Despite NASCAR’s first international points race unfolding as a vibrant success, with Daniel Suárez delivering a stirring Xfinity win for his home crowd and fans showering Cup drivers with unrelenting support, the event wasn’t without detractors back home. Some U.S.-based fans took issue with the Mexico City venture, citing political tensions, safety concerns, and a preference for reviving dormant American tracks. But Kyle Petty offered a sharp rebuttal to the naysayers.
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Speaking to Motorsports Reports, Petty called the weekend a watershed moment for NASCAR. He acknowledged the criticism, noting that certain fans were frustrated the sport didn’t revisit shuttered venues stateside. Still, he pointed to a deeper shift: “You have to look at the demographics of the United States, and you have to look at the Hispanic population and the Latino population.”
“Daniel Suarez has brought more eyes to our form of racing, to Cup racing than anybody before…,” Petty said. “As we look at the demographics in this country and you look at society, it is they are the largest, the fastest growing group of immigrants to the United States…”
He added, “I’m just talking able-bodied people who pull for racing and love NASCAR racing, and there’s a lot of fans right now that come out of Mexico and a lot of fans that are watching in Mexico. So, that is a huge moment for our sport.”
While viewership data for the Mexico race hasn’t yet been released, last weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan drew 1.77 million viewers. NASCAR has confirmed strong ticket sales for the Mexico City event, driven by collaboration with OCESA and the promise of tapping into a rich, untapped market.
Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovations Officer, remarked that the fan mix included both American travelers and longtime Mexican followers. But, more notably, “the beauty of this is we’re going to have a lot of fans who have never been to a NASCAR race before,” so the viewership numbers are naturally expected to shoot up.
As a sign of the event’s national pull, 90% of the ticket buyers were from Mexico, with only 44% residing in Mexico City, according to data shared by Jeff Gluck. Many were emotional at the sight of Cup cars thundering through their home soil for the first time, pleading for NASCAR to commit to a return in 2026.
While Kennedy stopped short of a formal announcement, he appeared genuinely touched by the moment NASCAR created, assuring fans that the series would be back soon, saying, “We’re very hopeful to be back here in the future.”
