San Diego, CA
Be prepared San Diegans, the holiday traffic rush is upon us. Here are the best and worst times to drive and fly.
As Christmas and New Year’s approach, San Diego’s airport will be more crowded than ever, but the vast majority of Southern Californians heading out of town — a record 8.7 million — will be navigating congested freeways over a 12-day holiday period.
The good news, says the Automobile Club of Southern California, is that because the holidays fall midweek and they cover an extended time frame, traffic tie-ups shouldn’t be as severe as those of other holidays.
“Luckily this is a holiday where the travel period is more spread out so you’re not having as much of a risk of traffic jams that you would have on a three-day holiday,” said the Auto Club’s Marie Montgomery. “But of course anytime you’re heading to Vegas, you can expect to get caught up in a big backup so the earlier you leave for your trip the better off you’ll be.”
According to the Auto Club, nearly 10 million Southern California residents will travel 50 miles or more from home between Saturday and Jan. 1. That’s a 3.5% increase compared to last year and 6.8% higher than the pre-pandemic holiday season in 2019. Of those Southern California residents leaving home, 899,000 will be flying, the Auto Club said.
Working in motorists’ favor, Montgomery said, is that work commute times during the holiday period tend to be lighter, and of those expected to be driving, some will be headed out of town for New Year’s but not for Christmas, so the traffic volumes will be more dispersed.
Still, traffic delays will be inevitable, especially so on the weekends before Christmas Day and New Year’s. And the single worst day to travel? It’s this Sunday, according to INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights that works with AAA on its forecasts.
“Our advice is to avoid traveling during peak commuting hours during the week. If schedules allow, leave bright and early or after the evening commute.” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX.
For the San Diego metro area, INRIX identified the single most congested route over the holiday period. It applies specifically to those heading to Palm Springs via Interstate 15 early Friday evening. Motorists can expect a driving time of 3 hours and 7 minutes, which is 35% longer than on a typical day, INRIX says.
The second worst traffic jam over the holidays is expected to be the return trip to San Diego from Palm Springs on the evening of Jan. 1, Montgomery said.
And best times to hit the road? AAA says traffic congestion should be minimal on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
That also applies to those heading to the San Diego International Airport for their holiday getaways, said airport spokesperson Nicole Hall. Record numbers are expected as well for the airport, which calculates passenger counts over a slightly longer period — 18 days, starting Thursday and ending Jan. 5.
In all, airport officials are forecasting that as many as 1.3 million people will fly in and out of the airport over the 18 days. The busiest times at the airport are expected to be Friday through Monday; Dec. 26-29; and Jan. 2-5. During those specific travel periods, the airport anticipates as many as 80,000 people arriving and departing daily, Hall said.
The forecast easily eclipses passenger volumes during the same period in 2019 and represents a roughly 5% increase over the number of travelers a year ago.
Given the expected traffic delays and continued construction on Terminal 1, airport officials are offering the following tips:
- Make parking reservations in advance. Nearly 5,000 covered parking spaces are available at the airport’s Terminal 1 and 2 Parking Plazas. Parking and curbside valet reservations can be made on the airport’s website. Book now and save 20% with the promo code HOLIDAYS. The promotion is available for a limited time.
- Be prepared for potential delays on west and eastbound N. Harbor Drive due to potential slow-moving construction vehicles.
- Arrive early because of expected traffic congestion due to construction. Busiest times curbside are 4 a.m. to 6:15 a.m., 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.
- The airport operates a free electric shuttle known as the San Diego Flyer, which runs between the Old Town Transit Station and the airport. The buses operate seven days a week, with an average arrival time of every 20 to 30 minutes. The first pickup is at 4:45 a.m. and the last pickup/drop off is at 12:30 a.m.
In addition to holiday-related delays, there’s always the possibility flights could be delayed to unforeseen weather conditions. On Wednesday, close to 200 flights were delayed and 56 others were canceled, mostly due to heavy fog that arrived late afternoon.
Originally Published:
NASCAR will honor the 250th birthday of the United States and the US Navy’s 250th anniversary with a race brand new to the racing calendar.
The Anduril 250 will take place on a road course built on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California. The 3.4-mile track has 19 turns. The race is 255 miles total and drivers will do 75 laps.
Shane van Gisbergen, who is widely considered to be NASCAR’s best road course driver, will start in pole position. van Gisbergen has won seven road races in 14 total starts, and he is just two road wins away from tying Jeff Gordon’s record of nine.
nascar anduril 250: what to know
- When: June 21, 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Coronado Street Course (Naval Base Coronado, San Diego, California)
- Channel: Streaming exclusive
- Streaming: Prime Video (30 days free)
Here’s everything you need to know about today’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Coronado Street Course.
NASCAR Cup race at San Diego start time:
Today’s (June 21) NASCAR race, the Anduril 250, begins at 4 p.m. ET.
What channel is today’s (June 21) NASCAR race on?
Today’s NASCAR race won’t be on traditional television; it will air exclusively on Prime Video.
How to watch the NASCAR Anduril 250 for free:
With Prime Video, you can also take advantage of the streamer’s Shop the Race storefront, exclusively on the Amazon mobile app, to shop gear, flags, and more for your favorite driver.
NASCAR San Diego starting lineup:
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Carson Hocevar
- Ryan Blaney
- Zane Smith
- Todd Gilliland
- Daniel Suárez
- Ryan Preece
- Connor Zilisch
- Michael McDowell
- Austin Hill
- Ty Gibbs
- Bubba Wallace
- Corey Heim
- Kyle Larson
- AJ Allmendinger
- Chris Buescher
- Tyler Reddick
- Austin Dillon
- Joey Logano
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Magnussen
- Chase Briscoe
- Ross Chastain
- Riley Herbst
- Cole Custer
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
- Austin Cindric
- Noah Gragson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ty Dillon
- Josh Berry
- Jimmie Johnson
- Christopher Bell
- Erik Jones
- Cody Ware
Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
Copyright 2026 San Diego Union-Tribune. All rights reserved. The use of any content on this website for the purpose of training artificial intelligence systems, algorithms, machine learning models, text and data mining, or similar use is strictly prohibited without explicit written consent.
Shane van Gisbergen earned his sixth career pole and second of the 2026 season on Saturday, rocketing to pole position around NASCAR’s all-new 3.4-mile street course at Naval Base Coronado. He even touched the wall twice on his fast lap, pushing to the absolute limit.
“A little bit (surprised),” said Van Gisbergen, who went out with the first group of qualifiers. “I thought the track would be better, and I thought people would execute a bit better. As I said, it’s just so difficult. There’s three or four corners you’re seeing for the first time of the day, and it’s on your heater. Amazing. The Red Bull Chevy is really good. Thank you to Trackhouse for doing a great job from yesterday, and we just need to get the driver a bit better,” he concluded with a smile.”
Watch: SVG surprised to win Busch Light Pole at San Diego
Van Gisbergen bested Carson Hocevar by 0.0156s with a fast lap of 2:14.788s. Ryan Blaney will start third, Zane Smith fourth, and Todd Gilliland fifth. Blaney was a little bit quicker than SVG for most of his lap, but lost it through the final set of corners.
Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Connor Zilisch, Michael McDowell, and Austin Hill will out the remainder of the top ten on the starting grid.
Project 91 driver Kevin Magnussen qualified 21st for his NASCAR Cup debut. Notably, championship leader Tyler Reddick spun out, but still reached 17th on the grid. Denny Hamlin is just 19 points behind him, and will start 26th.
Watch: Reddick loops it in Turn 2 during qualifying
Some other notable drivers very deep in the field include William Byron in 27th, Chase Elliott 30th, and an injured Christopher Bell 37th. He will have Brent Crews on standby, and may finish the race for Bell on Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson was the first driver to set a time, and showed just how tricky things were as he had to use the runoff area in Turn 2 to avoid an incident. Erik Jones also smacked the wall at the exit of Turn 16, but there were no red flags during the session.
NASCAR Cup San Diego ‘Anduril 250’ Full Starting Lineup
-
Lifestyle5 minutes agoSunday Puzzle: B to the B to the B
-
Technology13 minutes agoBose thinks it can be a media company for some reason
-
World20 minutes agoMeloni’s spat with Trump is calculated strategy to boost her approval ratings: expert
-
Politics23 minutes agoTrump’s Iran gamble divides GOP hawks and ‘America First’ conservatives over what victory looks like
-
Health28 minutes agoThis one question may reveal whether your body is getting the rest it needs, study finds
-
Sports35 minutes agoTeenage golfer Miles Russell delivers his dad an all-time Father’s Day experience during US Open final round
-
Technology38 minutes agoFake AAA email scam targets drivers
-
Business43 minutes agoThis startup wants to bring driverless freight trucks to California’s roads, but drivers are pushing back
