Outside of the country, NASCAR as a sport might not be as popular as some of the other forms of motorsport such as Formula 1. But looking at recent reports this won’t be the case for too long. The sport is not far away from rolling out its first points-paying Cup Series race outside the continental United States.
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In the past, NASCAR has hosted its races in Canada, Europe, Mexico, and most recently, Brazil. Moreover, NASCAR has also witnessed an increasing number of non-American drivers in its premier national series. So it makes sense for the sport to extend its boundaries outside the USA.
Reconfirming the news, NASCAR vice president and chief international officer Chad Seigler said, “For years we said we want to go outside the US and race, and you’ve seen us move from the messaging of it’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.”
“I would tell you that we’re leaning even closer now to, ‘Yes, we are going.’ I feel confident we’re going to be there sooner than later,” he added. It is perhaps safe to say that these new races would help crank up NASCAR’s viewership significantly outside America in the days to come.
Past international events in NASCAR
The most recent Cup Series races outside of the US were way back in the late 1900s, when a non-points exhibition race was held in Australia in 1988, followed by a series of the same held in Japan between 1996 and 1998. Besides that, a couple of races were held in Canada even earlier in the 1950s; one at the Samford Park in Ontario and another at Canadian Exposition Stadium in Toronto.
Furthermore, NASCAR’s international endeavors like Project 91 powered by Trackhouse Racing, the Hendrick Motorsports Garage 56 entry in last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Whelen Euro Series events have been well accepted by the crowds. When Australian Supercar sensation Shane van Gisbergen won his debut Cup race in Chicago last July and international racer like the Formula 1 champions, Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button took part in the first road course race of 2023 at COTA, it did garner attention from motorsport enthusiasts all over the world.
Fast forward to 2024, NASCAR is all set to take a major step towards increasing its international reach by running an invitational, non-points-paying race as a part of the Clash at the Coliseum weekend. The task for NASCAR is two-fold; retaining its current viewers and engaging them in their international ventures and gaining new fans outside of America.
