Fantasy NASCAR Picks: Sleepers and Fades for the San Diego Street Course
Down in the southwest corner of the United States, NASCAR is putting on quite the event at El Coronado Naval Base in the San Diego metro area. Literally at the cornerstone of America, the NASCAR Cup Series will be taking the green flag uniquely and excitingly, on a U.S. Naval Base.
The custom-made road course layout features 16 turns to be navigated. The lap will begin with a slight right-turn elbow, then a 90-degree left turn. After that, the track will sort itself out upon restarts, in which those restarts will be paramount.
As can be imagined, Shane van Gisbergen will be the heavy favorite to win the race. Between 14 career road and street course races, van Gisbergen has 7 career wins. Connor Zilisch will trail him in the betting odds, and then another jump to Tyler Reddick and the rest of the NASCAR field. It will make Fantasy NASCAR tough to play this week, but it will still be playable.
Top Picks
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Van Gisbergen will be owned at an extremely high rate in Fantasy NASCAR. While that is understood, he just about guarantees a top-3 finish, barring any pit-road woes. Even if those issues are endured, he is so good that racing through the field shall not be much of a hurdle.
The top-7 tracks in averaging finishing position for Van Gisbergen's career are all road course setups. On 4 of those tracks, he averages a 4th-place finish or better. Not using Van Gisbergen would be a big dare.
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
El Coronado Naval Base will compare more closely to NASCAR street-course setups in recent years, given its custom, bumpy, and tight-turning nature. That puts the course more in line with Chicago and Mexico City. In those tracks in particular, Gibbs averages a finish of 4.7 with all 3 races in the top-10 and 2 of them in the top-5. Combine that with the blazing speed of these Toyotas, and Gibbs is capable of a P2 result.
NASCAR heads to San Diego! @KevinHarvick says the circuit is going to be "an absolute handful for the drivers." pic.twitter.com/GGcbDfSnal
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) June 17, 2026
Mid-Tier Picks
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
It will be all about qualifying speed for Buescher. Track position is key, and if Buescher has it, he has a very good chance at a top-5 finish. Buescher once defeated Shane van Gisbergen on a road course setup, and in Buescher's career averages, he is far better on road/street course setups, with an average finish of 12.7
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Chastain asked to use Van Gisbergen's car setup last month at Watkins Glen. He could not handle it and finished 27th. Chastain is expected to return to his normal setup for a road course. In Chastain's career, he is best at finishing at road courses, with an average result of a moderate 17.8.
Can Chastain win? No, not really. However, most drivers will have their hands full trying to win. A top-5 is what to be searched upon with a mid-tier driver pick, and as the 12th most expensive option this week, Chastain is worth a shot given his ceiling on a team that hopes to finish 1-2 with Van Gisbergen and Zilisch.
Longshot Picks
Kevin Magnussen, No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
There will not be a more volatile racer in the field this week. There will not be a more volatile racer in any race all year. The fact is that Magnussen is a former Formula One driver, and his raw skill on such a road course is notably higher than that of most other drivers in this field. The challenge for Magnussen will not be his racing IQ, but his acclimation to driving a Cup Car.
If Magnussen can figure it out well enough, he can net a top-10 result. It is a big "if," but longshots are not live at all in road course races. They are as top-heavy as any track style will be in the NASCAR Cup Series, hence Van Gisbergen being at -160 in current betting odds pre-practice and qualifying. Upside is all that can be chased.
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 12:52 PM.