More than 50,000 NASCAR fans and visitors are filling Coronado this weekend, creating heavy traffic on the Coronado Bridge while fueling business. Even before the morning marine layer cleared Saturday, Flagship Ferry boats departing downtown San Diego for Coronado were packed with visitors lookin g to avoid bridge traffic and get to the Naval Station race track. Among them was Tom Terrens, who traveled from Canada to attend his first NASCAR race. “I’ve been a racing fan all my life. I’ve been watching NASCAR on TV since 1959 on Wide World of Sports, and this is the first race I’ve ever been to,” he said. Charles Sterling is Terrens’s son-in-law, a San Diego NASCAR fan who organized their travel plan. “You don’t try to go across that bridge. If you look at it, it’s at a standstill. We don’t deal with that. We get our coffee, (a) burrito then get on the ferry and have a great time,” Sterling said. Bridge traffic on the inbound lane to Coronado backed up early, Saturday morning, causing delays throughout the day, June 20. 2026. Traffic on the Coronado Bridge, Saturday, remained bumper to bumper throughout much of the day. The influx of visitors also brought business to local restaurants near the ferry landing, including Cocina 35, where race fans stopped for breakfast before heading to the track. Restaurant owner Paulina Chaidez said the restaurant’s menu features family recipes. She told NBC 7, “manchacas, chilaquiles, frijoles de la olla. Evething we do is homemade. It’s my parent’s recipes.” The NASCAR weekend comes just ahead of the official start of summer, a time when Coronado is already a popular destination for tourists and beachgoers. While crowds gathered throughout the city, beach conditions varied. Water near the main lifeguard tower was considered clean enough for swimming, while advisories remained in place near the Hotel del Coronado because of ongoing sewage contamination concerns. “They just automatically go to Ocean Beach or Mission Beach, and don’t always check to see if the water is clean,” artist Bill Pavlaka said. He builds sandcastles on many local beaches and hoped to welcome tourists with a NASCAR message carved in the sand. Bill Pavlacka built a sandcastle, Saturday, welcoming NASCAR fans to Coronado, June 20, 2026. For longtime Coronado resident Laurie Leonard, the crowds are simply part of life in a destination city. “The people who don’t like it, don’t like anything. I always say if parking is your only problem you should hit your knees and thank God.” From the beach to the bridge, Coronado is welcoming tens of thousands of visitors this weekend as NASCAR excitement adds to the city’s traditional summer crowds. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less