Nascar Meets Top Gun Ahead of Naval Base Race [video]

American race series know a thing or two about promoting themselves. A prime example is this Nascar meets Top Gun video that was released this week. In June next year the Nascar series will host its first ever race on an active naval base. Naval Base Coronado plays host to this unique event that will be held on the ‘streets’ of the facility. To announce the event, Nascar took some of its top drivers to the base to shoot the promo video.

“What a special way to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Navy, 250th anniversary of our country and put on what is going to be undoubtedly the most anticipated event of 2026. And I’m bullish on it being the best sporting event of the year
– said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s executive vice president, chief venue & racing innovation officer

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No Actors

The video features no actors in the leading roles. Instead, top Nascar drivers were drafted to play themselves. The list includes Chase Elliot, Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe and William Byron. each given their own pilot ‘handle’. In addition, real Navy personnel acted alongside the racing aces. The ‘race on the base’ in San Diego will help celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Navy. The shape of the circuit is yet to be confirmed but the plans are already at an advanced stage for an event that is a year away.

“It’ll be a blend of traditional street racing in a way where we’ll be winding our ways through some of the streets on the base. They’ll be going past (aircraft) carriers. They’ll eventually go out onto the tarmac, probably by some military aircraft, maybe a couple of F-18s out there, and then back towards the entrance to the base.

“Part of the course will be a bit set in stone because we can’t move many of the streets around, but part of it will also be a blank canvas as well. Once we go out on the tarmac, whether it’s hairpins or chicanes or S-turns, long straightaways, we’re playing with a handful of configurations and we have a few drivers that we’ve gotten feedback from on what that could potentially look like. We’ll share more on the final course layout later this fall, but I would expect it to look unlike anything that they’ve had in the past around the base” Kennedy said.