If you didn’t know better, you’d think NASCAR was invading Mexico this weekend. Team transporters have been escorted from the border by thousands of heavily armed federal police and military soldiers to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the track where the race will be held.
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It might be reminiscent of the movie Sicario, but much of it is to keep teams, drivers and everyone going south of the border safe. They are also being advised to stay within a well-guarded “bubble” of roughly four square blocks to remain safe. But at least one driver is hoping for the best and expecting little of the worse: Zane Smith.
Smith recently spoke to NASCAR broadcaster Claire B. Lang and got the negative information out of the way. He said, “My honest answer is there’s a lot of overreaction from majority of the industry and it’s frustrating to hear and deal with.
“I’ve spent a good amount of time in Mexico. I vacationed with a group of friends in Cabo for the past few years. But there’s a lot of people that are overreacting.”
Smith said the upcoming race reminded him somewhat of Chicago in 2023, where many expected a trainwreck, but it turned out to be, in his words, “the most fun weekend ever.”
He added that as long as NASCAR teams stay within certain confines, they’ll be fine. “You just have to know what to expect in Mexico City and Mexico in general. There’s good and bad areas, as there is everywhere,” he said.
The 26-year-old Front Row Motorsports driver was more mindful of his dietary choices, admitting that he has been on the receiving end in the past. “Just common sense, be smart. I feel like the saying, ‘Better safe than sorry’ is true this weekend,” he noted.
As for the altitude, time will tell on Sunday. “The altitude stuff is going to be different to us,” Smith said. “I’ve been down there and I don’t really notice a huge difference, but we’ll see. I may completely be gassed after this race and we’ll see.
“All in all, I’m going to go have fun and I can’t wait to go do some road course racing in Mexico,” he concluded.
Past trips were almost completely safe
Almost 20 years ago, the Xfinity Series raced at the Autodromo for four straight years from 2005 to 2008. Based upon media reports, there was only one reported incident that occurred during all those visits, and NASCAR is hoping things remain safe in the sanctioning body’s return to Mexico City, the first of three planned Cup races there between now and the 2027 season.
As if that wasn’t enough, Mexico City is more than 7,500 feet above sea level, so air will be much thinner for drivers in their cars as well as potentially rob the naturally aspirated race car engines of power.
And then there’s the race day forecast. Instead of the usual 80s and 90s, Sunday is expected to stay in the high 60s to low 70s, and there is a heavy expectation of rain throughout the afternoon — prompting NASCAR on Wednesday to announce that all teams will be issued six sets of rain tires for the weekend, with five sets able to be used during the actual race itself.
