Boaters off San Diego on Saturday witnessed a rarely seen spectacle involving killer whales, or orcas, that are more comonly encountered much farther south in Mexico.
“Who needs SeaWorld when the greatest Orca show in the world is in the WILD!” Domenic Biagini, owner of Gone Whale Watching San Diego, exclaimed via Instagram.
The accomapnying footage, captured by the company’s Erica Sackrison, shows one orca ambushing a dolphin from below, sending the stunned mammal flying while launching at least 20 feet above the surface.
The Eastern Tropical Pacific orcas (ETPs), only show a few times a year off San Diego and it’s almost always to hunt common dolphins, which are abundant off Southern California.
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Biagini explained that the day’s excitement began with the sighting of a surface-feeding humpback whale and hundreds of dolphins.
Then, in the distance, dolphins began to stampede in a panic. A crewman noticed a splash from a larger mammal, indicating that a killer whale hunting party was present.
“Our initial thought was that a Humpback had done something surface active; when suddenly the unmistakeable shape of a Killer Whale exploded into the air!” Biagini wrote.
The orca in the footage is a previous visitor nicknamed Top Notch, because of distinctive markings. Biagini joked that Top Notch was “channeling his inner ‘Top Gun’ by rocketing 20-plus feet into the air in pursuit of a common dolphin breakfast.”
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
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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:
If you aren’t a Prime Video subscriber yet, you can get started with a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial, including Prime perks like the Prime Video streaming service, free two-day shipping, exclusive deals, and more. After the free trial, Amazon Prime costs $14.99/month or $139/year.
All 18- to 24-year-olds, regardless of student status, are eligible for a discounted Prime for Young Adults membership as well, with age verification. After a six-month free trial, you’ll pay 50% off the standard Prime monthly price of $14.99/month — just $7.49/month — for up to six years and get all the perks.
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.
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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
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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
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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
