This summer NASCAR will have its first ever street course race on a Naval Base at Coronado in California.

But this time around, it’s different…

The drivers have been assigned to the various squadrons on the base.

Former NFL quarterback and Prime Video analyist Ryan “Fitz” Fitzpatrick hosted Christopher Bell, Ty Dillon, and Ryan Preece at Naval Base Coronado to hos an “NFL style draft” to assign drivers to a squadron.  The process included a number of guest “pickers” including Naval Commander and Naval Reserve Officer Jesse Iwuji.

From now ‘til race time in June, the drivers will be visiting Naval Base Coronado for some immersive experiences with their assigned squadrons.

It will be a triple-header weekend with the Craftsman Truck. O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Cup Series to “Race the Base” on a 16 turn, 3.4 mile street course.

Drivers with their assigned squadron or MOS:
AJ Allmendinger – Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group One (EODGRU-1)
Christopher Bell – Naval Base Point Loma
Josh Berry – Amphibious Construction Battalion 1
Ryan Blaney – Strike Group Oceanography Team San Diego
Alex Bowman – Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
Chase Briscoe – USS Somerset (LPD 25)
Chris Buescher – USS Kansas City (LCS 22)
Kyle Busch – Navy Reserve Center – North Island
William Byron – Assault Craft Unit 1
Ross Chastain – Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 5 (MSRON 5)
Austin Cindric – Naval Base San Diego
Cole Custer – Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Four (HSC-4) “Black Knights”
Austin Dillon – Maritime Expeditionary Security Training and Evaluation Unit ONE
Ty Dillon – USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70)
Chase Elliott – Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron THREE (HELSEACOMBATRON 3 or HSC-3 Merlins)
Ty Gibbs – Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35 “Magicians”
Todd Gilliland – Special Reconnaissance Team ONE
Noah Gragson – Beachmaster Unit ONE
Denny Hamlin – USS Greenville (SSN -772)
Riley Herbst – Naval Base Coronado (NBC)
Carson Hocevar – Survival,
Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE)
Jimmie Johnson – Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21 “Blackjacks”
Erik Jones – USS America – (LHA 6)
Brad Keselowski – USS O’Kane (DDG 77)
Kyle Larson – Carrier Strike Group Fifteen (CSG-15)
Joey Logano – Naval Surface Warfare Leadership and Development Command (NLEAD)
Michael McDowell – VRM-50 (Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 50 “SunHawks”)
John Hunter Nemechek – Southwest Regional Maintenance Center
Ryan Preece – Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) & FRCSW DET North Island
Tyler Reddick – Fleet Logistics Support Squadron Fifty-Seven (VR-57), the “Conquistadors”
Zane Smith – USS Pierre (LCS 38)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr –  Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78 “Blue Hawks”
Daniel Suarez – Surface Combat Systems Training Command’s (SCST) San Diego
Shane van Gisbergen – Commander Naval Surface Group Southwest (CNSGSW)
Bubba Wallace – Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 49 “Scorpions”
Cody Ware – Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit North Island (CNATTU)
Connor Zilisch – VRM-30 (Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 30 “Titans”)

The race is being billed as part of the celebration for the nation’s 250th anniversary.