NASCAR made an announcement on Tuesday (Aug. 27) that had been years in the making.
After Ben Kennedy’s promises to try and expand NASCAR out of the United States of America, it finally came to pass for 2025.
But instead of going back to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, as it had came close to in 2024, it instead went south and signed a deal to bring NASCAR to Mexico City.
Our sport’s next great story will be written in Mexico City!
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez welcomes NASCAR in June 2025.
¡Nuestra próxima gran historia se escribirá en la Ciudad de México!
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez le dará la bienvenida a NASCAR en junio del 2025. pic.twitter.com/V4eSSXcHor
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 27, 2024
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, named for a pair of Mexican Formula 1 drivers in the 1960s whose lives were both cut short in separate accidents, is over 60 years old. It held F1 Grand Prix in the 1960s, then returned from 1986-92.
The track held four NASCAR Xfinity Series races from 2005-08. Interestingly, all four of the race winners are all active in NASCAR today; with Juan Pablo Montoya returning next month, he joins fellow winners Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.
It wasn’t all roses. One big problem the track had I remember from reading the NASCAR Scene at the time was the added travel costs on teams. Teams had to drive 4,000 miles roundtrip and cross an international border twice. Cup teams could have bore the cost, but not Xfinity Series teams at the time for a standalone event.
The races themselves were not particularly memorable. The street course around a public park seemed similar in concept to Montreal. But unlike Montreal, the layout really didn’t lend itself to great racing.
In 2015, Formula 1 returned to the circuit. The chief reason for this was one driver: Sergio Perez. If you attended a U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas around this timeframe, there was an almost impossible-to-ignore frenzy of Mexican and Latino fans who would rally around their hero. Even today, Checo is one of the most popular drivers whenever F1 goes to the States.
When he goes to Mexico City, however, things pick up.
I watch F1 practice with wraparound noise cancelling headphones. I know whenever Perez drives out onto the track during Mexico City weekend, even if the TV feed isn’t showing him, because the fans erupt for him.
F1 is a very nationalized international sport, so there are a lot of big fan reactions. Max Verstappen in the Netherlands just this past weekend. Lewis Hamilton in Great Britain and Brazil. Fernando Alonso in Spain.
None of them are in the same tier as Perez in Mexico. In NASCAR terms, it’s like if the fans went crazy for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega Superspeedway every time he pulled out for practice or qualifying instead of just taking the lead in the race.
Thanks to a reliable national hero in Perez and a new race layout that now involves driving into the baseball stadium instead of driving around it, the Mexico City Grand Prix is a massive success for F1. It sells out in minutes and boasts one of the best atmospheres on the calendar. A number of reporters over the years who follow F1 around the world have said that Mexico City is one of the best to go to.
And now NASCAR is returning to the circuit. First and foremost, it should be mentioned that the NTT IndyCar Series has had a spectacular failure in not seizing the opportunity to race there before NASCAR entered the picture.
Pato O’Ward is one of the biggest stars of that series and would have helped sell that out. The series really could have made a genuine impact on both city and country and will instead look late to the party if it follows the other two leagues in.
But enough about that Thermal Club series. Let’s look at what’s actually happening.
One core aspect of this return is that the NASCAR Cup Series will be hosting; there won’t just be an Xfinity Series race. The large TV rights that a Cup race generates will help offset any added logistical costs, while Xfinity teams will also not have to spend as much as they do for long distance standalones like Portland International Raceway.
This will be the biggest race in Daniel Suarez’s career. It will be one in which his teammate, Shane van Gisbergen, will be the clear favorite to win. But a great performance by Suarez would work wonders for him.
The Mexican fans are rapid for Perez, but he’s only been able to provide two third-place finishes in eight races there. Suarez matching that would go over great to both the fans in the stands and the businesses on-hand that will be watching. Some big, big money businesses.
Sergio Pérez wins $2.8 million lawsuit against Mexican oil giant PEMEX for breach of sponsorship contract, which was signed in 2018.
The deal was multi-year, but PEMEX failed to pay Pérez during the 2019 season citing “change of priorities”.#F1 #SergioPerez pic.twitter.com/1vFS3nJMbT
— Decalspotters (@decalspotters) September 29, 2021
Perez’s career is probably winding down in F1. When he retires, his numerous Mexican-based sponsors will suddenly have millions of dollars that will open up for them. Suarez getting even a piece of that pie would be massive for himself, Trackhouse Racing and NASCAR.
There have been some complaints online about this race replacing a race at Richmond Raceway. I write this not as a writer or a journalist, but as somebody with roots in Northern Virginia and as somebody who considers Richmond their home track: I understand this pain, but it will not be in vain.
Richmond was going to lose a date eventually. Just about every sign has been pointing to it the last couple of years. NASCAR could have done what it did in 2004 and killed Rockingham Speedway in favor of a second date at Auto Club Speedway. But it didn’t.
This means one less chance for Richmond fans to see their favorite drivers. But they didn’t lose both chances and have instead given one chance up to give a whole new slew of race fans, ones who have never been to a NASCAR race, a chance to get hooked.
And for those who are worried about safety, the Chicago street course has been pretty safe, hasn’t it? F1 did have a single robbery in Mexico years ago, but they also had a Ferrari driver robbed at Monza in Italy just last year, so maybe there is crime everywhere.
This isn’t anywhere near the end of Richmond either, for the record. Darlington lost a date in that 2004 realignment and now boasts two again. Atlanta Motor Speedway lost its second date after 2010, and it now has two again. Even Rockingham Speedway has reportedly returned from the grave.
So don’t be down. This will be a massive moment either way for NASCAR. You can either enjoy the fiesta or mope around. Or you could be working as a NASCAR engine builder and asking what you did to deserve having to deal with this incredibly high altitude race. The choice is yours.
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Publish date : 2024-08-27 15:26:00
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