Navy crane crew lifts NASCAR car onto USS Carl Vinson

An unusual load for a carrier deck

Lifts onto a flight deck are routine for the crane and rigging teams at Naval Base Coronado, but the load is normally aviation support equipment rather than a stock car. The NASCAR vehicle was hoisted aboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in support of San Diego’s first NASCAR race, held over 19 to 21 June.

The lift was carried out by the Crane and Rigging department under Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), using a 110-ton Link-Belt rough terrain crane rigged on the pier alongside the carrier.

Reach over the deck edge

Photographs of the operation show the crane set on outriggers on the quay, boom extended high over the carrier’s flight deck overhang and the ship’s island. Working over a moored vessel means the crane has to clear the hull, the overhanging deck and the ship’s fittings, and land the load accurately on a deck well above the pier surface. Radius rather than weight is normally the governing factor in that arrangement.

The car itself is a light load for a 110-ton machine. What makes the pick a considered one is the geometry: the crane must reach across the ship’s side at a radius that puts the hook over the deck, which is precisely the condition where a rough terrain crane’s chart falls away fastest.

Routine work, public setting

NAVFAC noted that the same team regularly manages critical lifts in support of fleet readiness, and that the operation demonstrated the department’s crane and rigging capability in a more visible setting than usual. The lift also served the Navy’s wider engagement with the San Diego community around the race weekend.

No further detail on the lift plan, rigging configuration or radius has been released.