The rumors regarding the NASCAR Cup Series going international for the first time in decades were officially confirmed by the promotion. The 2025 season will see the teams and drivers race in Mexico City at the iconic Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. As a result, one of the Richmond dates will be dropped from the calendar. Speaking to the media after the official announcement, NASCAR’s Executive VP Ben Kennedy spoke about the decision to go international.
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Kennedy believed that this was the best way to help the sport grow. Having an international fan base has never hurt any form of motorsport and this could be the start of a new chapter in NASCAR. The sport has several Mexican-born personnel including drivers, spotters, crew chiefs, and engineers. This race could lay down the foundation for them to have a chance of coming over from the NASCAR Mexico Series to the Cup Series.
“Our biggest opportunity to grow as a sport is international,” Kennedy said in a press conference. “It’s important as we think about our fanbase, we think about out future pipeline of drivers, crew chiefs, engineers, making sure that we give them the pathway from the NASCAR Mexico Series into our national series, potentially even our Cup Series to create the next generation of our sport.”
There were mixed reactions from fans on social media, as expected. Some users were happy that NASCAR was going international finally after so many years. Others just don’t want to see their sport leave their country even if it’s only going next door.
NASCAR legends had suggested a potential race abroad
Racing legend Jeff Gordon has always been a fan of the sport going abroad. He’d spoken about a potential expansion earlier and mentioned Mexico as one of the markets. Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. said that he would have liked NASCAR to expand outside of the States earlier, mentioning Canada as a potential market. Well, their hopes have become a reality.
“I think there’s a lot of fans in Canada, think there’s a lot of fans in Mexico and South America that we are not tapping into that I think would grow the sport and put a lot more eyeballs on it. So I would love to see it, whether it’s next year or the year after that, I would love to see it,” Gordon had said earlier.
The sport may take a few years to woo the fans in that country but Mexico has had a vibrant motorsports culture for several decades now. The Formula One and Moto GP events at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez usually see sell-out crowds each year. That’s what NASCAR will also have to compete against. Hopefully, that will be the case after a few seasons in Mexico.
