NASCAR has never raced inside an active military base before. This weekend, it does. The Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado lands right on the Navy’s 250th birthday, on a brand-new 3.4-mile street course threaded through the base itself, the longest track on the whole 2026 calendar. Given all that, nobody expected a normal celebrity to wave the green flag. NASCAR San Diego made the call themselves.

“Honored to have the 29th Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, as our honorary starter for Sunday’s race.”

Hegseth runs the U.S. Defense Department, rebranded last year as the Department of War. He’s an Army National Guard veteran, a former Fox News host, and he will be waving the green flag for Sunday’s mega event at Coronado Naval Base.

That alone makes this pick unusual. NASCAR typically hands the flag to a movie star, a musician, or somebody’s favorite athlete. This time it’s a sitting Cabinet secretary.

This isn’t the first instance of Hegseth being involved in a NASCAR event. He previously attended the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway as the grand marshal.

“The inaugural Navy 250 represents a historic celebration of our nation’s sea services, and this group of incredible leaders is the perfect way to kick off the NASCAR San Diego Weekend,” said Amy Lupo, NASCAR San Diego President. “We’re honored to welcome such an accomplished group of military leaders and community dignitaries whose service, leadership, and commitment embody the spirit of this event.”

Hegseth isn’t the only famous face on site. Drew Brees, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback, runs Saturday’s grand marshal duties for the United Rentals 250. Trevor Hoffman, the Padres’ Hall of Fame closer, gets a seat in the pace car. Both men are San Diego through and through, which is fitting for a weekend that’s basically one big tribute to the city and the Navy.

Just getting through the gates is its own project. Security at Coronado is no joke. Fans are being told to show up by 7 a.m. for any shot at a good spot. Once inside, they’re watching 75 laps, roughly 255 miles, on a track built entirely out of old runways and service roads.

Saturday’s NASCAR San Diego truck race already showed what that track can do

The pavement chewed people up all weekend. Trackhouse owner Justin Marks jumped back in a truck for old times’ sake and slammed the wall hard enough to start an engine fire, ending practice early. An earlier session got scrapped completely when water broke through part of the track surface. On a military base. Mid-session.

Qualifying at NASCAR San Diego wasn’t any cleaner. Stewart Friesen and Brendan Gaughan both wrecked into the barriers. Christian Eckes clipped a wall hard enough to wreck his suspension, knocking him and Daniel Hemric out of the qualifying picture entirely.

Through all that chaos, Kaden Honeycutt still found the pole, 134.782 seconds, good enough to beat points leader Layne Riggs by four-tenths. His third pole of the season. He even grazed the wall himself on the lap that won it.

The race never slowed down either. Jamie McMurray, on a guest run, smacked the concrete hard. Sutton and Nicholson locked up together going into Turn 13 and slid straight into the runoff side by side. Honeycutt led for a good chunk of the day, right up until a spinning ThorSport truck forced him to check up late. Someone else’s mistake cost him the shot; he finished 11th instead. While Layne Riggs made a clutch move in the final laps to win the race.

If that’s any indication, Sunday’s Cup cars are going to recreate the drama and chaos, which is going to be entertaining for the race fans.