Leap Frogs, Car Races Thrill Thousands at Coronado Speed Festival

Thousands cheered Navy Leap Frog parachute demonstrations and thunderous car races as Fleet Week Coronado Speed Festival concluded Sunday at North Island Naval Air Station. But one of the more interested spectators was Rear Adm. Cathal “Irish” Flynn—the first Navy SEAL officer.  Flynn was a grand marshal of the event, which marked the 50th anniversary of the SEALs, based in Coronado. Speaking to the sun-baked crowds, Flynn asked them to remember active-duty military and the 30 Americans killed in Afghanistan, including 22 SEALs, in a special operations mission in August 2011. Spectators who paid $25 a head, some wearing earplugs, watched qualifying and final races, toured ships and viewed hundreds of cars and military aircraft.