“Being able to expand our footprint to Mexico is a historic moment for our sport, and specifically for the NASCAR Cup Series,” stated Ben Kennedy, Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovations Office of NASCAR. “We’ve expressed our bold intentions to expand globally, and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez road course in Mexico City is the ideal location for us to take the next step in that journey.” Alejandro Soberón, OCESA’s founder and CEO, added: Our commitment to providing people with entertainment at OCESA has allowed us to establish ourselves as the most significant live events platform in both Latin America and Mexico, as well as one of the most significant worldwide.

The arrival of the NASCAR Cup Series to our country reflects the significant growth that motorsports has experienced in Mexico, an achievement in which Escudería Telmex has played a major role by promoting the NASCAR Mexico Series and supporting drivers like Daniel Suárez.”

An international first for the sport

The top level of NASCAR has had very limited experience outside of the United States, with the Cup Series having run some exhibitions in Japan between 1996 and 1998, as well as one in Australia in 1988. But the last points-paying international Cup race was in 1958 at Canadian Exposition Stadium in Toronto. Before that, there was another Canadian race in 1952, racing at Stamford Park in Ontario.

The track hosted NASCAR Xfinity Series races four times between 2005 and 2008. Stock car racing left great interest within the public and motorsports world in Mexico, allowing for a greater development of the category in the country including the NASCAR Mexico Series.

Since that time, a significant number of Mexican drivers have sought to climb to the top of the NASCAR ladder, trying to follow the path of drivers such as Carlos Contreras, who entered NASCAR in 1999 when he competed in his first Truck race. This was during a time when most Mexican racers were trying to make their way into IndyCar.

Contreras was followed by important names such as Adrian Fernandez, Michel Jourdain, German Quiroga and, the most successful so far in the American series — Daniel Suarez — the first foreigner to win a national-level title in NASCAR and the only non-American to win an oval race in Cup.

NASCAR’s interest in Mexico has led to more drivers seeking opportunities in the United States, even over F1. Names such as Andres Perez de Lara, Regina Sirvent and Eloy Sebastian have all been part of the NASCAR diversity program.