The first premier series points race held outside the United States since 1958 took place in Mexico City, the world’s fifth-most populous city, and delivered a resounding success in terms of turnout. Fans packed the venue and rallied behind their favorite drivers. Though the event drew praise, it was not without its share of contention.
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Concerns surfaced over local safety standards, and Carson Hocevar stirred backlash after making culturally insensitive remarks on Twitch. Yet one of the most common critiques among attendees was the race’s length, and Ryan Blaney didn’t shy away from echoing that sentiment.
Appearing on Rubbin’ is Racing with Spider, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion reflected candidly on the race format. “I think it could have been cut a little bit. 100 laps around that place is a lot. I think you could cut it down to like 80 laps, and it’s going to be just as good of a race,” Blaney said.
While he understood the difficulty of setting the ideal length without prior experience on that circuit, Blaney believed trimming 20 laps would have struck the right balance. According to him, a shorter run would not have compromised the intensity or quality of the racing.
Blaney also made it clear he welcomed NASCAR’s international ambitions and voiced no objection to a return to Mexico City next season. Still, he acknowledged the logistical challenges of staging such events abroad, especially with the compressed turnaround required to jump from one race weekend to the next.
Blaney calls for a break after the international outing
The No. 12 Team Penske driver backed the notion that NASCAR’s Mexico City race would have benefited from smarter scheduling. He suggested that placing the event in Bristol’s slot, just ahead of the Easter break, would have allowed teams a vital opportunity to regroup. As it stood, most personnel flew home on Monday after a day of international travel, only to face a quick turnaround for Pocono the following weekend.
Blaney acknowledged the strain this created, noting the narrow window left for teams and drivers to recalibrate before the next event. “I would like to see, maybe it’s a week off after an international event, just to give everybody a little bit of a breather, time to reset… That would be a good idea, have an off weekend after an international race for multiple reasons,” he said.
Jeff Gordon had earlier struck a similar chord, emphasizing that while taking the sport global presents no issue in principle, NASCAR must fine-tune the calendar before stretching itself too thin. With a 38-race slate and only one weekend off this season, both Gordon and Blaney warned that such a grind is unsustainable in the long haul.
