San Diego, CA
Larger 9th Circuit panel to hear San Diego challenge to California’s ammunition background check law
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced Monday that an 11-judge panel will hear a San Diego case challenging a voter-approved California law that requires a background check for nearly all purchases of firearm ammunition.
A San Diego federal judge has twice found that the law is unconstitutional, ruling that it infringes on the Second Amendment rights of Californians, and a three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit affirmed that ruling in a 2-1 opinion in July.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta subsequently petitioned the 9th Circuit to rehear the case en banc, and on Monday the 9th Circuit announced that a majority of active judges had voted to have the case reheard by a larger 11-judge en banc panel.
In addition to requiring background checks for most ammunition purchases, the law in question also bans Californians from bringing home ammunition that they purchase out of state.
While Bonta has argued the law was passed by voters in response to mass shootings and is intended to ensure ammunition is kept out of the hands of people not legally allowed to purchase it, the individuals and Second Amendment rights groups who challenged the law in San Diego federal court argued that it illegally infringes on their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
Monday’s announcement that the case will be heard en banc was the latest twist in a case that was filed in 2018.
San Diego-based U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez first struck down the law as unconstitutional in 2020. California appealed that ruling to the 9th Circuit, but in 2022, before the 9th Circuit had ruled on that appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in a New York gun case that upended Second Amendment case law.
After that Supreme Court ruling, which holds that modern gun laws must be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” the 9th Circuit sent the case back to Benitez to be relitigated under the high court’s new framework.
That’s how Benitez came to rule last year, for a second time, that the law was unconstitutional. “A sweeping background check requirement imposed every time a citizen needs to buy ammunition is an outlier that our ancestors would have never accepted for a citizen,” Benitez wrote in part.
California again appealed the ruling, then asked for the larger 9th Circuit hearing after the three-judge panel sided 2-1 with Benitez in July.
That opinion by the three-judge panel is now vacated, according to an order issued Monday by 9th Circuit Chief Judge Mary Murguia. It’s not yet known which 11 judges will hear the case, but oral arguments will be held in March.
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
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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
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