"This a huge win for San Diego and we are so grateful to NASCAR for their partnership," said Mark Neville, CEO of Sports San Diego.

Two years ago, NASCAR assigned Ben Kennedy the task of addressing two items on the stock car racing wish list — adding a Southern California race and staging a race on a military base. Kennedy, the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and NASCAR’s chief venue and racing innovation officer, found the answer to both needs with one site.

With Chicago on hold, NASCAR announced Wednesday that it is headed to San Diego next summer to host a new street race weekend on an active naval base.