NASCAR commissioner: Potential San Diego street race 'not a no'

NASCAR president Steve Phelps. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps: Potential San Diego street race 'not a no'

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 12:53 PM ET

As NASCAR looks to grow its domestic reach with new, bold scheduling ideas, one type of race in particular has become the fulcrum of the sport's attempt to reach new fans: street races in major markets.

NASCAR's first street race took place in Chicago in July 2023, with the final race of the three-year deal signed by NASCAR and the city set for July 6.

Should NASCAR not return to the Windy City, one West Coast city could host NASCAR's nest street race: San Diego.

According to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, NASCAR is "nearing a deal" with the city to host a street race in 2026. According to NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps, however, that deal isn't done - but it's not off the table, either.

Phelps spoke with CNBC Sport this week to discuss the future of street races in NASCAR, among other topics.

"We're in discussion with a lot of different cities," Phelps told CNBC's Brian Sullivan regarding street racing. "The great news about where NASCAR is, we've proven we can race on the streets. We've proven that we can race in a stadium. It's an open canvas for us now to determine where we're going to race, and what we're trying to do is open new eyes."

According to Phelps, recent ventures by NASCAR to Chicago and the Los Angeles Coliseum saw 80 percent of tickets be bought by fans who had never been to a race. As NASCAR seeks to regain the momentum it once had in the 1990s and 2000s, those are encouraging figures.

"When we're going to these news places, we're opening the eyes of people who want to participate in our sport, which is the number one portion of my job," Phelps said.

Phelps was relatively tight-lipped when pressed on the reports of a race in San Diego, but left the situation up for interpretation.

"San Diego is not a no," Phelps said. "It's not a yes. But it's not a no."

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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