Over the last few years, NASCAR has shown a willingness to push for races beyond the traditional venues in search of a bigger spectacle. Now the France family has teased a new unusual race on the Golden Gate Bridge. 

While speaking to Sports Business Journal’s Tom Friend, NASCAR COO Ben Kennedy laid out the team’s brainstorming session and all the far-fetched ideas thrown out so far. However, it was the Golden Gate Bridge NASCAR race that stuck out the most. 

“Yeah, we talked about the Golden Gate Bridge,” Kennedy said. “We thought that would be really cool. You’d go across the bridge. But couldn’t really come up with a course that made sense, though. And we know closing down that road would be a large lift.” 

After the grand success of the San Diego race at the Naval Base, Kennedy, who is the great-grandson of Bill France Sr., has been looking into adding more one-of-a-kind street races to the calendar.

This is not the first time that the race at the iconic Golden Gate Bridge has been proposed. Last year, Daily Downforce reported that the sanctioning body might be in talks about racing at the iconic venue. 

“NASCAR officials are reportedly in early talks with San Francisco city and county leaders about the possibility of holding a street course race. This would include portions of the Embarcadero and the Golden Gate Bridge.” 

At first glance, racing at the venue might seem ambitious, but with the success of the inaugural race at San Diego, it just stands as a testament that no race venue is completely off the table.

While no dates or schedule have been confirmed, Kennedy and his team are hoping for confirmation for the street race to be held in 2030.

NASCAR declares San Diego race a success

With the sanctioning body wrapping up its inaugural visit to the 3.4-mile temporary circuit situated in Coronado’s Naval Base, NASCAR COO Ben Kennedy has declared the Cup Series Anduril 250 a success.

The race weekend saw more than 125,000 attendees from across the nation and 17 countries. According to the reports released by NASCAR, around 67% attendees were first-time race goers. 

It took more than two years of planning, designing, and negotiating to pull off the event. For the sanctioning body, this event was another step forward in the direction of moving beyond traditional racing venues. 

While San Diego’s success might not guarantee a race at the Golden Gate Bridge, it reinforces NASCAR’s belief that no racing venue is far-fetched. 

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit