NASCAR’s first visit to Naval Base Coronado in San Diego comes during a nationwide celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, marking a historic tie-in between stock-car racing and the American military.
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This weekend’s NASCAR tripleheader strengthens the already powerful connections between sports and the armed forces, which have hosted college and professional events in tandem for years. To prepare for another unique partnership, let’s review a selection of previous sports and military crossovers, including one from the past in NASCAR’s biggest race.
U.S. military cars in the 1991 Daytona 500
With the United States in the grips of Operation Desert Storm, five teams paid tribute to the five branches of the military with special paint schemes in the “Great American Race” in 1991. With sponsorship bills offset by series sponsor RJ Reynolds, the cars were driven by Mickey Gibbs (No. 24 Air Force), Greg Sacks (No. 18 Navy), Alan Kulwicki (No. 7 Army), Buddy Baker (No. 88 Marines) and Dave Marcis (No. 71 Coast Guard).
Sacks, whose father was a radio operator in the United States Navy during World War II, prompted the campaign with a call to Reynolds’ sports marketing executives. “I’ve been watching the reports on television every night, and I saw how the troops reacted to the Super Bowl,” Sacks said before the 1991 event. “Now, I’m going to be part of a sporting event that I consider just as big as the Super Bowl, and those troops are going to know that we’re thinking about them.”
All five cars qualified for the race, and Kulwicki managed the best finish — eighth in his desert-camouflage No. 7 Ford.
MORE: Patriotic paint scheme history
Armed Forces Classic
College basketball broke new ground in 2012 with the first Armed Forces Classic, pitting Connecticut against Michigan State in front of 3,288 spectators at Rammstein Air Base in Germany. A total of nine men’s basketball games were held under the Armed Forces Classic banner, most recently in 2022 at the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego. The event was revived last year with the first women’s classic, with UConn topping Louisville in Annapolis, Maryland.
Major League Baseball at Fort Bragg
When the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves locked horns for a midsummer tilt in 2016 outside of Fayetteville, North Carolina, it marked the first regular-season pro sports event held on an active military base. The Marlins prevailed 5-2 on the eve of Independence Day, with 12,582 taking in the sights from a temporary stadium built on a defunct golf course.
Carrier Classic
A series of college hoops games in 2011 and 2012 were held on aircraft carriers, with North Carolina and Michigan State tipping off for the first edition in front of 8,111 on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson. (The USS Carl Vinson will be present at Naval Base Coronado for the tripleheader race weekend.) The Tar Heels held on for a 67-55 victory, and the USS Yorktown and Midway joined in as host locations for Carrier Classic events the next year.
MORE: Watch NASCAR video highlights
Army/Navy Game
Though not held on a military site, one of college football’s most revered and longest-running rivalries needs its own special mention alongside other armed forces sports traditions. Army’s Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen have met 126 times since their first matchup in 1890, with the most games hosted at a neutral site in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Navy carries a two-game winning streak into this year’s annual showdown, which is scheduled Dec. 12 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
WWE Tribute to the Troops
Professional wrestling cards stemmed from a collaboration between WWE and Armed Forces Entertainment, which hosted a series of events on or near military installations both stateside and abroad. The first seven episodes (2003-2009) were held either in Iraq or Afghanistan, before a move in 2010 to Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
UFL at Fort Hood
The United Football League staged the first pro football game on an active U.S. military base earlier this year, with the Orlando Storm defeating the Dallas Renegades 31-24 in the “Hats off to Heroes” event on May 15 at Fort Hood’s Phantom Warrior Stadium. Attendance was restricted to military personnel, their families and those with base access, with free admission.