2026 San Diego Saturday Notes

The 2026 San Diego Saturday Notes are a little different this week because practice and qualifying were held on different days. Practice was on Friday — before inspection — and cars could make changes after practice.

Cup series cars went through inspection Saturday morning. Everyone passed on their first or second attempt, so no inspection penalties Sunday.

Quote of the Day

The track surface and its grip (or lack of same) has been the topic of discussion this weekend. Everyone had thoughts, but Chase Briscoe wins my quote of the day award.

“This place is just.. it’s like Darlington and old Atlanta had a kid, and it’s like really, really bad, like it is that slick, and just wears the tires out that bad.”

—Chase Briscoe, on the San Diego Street/Base Course

The Dangers of Relying on Simulators

Kyle Larson felt that the simulator was pretty reflective of the actual track, but he was in the minority. Most drivers noted differences in everything from wall location to track surface. The general consensus was that the simulators were most useful for learning the general shape of the track

Shane van Gisbergen opined that iRacing was more reflective of the track than the manufacturer’s simulator. (For those curious, he ran it with a Mazda Miata.)

Zane Smith said that even his impressions on where grip would be from walking the track were wrong. There were areas where he scuffed it with his foot and felt like there should be grip ended up not having a lot of grip. We briefly discussed the possibility of his getting shoes with Goodyear rubber for soles, but it’s too late for that now.

Track Update

NASCAR has had quite the time keeping up with the track. They’ve had to add, replace, repair and reinforce some of the cement blocking that defines the track limits. Bob Pockrass noted the changes in detail.

The ORAPS race introduced a slew of other track issues. On the first lap, a loose utility cover sliced through Corey Day’s radiator/oil cooler, covering the track in water and oil and necessitating a red flag to re-weld the wayward cover and check other covers. Then, on lap 35, a 25-car accident necessitated more track repair.

There will be more on the ability of racecars to move 10,000-lb cement blocks a little later.

The second best quote of the day:

2026 San Diego Saturday Qualifying Notes

Jimmie Johnson suggested that all three Legacy Motor Club drivers might treat the qualifying session as sort of a second practice session. Johnson and teammate Erik Jones were 38th and 39th in terms of fastest lap time in yesterday’s practice — and that’s out of 39 cars.

Jones noted that John Hunter Nemechek came in 30th for fastest lap, so Jones’ car, at least, borrowed quite a bit from the No. 42’s set up for Saturday qualifying. It didn’t help much: Jones qualified in the back row.

As it turned out, few of the drivers made more than two laps during the 20-minute sessions. That’s in part due to concern over tires. NASCAR added a set of tires, giving each car six new sets, plus the set left over from qualifying. Teams had to trade off the value of starting track position versus having another set of relatively new tires.

Qualifying Issues

Despite a pretty clean practice, there were a few issues in the 2026 San Diego Saturday qualifying to be kept in mind for the race.

• With the exception of Johnson and Project 91 driver Kevin Magnussen, drivers in the first group waited until there were only about six minutes left in their session before making qualifying attempts.
• Johnson qualified 36th after locking up his tires in turn 2 on a second attempt to improve his time.
• Austin Dillon rear-ended brother Ty. Older brother Austin qualified 18th. Ty, whose Kaulig Racing team runs with no manufacturer support, qualified 34th.
• Even the best are not immune from slip-ups. Shane van Gisbergen also locked up his tires going into turn 2. No contact, but I can’t imagine those tires are likely to be very useful.
• As if having a broken wrist and possibly having to turn his car over to Brent Crews during the race were enough, Christopher Bell hit the wall with his right front. After most cars had put on their covers and the teams left, the #20 crew was still working on the car.
• Riley Herbst and Erik Jones both hit the wall coming out of turn 16. Jones had at least an upper control arm that needed replacing. He qualified 38th, so going to the back of the field won’t be much of a penalty.
• Tyler Reddick aborted his first attempt at a qualifying lap, returned to the garage for changes, then qualified 17th.
• Denny Hamlin, who is close on Reddick’s heels for the points lead, qualified 26th.

Take Care: It is HOT Out Here

The thermometer reads 72F, but it feels warmer. Turns out there’s a scientific reason for that. We’re on a giant, flat, very white airfield. The sun hits the ground and, because it’s white, reflects back at you. You’re not just feeling the heat from the incident rays of the Sun, you’re getting the same rays reflected back at you.

If you’re coming out, don’t skimp on the sunblock and make sure to stay hydrated. I was out yesterday for a couple of hours and, despite thinking I was doing everything right, came back feeling pretty crappy.

Also: Don’t get drunk and try to climb the fence. One would think that goes without saying, but apparently, it does not.

What To Expect Sunday?

Brad Keselowski predicted that this would be “a high-attrition race.” After Saturday’s O’Reilly race, it’s hard to believe he’s wrong. ‘Racing the Track’ takes on a whole new meaning given loose utility covers, mobile tire barriers, and restarts that can wreck a majority of the field. This race is going to be a cross between a traditional road race and a superspeedway race.

The bright side means that there will be opportunities for drivers who manage to avoid the carnage. There’s a real mixed group in the starting top ten.

• Carson Hocevar qualified second, just 0.156 seconds back. But Hocevar has much less experience putting together entire races despite his flashes of speed.
• The next closest qualifier was Ryan Blaney, 0.26 seconds back
• After Blaney, we’re talking 0.6 seconds and more from the pole. The best hopes for drivers like Smith and Todd Gilliland is clever strategy, then hoping that cautions don’t make that strategy moot.
• Austin Hill won last night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts race. He’s the only driver with the exception of possible Bell sub Brent Crews who will run Saturday and Sunday. But the tires for the Cup Series and ORAPS are so different that I’m not sure double dipping is really an advantage. I’d be happy to be proven wrong.

Those are your 2026 San Diego Saturday Notes. Enjoy the race. Personally, I’m just hoping it finishes in time for me to make my 6:15 a.m. flight Monday.