Over the years there have been several conversations about NASCAR taking the sport outside the country. Recently there have been proposals from former NASCAR drivers such as Jeff Gordon to look up north into Canada or other international markets to expand the sport. However, the plans seem to never leave the drawing board.
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During the media session ahead of the Phoenix race, NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell addressed the sport’s interest in going international, specifically in going to Montreal in the upcoming year, and NASCAR’s plans for international expansion in 2025.
O’Donnell stated, “I think 2025 and really beyond look like there’s a number of opportunities. So when we looked at Montreal, absolutely there was interest on both sides.”
“I wanted to dispel kind of some of the rumors that were out there that Iowa came in in place of Montreal. It’s not the case. In an ideal world, we actually wanted to potentially bring on both racetracks.”
“When you look at our sport, and the ability to go into a marketplace, really grow the sport, we want to make sure we have all the levers in place to not just kind of come in and out, we want to build NASCAR within that particular country or marketplace.”
O’Donnell added that after discussing the possibility of NASCAR going to Montreal, they realized it was too soon to make it happen. However, they have been having discussions about other opportunities both within and outside of the United States.
He stated that they are pausing to evaluate all of these opportunities and determine what would be in the best interest of their fans for 2025 and beyond. The goal is to create the most exciting schedule possible.
Jeff Gordon wants NASCAR to go international
Earlier this year ahead of the official schedule for the 2024 season being announced, Jeff Gordon spoke about his desire for NASCAR to expand beyond its existing borders and perhaps head north to Canada or into South America.
He mentioned, “I know that there’s been conversations about Montreal. I’m not sure if it’s gonna happen or not, but I would love to see us be international, not international like overseas more because we’ve done that in Japan and if that happens again I would have to look at how we go about it.”
With plans in the mix to see the sport hold a race in Canada shortly there might be a possibility for further opportunities across international waters to open up. But, if it would be popular or not is another question.
