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Jennifer Maas
TV Business Writer
@jmaasaronson See All
NASCAR Ahead of its much-hyped racing weekend in San Diego running June 19-21, NASCAR is launching a real-world accurate version of the Naval Base Coronado track in Roblox game “Driving Empire.”
While NASCAR has previously added virtual versions of its LA Memorial Coliseum and Chicago Street courses, this game update marks the first-ever NASCAR track in-game based on a real-world U.S. military base.
“We’ve built those race tracks virtually first,” NASCAR vice president of interactive and emerging platforms Nick Rend told Variety. “We actually have race car drivers right now that are competing virtually, they’re testing virtually on the San Diego race course before the public gets access to it [in iRacing] and then we’ll be racing there in a couple weeks. That’s a really cool story, not to mention we have drivers now that are growing up inside of video games. William Byron, Rajah Caruth, their interest for racing and NASCAR, specifically, is being ignited through the products that we’re building and shipping, and it’s turning players into real drivers.”
The in-game update for “NASCAR World in Driving Empire,” which drops June 19, will include a new gameplay progression system that rewards a NASCAR-modified vehicle for completion; 13 new liveries for players to collect; a new NASCAR Daily Event system; and the potential to win Driving Empire NASCAR Modified Series Car as an in-game reward.
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Dropping June 19, the new Roblox collab is the latest pieces of gaming news from NASCAR, which has been slowly but steadily building up its gaming strategy and fan engagement on platforms including iRacing, Roblox, Fortnite and video likes like “Rocket League,” Xbox’s “Forza,” and “Crew Motorfest” over the past few years.
“I want people to understand that we’re not just adding gaming or leaning into games as a novelty — we’re trying to embed this as a core pathway to fandom and talent development,” Rend said. “The proof for me is in the pudding. We’ve had over 30 million visits in 2025. We’re probably at 45 or 46 million unique visits since February of 2025.”
Additionally, NASCAR will be teaming up with Microsoft’s “Call of Duty” during the event to host its annual charity esports tournament CODE Bowl at the Naval Base Coronado in at the center of the track during the weekend of the big race. That tournament, done in partnership with the America250-themed racing event, will bring active military teams from the U.S., U.K. and Canada to compete at “Call of Duty: Warzone” and raise money to support job placement for veterans.
“That collaboration is unique because it fits and connects with things that are already real for us,” Rend said. “We have a platform called NASCAR Salutes, and it’s always been about honoring the military community. It goes from Memorial Day through the Fourth of July. And having the race at a naval base allows us to connect naturally to service. What’s different on this is we’re bringing that story through gaming culture and ‘Call of Duty,’ which is it’s obviously a Mount Rushmore video game franchise, and we’re really excited about the mission that it supports.”
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