NASCAR's Mexico City weekend was largely a success. Will it return in 2026?

New York Times

5 hours ago

MEXICO CITY — One of the main objectives behind bringing NASCAR's Cup Series to Mexico City, which on Sunday hosted the first premier series points race outside the United States since 1958, was introducing the sport to a culture unfamiliar with it.
If expanding the fan base is the measuring stick to gauge whether the Mexico City race weekend is a success, then there's ample evidence that NASCAR accomplished it. Across the city, the fifth-largest in the world by population, advertisements promoting the race were everywhere, from billboards to the subway, and many fans expressed excitement about NASCAR racing within their city.
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This enthusiasm was at its peak at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Fans loudly cheered the on-track action, particularly anything involving Daniel Suárez — a native of Monterrey, Mexico — whether it was a pass he made for position, or even when he was briefly shown on a video screen. When Suárez won Saturday's Xfinity Series race, the fans' roar drowned out the cars circling before them. But it wasn't only the native son who generated such a strong reaction, with many drivers finding themselves mobbed by fans when they walked through public areas.
Beyond the anecdotal, there is hard data that supports NASCAR expanding into Mexico, something the sport's leadership has attempted for a while but wasn't able to make happen until this year. According to Ben Kennedy, NASCAR's executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovation officer, 90 percent of those who attended Sunday's race — won by Shane van Gisbergen — came from Mexico, and 44 percent of the crowd lived in Mexico City.
'Today wasn't just a race,' Kennedy said. 'This was a historic moment for our sport, for Mexico, and for the global motorsports' community.
'One of the coolest parts about this weekend was seeing the reaction of the fans. I had the opportunity to go into the stands a few times, and the energy and the passion of the fans here is unmatched.'
It stands to reason, then, that NASCAR would exercise the option it holds with Mexican promoter OCESA to return to race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez next year. Too much positive came out of NASCAR's foray south of the border, and NASCAR and its teams largely support having an international race on the Cup calendar.
Still, while NASCAR usually doesn't leave a track after just a single year (of the new tracks added since 2021, only Road America exited after less than three years), the league has not yet committed to another go in Mexico City.
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'We're very hopeful to be back here in the future,' Kennedy said.
NASCAR has numerous reasons to hedge, and there is no rush to make a call.
As it does after every new race, NASCAR's decision-makers will convene to dissect the completed race weekend, what worked and what didn't, while also soliciting industry feedback, primarily from the teams and media partners.
NASCAR's discussions with teams will carry significant weight in any decision. From conversations with numerous team leaders throughout the weekend, nearly every one of them sees the benefit in continuing to race internationally and thought the Mexico City race weekend went rather smoothly — once everyone reached the city. And it's this caveat that proved problematic.
Hiccups in travel, most of which was coordinated by NASCAR, led to several individuals arriving late to Mexico City. Among them was van Gisbergen, who didn't make it until shortly before opening practice on Friday, along with several members of his Trackhouse Racing team, after their NASCAR-chartered plane was grounded with a mechanical issue.
Should Mexico City find a spot on the 2026 schedule, the majority of the teams that spoke to The Athletic would prefer to handle coordinating their own travel itineraries, something they do for every other race weekend.
'We're going to do a postmortem on our side around the event; we're going to collaborate with the teams,' Kennedy said. '… We're going to get together and put our heads together. What works? What will we continue to replicate in the future and where? What changes would you like to see if we do come back? How do we make sure it's as efficient and as effective as we can? Part of that is probably logistics planning. Part of that is probably scheduled.'
Then there is the issue of actually getting the equipment to Mexico City, a difficulty compounded by a grinding Cup schedule that sees teams race 37 times over a 38-week span.
Almost immediately following the June 8 race in Brooklyn, Michigan, team haulers had to begin heading toward Mexico City, required to be at the United States-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas, 24 hours later. The next day, they continued on to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. This coming weekend, NASCAR races at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, 2,500 miles back the other direction.
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Ideally, teams would like to see an off weekend either before or after any future Mexico City race.
'We can't do this — Michigan, Mexico City, back to Pocono, can't happen, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon said. 'We're doing it and we're excited to take on the challenge, but it's going to wear on us, and I don't think we can do it all back-to-back. So we've got to make some adjustments to the schedule and how do we fit it all in into what's already a very difficult schedule.'
NASCAR recognizes the burden placed on the teams, particularly hauler drivers. This was a big ask that required lots of buy-in.
Kennedy, primarily NASCAR's chief schedule maker, acknowledged an off weekend would greatly help everyone. But also noted that it's not a straightforward decision given the complexity of putting together the schedule.
'Having it located adjacent to an off week would help quite a bit,' Kennedy said. 'From a travel perspective, the challenge is we don't have many off weeks. We have a couple off weeks, so we do have some options, and we are looking at those options ideally, if we do come back, it will be around an off week, but still have some work to do.'
Logistic challenges aside, it's hard not to deem the inaugural race in Mexico City a success. And it's why the expectation within the garage is that NASCAR will again be racing there next year.
For NASCAR to truly cash in on its sizable investment in this race, it would be a mistake not to build off the foothold that it has established over the past nine months since first announcing the race.
The consensus is NASCAR needs at least one international race each season. And after the past week, Mexico City should be atop that list of options.
'For us, this is more of a strategic move as a sport to expand our footprint globally and internationally, and to a massive fan base,' Kennedy said. 'Just being in a country with 90 million people and over 20 million people in the larger Mexico City metro alone, that in and of itself is a success. That is success for us.
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'In my opinion, that carries a lot more weight than the economics or financials of the event. Sure, it's a variable we consider, but strategically, it's more important that we focus on those factors as we make those decisions.'
(Top photo of race winner Shane van Gisbergen during Sunday's Cup Series race in Mexico City: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)