Blab Tech
Qualcomms Dragonwing AI to Power NASCARs First Military-Base Race
On June 21 2026, the roar of stock cars will echo off the concrete of Naval Base Coronado, marking NASCAR’s first race on an active military installation.
The 3.400‑mile Coronado Street Course will host the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series in a single event, the first time all three national series will compete on a military base.
Driver Shane van Ginsbergen will lead the field. The road‑course specialist has won six of the last seven street or road‑course events and finished second in the one he did not win, and he is renowned for his skill on the course’s many right‑hand turns.
Qualcomm, headquartered in San Diego, has partnered with Trackhouse Racing to give van Ginsbergen a technological edge. The collaboration centers on Dragonwing, an on‑premise artificial‑intelligence platform that processes data in real time without sending it to the cloud. Dragonwing is a compact, embedded device that collects information from sensors mounted on the car and from existing NASCAR data services, then analyzes it locally so the crew can receive actionable insights during the race.
“Dragonwing enables the team to get real‑time performance data through AI without having to go to the cloud,” said Don McGuire, Chief Marketing Officer at Qualcomm. “It’s an on‑premise device, so the data is collected right at the source and processed in real time so that the team can look at insights and apply them to the performance on the track.”
Trackhouse engineers have already developed use cases for the technology. They use the data to evaluate competing cars, create passing‑prediction models, and inform drivers when the best moment to overtake is. McGuire noted that the team has discovered “use cases we hadn’t even thought of,” highlighting the flexibility of the Dragonwing platform.
Van Ginsbergen will be joined by former Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen, who will make his NASCAR debut in the number 91 car. Magnussen’s experience in high‑speed, high‑precision racing is expected to complement the data‑driven approach of the team.
Qualcomm sees the racing application as a testbed for its broader AI strategy. The company has stated that the real‑time AI processing used in stock‑car racing will inform its work on other devices that people use daily. “The AI box is just another incarnation of that, but it’s able to process massively more amounts of data than something you wear on your person like a pair of glasses or a phone,” McGuire said.
The Coronado Street Course is part of a larger effort to bring NASCAR to new venues. The race was announced in July 2025 as part of a celebration of the Navy’s 250th anniversary, with the base’s commanding officer emphasizing the honor of hosting a premier motorsport event.
The event will be broadcast by NBC San Diego and is expected to attract significant viewership. Qualcomm’s Dragonwing technology will be showcased as a first‑of‑its‑kind application of on‑device AI in a high‑stakes, real‑time environment.
As the race approaches, the focus will remain on the technical partnership between Qualcomm and Trackhouse Racing, the performance of van Ginsbergen and Magnussen, and the broader implications of deploying AI at the edge in motorsports.
The race will take place on June 21 2026, with the Coronado Street Course set to host the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series. Qualcomm’s Dragonwing platform will provide real‑time data analytics to the Trackhouse crew, while the event marks NASCAR’s first competition on an active military base.
The 3.400‑mile Coronado Street Course will host the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series in a single event, the first time all three national series will compete on a military base.
Driver Shane van Ginsbergen will lead the field. The road‑course specialist has won six of the last seven street or road‑course events and finished second in the one he did not win, and he is renowned for his skill on the course’s many right‑hand turns.
Qualcomm, headquartered in San Diego, has partnered with Trackhouse Racing to give van Ginsbergen a technological edge. The collaboration centers on Dragonwing, an on‑premise artificial‑intelligence platform that processes data in real time without sending it to the cloud. Dragonwing is a compact, embedded device that collects information from sensors mounted on the car and from existing NASCAR data services, then analyzes it locally so the crew can receive actionable insights during the race.
“Dragonwing enables the team to get real‑time performance data through AI without having to go to the cloud,” said Don McGuire, Chief Marketing Officer at Qualcomm. “It’s an on‑premise device, so the data is collected right at the source and processed in real time so that the team can look at insights and apply them to the performance on the track.”
Trackhouse engineers have already developed use cases for the technology. They use the data to evaluate competing cars, create passing‑prediction models, and inform drivers when the best moment to overtake is. McGuire noted that the team has discovered “use cases we hadn’t even thought of,” highlighting the flexibility of the Dragonwing platform.
Van Ginsbergen will be joined by former Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen, who will make his NASCAR debut in the number 91 car. Magnussen’s experience in high‑speed, high‑precision racing is expected to complement the data‑driven approach of the team.
Qualcomm sees the racing application as a testbed for its broader AI strategy. The company has stated that the real‑time AI processing used in stock‑car racing will inform its work on other devices that people use daily. “The AI box is just another incarnation of that, but it’s able to process massively more amounts of data than something you wear on your person like a pair of glasses or a phone,” McGuire said.
The Coronado Street Course is part of a larger effort to bring NASCAR to new venues. The race was announced in July 2025 as part of a celebration of the Navy’s 250th anniversary, with the base’s commanding officer emphasizing the honor of hosting a premier motorsport event.
The event will be broadcast by NBC San Diego and is expected to attract significant viewership. Qualcomm’s Dragonwing technology will be showcased as a first‑of‑its‑kind application of on‑device AI in a high‑stakes, real‑time environment.
As the race approaches, the focus will remain on the technical partnership between Qualcomm and Trackhouse Racing, the performance of van Ginsbergen and Magnussen, and the broader implications of deploying AI at the edge in motorsports.
The race will take place on June 21 2026, with the Coronado Street Course set to host the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series. Qualcomm’s Dragonwing platform will provide real‑time data analytics to the Trackhouse crew, while the event marks NASCAR’s first competition on an active military base.
