NASCAR is set to explore international waters for the first time in 28 years with the sport’s visit to Mexico City this year. With a daunting 1,963-mile distance from Charlotte to Mexico City, logistics are the foremost priority for drivers and teams, specifically the transport of race cars as stock car racing prepares to woo their fans outside the United States of America.
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Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s executive vice president outlined the travel strategy: “We’ll have a location where they’ll be able to transfer a lot of their equipment. A lot of them will probably use different cars when they go down to Mexico City, so they’ll have a spot on the way to Laredo where they can stop and make that change — similar to what we do on the West Coast Swing before they start heading south.”
Rodrigo Sanchez, the director of marketing, media, and PR for the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez compared NASCAR’s logistical demands to those of a Formula 1 event. “I would say the size, the magnitude, is very comparable.” He suggested a seamless transition for NASCAR’s venture abroad.
Meanwhile, Kennedy also disclosed plans for the NASCAR Xfinity haulers to reach the designated drop-off point in Mexico by Monday, with the Cup Series haulers following on Tuesday. The schedule is planned to ensure the convoy can commence its journey south on time. Unloading will be done on Thursday and Friday to accommodate practice and qualifying sessions over the weekend.
Previously, he had outlined that the haulers might stop at Charlotte after departing Michigan, heading to Mexico City. He added, “Ideally we start to have cars on track by Friday. So, you know the almost 200 haulers that we have for our industry from Michigan all the way down to Mexico City and back can be part of our planning… We want to make sure is buttoned up as well as we can.”
Steve Phelps opens up on what going to Mexico means for NASCAR’s future
NASCAR’s executive vice president revealed that incorporating Mexico City into the 2025 calendar was a long-considered decision, aiming to captivate a broad new audience. In preparation for the event, over 40,000 fans have pre-registered for tickets via nascarmexico.com, as reported by Rodrigo Sanchez. Public ticket sales start on February 27.
Talking to CNBC Television, Phelps stated, “I do think going south of the border to Mexico for us in mid-June is a really important thing for us. One of our racers, who’s won a couple of times in our top series, Daniel Suarez, is from Mexico. But it’s bigger than that for us as a sport to go outside of our borders. I think we need global expansion as a sport, as other sports are looking at as well.”
While still keeping the core focus of NASCAR inside US borders, Phelps suggested that it’s important for the league to go international for the recognition it will provide. The race will take place on the 15-turn road course at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, known best for its use in Formula 1 events.
Moreover, Prime Video will broadcast the Mexico City race as part of its rights to stream five events this season, including the Coca-Cola 600, and races at Nashville, Michigan, and Pocono. It now remains to be seen how well international fans receive NASCAR. One thing however is for certain, Daniel Suarez will not be feeling any lack of support whatsoever.
