultimate contest before the Cup Series Playoffs officially begin. Qualifying at the Virginia short track is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. ET on Friday (truTV, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Short-track practice and qualifying procedure will be in effect this weekend, with cars split into two groups for a 50-minute practice session (25 minutes for each group), followed by qualifying. Qualifying is two laps, one round.
The qualifying order below is determined via metric that combines the previous race finish by owner (70%) and current owner points position (30%).
The race itself will occur on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
To celebrate 75 years worth of memories, the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team will be celebrated throughout the summer with “Wood Brothers Wednesdays” on The NASCAR Channel.
Wood Brothers Racing has been around since 1950, when Glen and Leonard Wood teamed up to pioneer a legacy that has transcended time.
Glen was behind the wheel of their car in 1960 at Bowman Gray Stadium and took the Wood Brothers Racing team to Victory Lane for the first time. The team scored its 101st NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2025, when Josh Berry claimed the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Bookending those victories were triumphs everywhere from Daytona to Darlington to Rockingham and everywhere in between. Twenty of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers have piloted a car for the team throughout its storied history, one that is well worth celebrating.
The theme for this week’s content will focus on former Wood Brothers Racing driver Kyle Petty.
“Memory Lane — The Wedding,” a piece of NASCAR original content, will air on Wednesday. Leonard Wood and Petty talk about the day the Pettys and the Woods “got married,” a.k.a. teamed up together for the first time.
Petty won two races during his time racing for the Wood Brothers family, and both races will be streamed in full on Wednesday.
His first career NASCAR Cup Series victory came in the 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond Raceway, which is also the site of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event.
Petty was also victorious in the 1987 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was Petty’s only victory in the famed No. 21 car for the team, as he took the No. 7 to Victory Lane in 1986 at Richmond.
The NASCAR Channel delivers 24/7, always-on content, featuring the latest news and information from around the sport, original programming and race replays.
It is a FAST channel (Free-Ad Supported Television) and can be watched on your TV or mobile device via one of the streaming partners, such as Tubi or Xumo Play.
Here’s what’s happening in NASCAR with the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International in the rearview and Saturday’s Cook Out 400at Richmond Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) up next.
1. Last gasp for playoff hopefuls is here — what now?
The playoff bubble is overflowing with former short-track winners, and Richmond is their last chance to avoid Daytona desperation.
As the playoff field continues to firm up weekly, the calendar inches toward September’s Southern 500 opener at Darlington Raceway with just a pair of opportunities remaining for the final three postseason bids to be snagged.
We now turn this weekend to Richmond Raceway, with its chess-match pit strategies and technically precise track demands, followed by Daytona International Speedway, where chaos reigns and surprises, both throughout the race and often at the checkered flag, are guaranteed. Five drivers below the elimination line have already conquered Richmond in their careers — more on that later — and they’ll look to repeat that short-track magic in order to avoid having to pull a rabbit out of a hat the following weekend in a wild superspeedway shootout.
Veteran stars like Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski — each a past champion — and veterans Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones and AJ Allmendinger are among the 10 drivers outside the playoff bubble with past Cup Series wins, collectively owning 120 career victories. Each not only brings a proven record (along with nearly all of them being playoff drivers in past seasons), but each also carries the desperation of trying to make sure the season’s first 24-plus weeks have not gone for naught in search of a postseason bid. Will this pressure bring out their best, or just further expose season-long cracks?
Many of these drivers turn to Richmond for hope because none of them wants to be forced to rely on trying to cash in on the sport’s most unpredictable track.
Richmond will be about mastery of pit cycles (there have been at least three green-flag pit cycles in each of the last eight races), and familiarity with those demands and how to execute them effectively is the key to being there at the end. History indicates that sharp execution in a race like this — rather than outright speed suddenly arriving in Race 25 — can lift a bubble contender into playoff security.
Recent weeks have shown just how volatile the playoff picture remains, too.
RFK Racing teammates Chris Buescher (+34) and Preece (-34) are the focal point, currently on either side of the bubble. Both are capable of winning either of the two remaining races, however, and each is on a hot streak. And a handful of hopefuls aim to capitalize on their past history the next two weekends, with Richmond offering the final shot at control and Daytona looms as the last-ditch “Hail Mary.”
Soon, the grid will be set. Experience, tactical acumen and split-second execution will shape the final 16-entrant field – all of which will come into play, albeit very differently, each of the next two weekends.
For the sport’s seasoned stars, Richmond marks the last, best chance to escape the bubble and control their own fate before the playoff party begins following Florida’s fireworks.
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
2. Playoff action set to ignite early under the lights at Richmond?
The playoff atmosphere is thick, and Richmond Raceway’s contest under the lights on Saturday marks the final chance for a driver to take fate into his own hands and punch his postseason ticket on the short track. The only problem? The Virginia track doesn’t typically leave much room for surprises or first-time winners.
Now that the stage is set, what’s actually going to happen under the lights on Saturday?
The playoff tension is peaking as NASCAR storms into Richmond, and it legitimately feels like the postseason is already here, yet there’s still so much to decide between the final three berths and crowning a Regular Season Champion.
Saturday’s race carries a special edge: statistically, Richmond tends to deliver few surprises — but plenty of drama. Despite the youth movement rippling through the sport, only one winner under age 30 has taken the checkered flag there in the last 13 trips, a gauntlet of experience the next generation can’t ignore.
Richmond’s recent history really is a testament to savvy veterans. Young, under-30 stars like William Byron and Chase Elliott (each chasing the RSC) and drivers like Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek (all in must-win mode to make the playoffs) arrive fiercely motivated to take the checkered flag at the unique short track, but face a venue where experience decisively trumps raw speed. It’s hard to look past that glaring stat above and may temper hopes of a shocker a bit, putting the spotlight firmly on NASCAR’s established core.
Those banking on a true breakthrough, while possible, will face steep odds.
The last 39 Richmond races have failed to produce a first-time Cup Series winner. Kasey Kahne’s 2005 triumph remains the track’s most recent Cinderella story, despite competitive parity at other short tracks. Joe Gibbs Racing excels at Richmond (winner of 10 of the past 18 races there), but this trend likely scratches Ty Gibbs (along with Spire’s Hocevar and Legacy’s Nemechek) from winning contention, especially with the No. 54 mired in a three-race slump heading into the weekend and some internal issues to iron out.
Perhaps the most interesting name coming into Richmond? Kyle Busch.
Once the archetype of Richmond mastery, “Rowdy” has gone cold in the state of Virginia. With six wins in 38 starts — most among active drivers — and 28 top-10s here, his Richmond legacy is cemented, but Busch has found just one top 10 in the past four visits, and none in his last 12 short-track starts overall. The two-time champ’s winless streak is up to 81 races, the worst of his career, with no wins in 2024, thus ending his record streak of 19 consecutive winning seasons and missing the playoffs. He appears set to repeat last year’s shortcomings, but — speaking of last year — his teammate Austin Dillon enters as the defending Richmond winner, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend betting against Busch with his back against the wall like this and potentially a car he can work with.
But, this is all to say … everybody might be chasing one guy, as Richmond’s surest favorite is Virginia native and four-time 2025 winner Denny Hamlin. No. 11’s numbers at the track are staggering: five wins, 24 top 10s in 36 starts and top-two finishes in six of the last eight races. A remarkable 11 of his 58 career victories have come in his home state. Hamlin leads all drivers in laps led at Richmond (2,367), and both he and his team (JGR owns 19 total Richmond wins among six different winning drivers) have dominated recent years. As the most realistic remaining threat to Byron or Elliott in the Regular Season Championship battle, all eyes will be on Hamlin to see if he can keep his grip on the short-track throne.
With the bubble bursting and only Daytona left after Richmond, will old patterns persist? The stats point to another ride for reliable hands, but as the playoff drama intensifies, we’ll all be watching for a narrative-busting breakout or an all-time upset.
Steve Letarte and Alex Weaver analyze Chase Elliott’s 26th-place performance at Watkins Glen International and what the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports driver needs for a deep playoff run.
4. Must-win drivers below bubble with past victories at Richmond, Daytona
Plenty can happen over the next two races, and these playoff hopefuls that have yet to clinch are hoping they can find a way to repeat history and capture a postseason-clinching win before the field is set. (Credit: Racing Insights)
Driver
Richmond
Daytona
Kyle Busch
6
1
Brad Keselowski
2
1
Austin Dillon
1
2
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2
Michael McDowell
1
Erik Jones
1
Justin Haley
1
5. Catch the pack — news and notes from around the garage
The Modified division, NASCAR’s oldest class, ran its first race on Feb. 15, 1948, predating the NASCAR Cup Series by a full season.
From 1948 through 1984, some of NASCAR’s greatest drivers raced and won in Modifieds. They include legends like Bobby Allison, Richie Evans, Red Farmer, Red Byron, Bugsy Stevens, Jerry Cook and Fonty Flock. But as the sport continued to evolve, so did the division.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was formed in 1985. Having since transitioned from a national championship format to a season-long championship format, the Tour now hosts more than a dozen events at tracks up and down the East Coast.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the modern Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Regional has named the 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers, selected based on their accomplishments on the Tour beginning in 1985. Accomplishments from the NASCAR Modified National Championship era (1948-84) were not used to determine this list.
The 40 drivers were revealed in no particular order throughout the summer in groups of 10. Below is the complete list of the 40 greatest NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour drivers.
Connor Zilisch underwent collarbone surgery Tuesday morning, the No. 88 JR Motorsports driver announced on social media.
The 19-year-old NASCAR Xfinity Series star broke his collarbone Saturday afternoon in Victory Lane at Watkins Glen International after scoring his sixth win of 2025. After climbing from the cockpit of his No. 88 Chevrolet, Zilisch slipped and fell while standing on the roof and door of his car.
Zilisch was released from the hospital the same night and missed the Cup Series race on Sunday after being scheduled to pilot the No. 87 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing.
Wanted to give everyone a quick update. Had surgery on my collarbone this morning to get a plate and screws to help with the healing process. Been a tough few days for me mentally, but all the love you guys have shown has certainly helped. Thank you❤️
It’s the second time Zilisch has suffered an injury in his rookie campaign. He sat out the race at Texas Motor Speedway after a back injury following a last-lap wreck at Talladega Superspeedway the weekend prior. Kyle Larson piloted the No. 88 Chevy in Zilisch’s stead and won at Texas.
JR Motorsports has not announced if Zilisch will miss time as a result of the operation. The Xfinity Series will have a weekend off before heading to Daytona International Speedway on Friday, Aug. 22 (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
