Anduril 250 – Naval Base Coronado
San Diego, California – June 21, 2026
AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 MENARDS/CARDELL FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 31ST STAGE 1: 25TH STAGE 2: 16TH FINISH: 22ND POINTS: 15TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Menards/Cardell Ford Mustang Dark Horse team battled handling challenges throughout Sunday’s Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado, ultimately finishing 22nd in NASCAR’s first Cup Series race on an active military base. After starting 31st on the 3.4-mile course, Cindric reported a loose condition early in the event and made a pit stop on Lap 11 for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. Varying pit strategies shuffled the running order throughout the opening stage, and Cindric advanced to 25th by the conclusion of Stage 1. Crew chief Brian Wilson and the No. 2 team made a series of aggressive adjustments in an effort to improve the balance and find grip with the Menards/Cardell Ford. Additional changes followed during a caution period in Stage 2 as the team continued to work toward a more comfortable balance. Despite restarting at the rear of the field following an extended stop, Cindric patiently worked his way forward and avoided a major multi-car incident on a restart midway through the race. The Team Penske driver gained position, ending Stage 2 in 16th position. The final Stage featured several caution periods and strategic pit decisions that once again shuffled the running order. Cindric continued to battle the tight and technical track, ultimately taking the checkered flag in 22nd place.
CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “A challenging day for our No. 2 Menards/Cardell Ford Mustang Dark Horse team. We fought handling issues most of the race and never really found the balance we needed to be as competitive as we wanted. The team kept making adjustments and we were able to improve it some as the day went on. We’ll take what we learned and turn our focus to Sonoma next weekend.”
RYAN BLANEY No. 12 WURTH FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 3RD STAGE 1: 1ST STAGE 2: 5TH FINISH: 9TH POINTS: 3RD
RACE RUNDOWN: Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Wurth Ford Mustang Dark Horse team turned in their fifth-consecutive top-10 finish – and 12th on the season to tie for the Cup Series lead – in Sunday’s inaugural Anduril 250 on Naval Base Coronado. After starting on row two for the 75-lap event, Blaney led his first of a race-high 12 laps when he took the lead four laps in before opening up a nearly three-second advantage in the early going. Crew chief Jonathan Hassler opted to split the first 20-lap stage in half, calling Blaney to pit road from the lead on lap 10 for a four-tire stop. A caution two laps later fell in the 12 team’s favor as Blaney was able to carve his way back to the front with four laps remaining in Stage 1 en route to his second stage win of the season. Varying tire strategies began to take shape in Stage 2 as Blaney was running just outside the top-20 when a multi-car incident unraveled in turn one, eventually bringing out the red flag on lap 32. Once the race went back green, Blaney again made quick work of those ahead at a tire disadvantage and picked off a few positions due to teams flipping the stage to come away with a fifth-place finish in the second segment. After staying out between stages, Blaney lined up to restart third and regained the lead on lap 48 before eventually giving way to the No. 5 on eight-lap fresher tires. Hassler called Blaney to pit road with 22 laps to go for what was thought to be his final stop of the afternoon, but the caution flag flew six laps later to set up one final four tire stop before the final restart with 12 laps remaining. After taking the green flag from 21st, Blaney worked his way into the top-10 in just four laps before taking the checkered flag ninth.
BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “There were a bunch of different strategies going on and it’s kind of hard to pick which one is gonna be the right one, but, overall, we did a really good job today of staying clean and getting really good stage points. We stayed in the race and ended up with a decent finish. It was a fun day for sure. I thought our Wurth Ford Mustang was fairly quick and it was fun to work through it all day. It was a fantastic event. I had a blast all weekend. The Navy was great to us. The base was great to us and personally I would love to come back. It’s a cool event.”
JOEY LOGANO No. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL FORD MUSTANG DARK HORSE
START: 19TH STAGE 1: 8TH STAGE 2: 10TH FINISH: 18TH POINTS: 18TH
RACE RUNDOWN: Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse team produced a pair of top-10 stage finishes in an 18th-place effort Sunday at Naval Base Coronado. After taking the green flag in the inaugural street race, Logano made his way up to 15th in the running order before crew chief Paul Wolfe called him to pit road for a scheduled green flag stop on lap nine. Logano went on to work his way into the top-10 in the closing laps of the opening segment as teams opted to flip the stage, resulting in an eighth-place finish in Stage 1. After pitting during the stage break, Logano restarted 23rd and made up nine spots in the first two laps before the caution flag flew on lap 29. Staying out allowed him to move up to 10th in the running order for the ensuing restart when a multi-car incident unraveled in turn one as Logano maneuvered his way through the middle with minimal contact. The red flag was displayed on lap 32 for track repairs and once it was lifted, Logano restarted from fifth with the laps winding down in Stage 2 but fresher tires prevailed over the course of the run, forcing the 22 team to settle for a 10th-place finish in the second segment. Logano worked to regain track position during the final segment with varying strategies at play throughout the field as the 22 team planned to pit with 16 laps remaining when the caution flag flew before Logano was able to make it to pit road. After pitting under caution for four tires and one final round of adjustments, Logano restarted from 22nd with 12 laps remaining before ultimately taking the checkered flag scored 18th.
LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “Proud of the effort from the 22 crew to stay with it all day and [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] made some good calls to put us in spot to get stage points early on. The strategies were all over the place but we were able to stay on top of it. This was a really cool weekend to be a part of and appreciate everything that went on behind the scenes to make it come together the way it did.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads north along the west coast to Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday, June 28. Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
