The Cup Series will travel to Navy Base Coronado this week to crown their “Top Gun.” The drivers will “Feel the need… the need for speed” as they navigate this 3.44-mile, 16-turn, Navy Base course. Just like the race on the streets of Chicago, the background pictures from this race should be outstanding. We have been waiting a while for NASCAR to Race the Base and it is finally here. The Anduril 250 can be seen Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on Prime.
STRATEGY FOR NAVY BASE CORONADO
The strategy for the road course race at Navy Base Coronado is the same as the strategy for the other road course races on the schedule. We need to save our allocations with our top drivers (Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson) and take a chance with the road course aces (Shane van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger and Connor Zilisch).
Here are the picks for the race at Navy Base Coronado…
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN (8): This may be the easiest pick of the season. Some of the Cup Series drivers have a chance to compete with SVG on the road courses that have been on the schedule for a long time because they have a lot more experience than he does. The playing field in level this week and that is a big problem for the rest of the drivers. SVG should quickly figure out this course and put on a show on Father’s Day. SVG is easily the best pick in the field Sunday.
RYAN BLANEY (5): I wasn’t planning on using Blaney this week, but he was the star of the Navy, Race the Base movie and he did look fast on the track this week. I thought about using Chris Buescher in this spot, but Blaney has been a bit better on the road courses this year. Blaney finished 8th at COTA and 11th at Watkins Glen. Blaney starts 3rd Sunday. He has the track position and the speed to score well for your Fantasy Live lineup.
CONNOR ZILISCH (9): I have only used Zillisch once so for this season and that is probably a good choice. I’m sure in the hell am not using Zilisch on an oval track right now. Zilisch finished 14th at COTA and he looked good at Watkins Glen but his pit strategy did not go his way. Zilisch looked fast in practice and he starts 8th Sunday. This may be the best chance to use Zilisch this year.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL (8): McDowell has been one of the best road course drivers in the Cup Series. He finished 5th at COTA and 2nd at Watkins Glen this year. The No. 71 car posted the 7th fastest speed in practice and McDowell qualified 9th for the race. This is a great race to take a chance with McDowell and save your top drivers for the oval tracks.
TY GIBBS (4): The most similar track to Navy Base Coronado is the Chicago Street Course. That is also one of the best tracks for Gibbs. He finished 2nd at Chicago last year, 3rd in 2024 and 9th in 2023. Gibbs also finished 4th at COTA and 3rd at Watkins Glen earlier this season. Gibbs posted the 3rd fastest speed in practice and the No. 54 car qualified 11th for the race. He has the speed and track position to score well for your Fantasy Live lineup Sunday.
(GARAGE PICK) AJ ALLMENDINGER (10): This is the week to dig up your allocations with Allmendinger and get him into your lineup. Allmendinger is one of the best road course racers in the Cup Series and the fact that the other drivers have not run any laps on this course should benefit Dinger. He finished 9th at COTA and 7th at Watkins Glen earlier this year. Dinger should score another top-10 finish at Navy Base Coronado.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.