Austin Green gave NASCAR’s San Diego experiment its first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series benchmark, topping Friday practice as the new Naval Base Coronado street course began to show its teeth.
Green’s 1m15.503s lap put the No. 87 Chevrolet at the head of the opening O’Reilly practice times, ahead of Brent Crews on 1m15.761s and Austin Hill on 1m16.235s, according to the published practice results. On a weekend already defined by novelty and narrow margins, that early pace gives Saturday’s race a sharper competitive shape.
ReadMotorsport has already covered why the bumps and barriers make San Diego more than a showcase event. Friday’s O’Reilly session was the first real evidence that the support series will face the same problem the Cup field has been expecting: finding speed without leaning too hard on a temporary circuit that punishes overreach quickly.
Green lands the first proper marker
Green’s lap matters because it came before qualifying, before the field had time to settle into rhythm, and before the O’Reilly garage could properly separate clean pace from simple survival. Crews being second adds another useful thread, with one of the series’ young names immediately in the mix on a layout that rewards commitment but gives little room for repair.
Hill’s third-fastest time was a reminder that experience still travels well, especially on a weekend where braking confidence, restart discipline and tyre temperature will all matter as much as outright aggression. Behind them, William Sawalich, Carson Kvapil, Parker Retzlaff, Sheldon Creed, Jesse Love, Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray completed the top 10.
The headline lap was not the only story. Brandon Jones hit the outside wall and picked up heavy left-side damage, a warning that San Diego’s long straights and hard braking zones can turn a small misread into a costly afternoon. That fits the pattern from the Trucks, where Justin Marks’ practice fire had already underlined the risk around Coronado.
San Diego is already biting
NASCAR’s official weekend information lists the O’Reilly race for Saturday at Naval Base Coronado, with the series part of a three-day national-series programme on the temporary street course. The event sits alongside Friday’s Truck race and Sunday’s Cup race, giving NASCAR one of its boldest American venue swings in years.
That is why Green’s practice-topping run lands with more weight than a normal Friday sheet. San Diego is not a known oval, a familiar road course or a venue with years of notebook history. Every clean lap is useful, every wall strike changes the calculation, and every early benchmark gives rivals something to chase.
The next question is whether Green’s pace survives qualifying pressure. The O’Reilly field will have more time to study the braking zones and the narrow sections before the Saturday race, but the first answer from Coronado was clear enough: speed is available, but the track is already charging for mistakes.
For a weekend that began as a spectacle, NASCAR’s Coronado test has quickly become a proper racing problem.
