The highly ambitious effort that NASCAR has taken in holding a points-paying race in Mexico City was always expected to carry some logistical problems. Some of these problems have begun revealing themselves with teams and drivers struggling to fly into the venue in time. As a result, the sanctioning body has been forced to reschedule practice and qualifying sessions.
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NASCAR had earlier instructed teams to not take their private jets to reach Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, citing security reasons. Instead, they were advised to opt for the chartered flights organized by NASCAR itself. A few Xfinity Series teams booked commercial flights and made it to Mexico without any incidents.
Others, including the members of Haas Factory Team, Trackhouse Racing, and Sam Hunt Racing, were set to arrive on a different plane on Thursday afternoon. But this flight faced some technical issues and couldn’t take off from Charlotte. The drivers were forced to drive south to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport and take a different flight to Mexico.
Many others are still awaiting planes and might not reach the venue till 12:30 p.m. local time. This is why several practice and qualifying sessions have been rescheduled to accommodate the delayed arrivals. The biggest change is for the Xfinity Series, which will move the two practice sessions on Friday to a single session on Saturday at 11:05 a.m. ET.
Qualifying will begin at 12:10 p.m. ET. The Cup Series will hold two practice sessions on Friday. The first will last 50 minutes and begin at 4:05 p.m. ET. The second will last 25 minutes and begin at 5:30 p.m. ET. The starting time for Sunday’s main event remains unchanged at 3:00 p.m. ET.
New NASCAR Mexico schedule.
Friday: NASCAR Mexico Series race #1 will shift to 11:30 a.m. (1:30 ET)
Two NASCAR Cup Series practices will shift to 2:05 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., (4:05 and 5:30 ET) respectively and NASCAR Xfinity practice will move to Saturday.
Saturday: NASCAR…
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) June 13, 2025
The difficulty in holding an international NASCAR race
Crossing the borders of the United States is extremely crucial for the future of NASCAR. It needs to attract a newer generation and expand its presence across different markets. While the visit to Mexico City is a big step towards sustaining for the future, the difficulty in handling such a massive operation cannot be understated.
A large number of people in the NASCAR industry have been working tirelessly together for months to coordinate and execute this effort. And yet, mistakes occur. The promotion’s vice president of racing operations, Tom Bryant, detailed the intricacies of logistics, saying, “We’re responsible for everything. It’s people. It’s equipment. It’s all the logistics to support all that.
“It’s security. It’s a ton of contingency planning because, hey, we are going to be way far away from our home base here, right? We’re not at North Wilkesboro, where we can run back down to Charlotte and grab pieces and parts. That’s not possible. So every aspect of the event weekend has to be planned for, coordinated, resourced, and ready to go.”
Fingers will be crossed this weekend, praying to the car gods that the event goes by without major hurdles. The upcoming days are perhaps the most important in a long, long time.
