NASCAR hopeful for deserved return to Mexico City in 2026; will INDYCAR join?
MEXICO CITY — The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City has played host to Formula 1 races for several years. This year, the NASCAR Cup Series made its debut at the facility.
INDYCAR could possibly join the fun in 2026 as both NASCAR and INDYCAR look to increase their North American fan bases.
Whether NASCAR returns will be determined in the next couple of months. NASCAR and promoter OCESA must evaluate the first trip of Cup to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and the first visit south of the border of any NASCAR national series in 17 years.
It had been 67 years since NASCAR had staged a Cup points race outside the United States.
"We believe that our communities share a spirit of optimism and desire to improve the lives of our people through collaboration and connection," NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps told the drivers prior to the race. "We believe this is particularly true through sports, and in our case, motorsports. We have the honor and responsibility to excite, entertain and unite through our sport, and I know how much putting on a great show means to all of you.
"We hope that NASCAR can continue to foster meaningful relationships here in Mexico for many years to come."
Both NASCAR and INDYCAR have Mexican drivers competing at their highest levels. Daniel Suarez was a fan favorite this past weekend. INDYCAR driver Pato O'Ward — who, like Suarez, is from Monterrey — has a following that is likely double or more than Suarez as Mexican fans tend to follow open-wheel racing.
"We would love to go there," O'Ward said after his second-place INDYCAR finish Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis. "I think it would be fantastic to have INDYCAR there, and we're sure as hell going to try and pack the whole place up."
NASCAR Executive Vice President Ben Kennedy's primary role is spearheading the expansion of the schedule to new venues. He said finding the right spot on the calendar will be the key to returning to the venue, which hosts a Formula 1 race each year and quite possibly an INDYCAR race next season.
INDYCAR's most likely date would come in the spring, where there are fewer races and there are questions about a return to Thermal. NASCAR's possibly is more closer to the summer, although the 2026 World Cup will have matches in Mexico City from June 11-July 5, which potentially could impact when NASCAR could or would want to race there.
Formula 1 already has announced its 2026 schedule and will race Nov. 1 in Mexico City, whose motorsports calendar also has included a Formula E event (which this year was in January).
Kennedy indicated that the deal with OCESA to promote the race is a multi-year agreement, but it has options year-to-year on whether to continue.
"We're very hopeful to be back here in the future," Kennedy said. "We said this time and time again, ... we've been bold and we've been innovative. We've done things like races in downtown Los Angeles and building a temporary [track] there [in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum], the first-ever street race in our sports history in downtown Chicago and this was the next milestone moment for us — bringing a race internationally.
"We're very bold about continuing to bring our NASCAR Cup Series internationally. Mexico is a great place to do it."
Sunday's race wasn't a sellout, but it was an enthusiastic crowd. Kennedy said 90 percent of the fans came from Mexico and 44 percent from Mexico City.
"We were happy with [the attendance]," Kennedy said. "The stadium section was packed ... What's just as important to us as the amount of people is the fact that there were avid fans that were here, there were casual fans that were here, and there were a ton of new fans that had never been to a NASCAR race."
Whether the event made money likely wouldn't be an issue regarding NASCAR's decision to return.
"For us, this is more of a strategic move as a sport to expand our footprint globally and internationally and to a new massive fan base," Kennedy said.
"Just being in a country with 90 million people and over 20 million people in the larger Mexico City metro alone, that, in and of itself, is a success. ... That carries a lot more weight than the economics or financials of the event. "
NASCAR did have some challenges, especially with planes it chartered to bring teams and other industry personnel. One plane apparently blew an engine and another was grounded by homeland security due to a paperwork issue.
That resulted in NASCAR having to change its Friday and Saturday schedules, as teams on those planes either had to wait for planes for the next day or two or scramble for commercial flights.
"There are challenges to internationally that are different," said RFK Racing owner and driver Brad Keselowski, who competed in one of the Mexico races when the Xfinity Series raced there from 2005 through 2008.
"I suspect the industry will re-learn some of those lessons from a decade plus ago and be equipped to handle it better the next time."
The drivers seemed to embrace the atmosphere and the culture. Several had come to the area in the last couple months to try to create awareness for the race.
"It was a really special thing for us to be able to come down here and do this," said NASCAR's most popular driver, Chase Elliott. "I thought it was really well done. I haven't had any bad experiences throughout either one of my trips to Mexico City.
"I thought the weekend was overall a success."
NASCAR seemed to have learned from some of its experiences at new road courses and appeared to find a solution with strategically placed tire packs to ward off drivers trying to cut the turns.
"It's always cool going to different places," said race winner Shane van Gisbergen. "But I have no say in it.
"I think everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The racing was cool. I'd love to come back."
Some might not think the racing was as cool as van Gisbergen, who won by 16.567 seconds over Christopher Bell. While the second half of the race provided little drama, the racing on Saturday in the Xfinity Series certainly delivered, as that series can occasionally get a little chaotic.
Emerging from the chaos was Daniel Suarez, NASCAR's lone Mexican-born Cup driver and the only Mexican to win a Cup race and the only international driver to win a national series championship.
The fans roared for Suarez, who had made several trips himself to Mexico City to promote the event.
"Every single thing about this weekend exceeded my expectations. The people, the fans, the sponsors, the excitement, the energy," Suarez said. "I had expectations for this weekend. Not for the results but for the event and I can tell you that it personally exceeded those expectations.
"So very, very happy for that. Very blessed. I hope that we can do it many more times."
We'll see if that happens.
"Racing here in Mexico City among these passionate fans in such an impressive venue, for the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history is, in a word, spectacular," Phelps said in his address to the drivers.
"Together, we are doing something that will be remembered in the history of our great sport."
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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