Motorsports

Nascar goes to Mexico: Ben Kennedy on the making of the landmark Cup Series event

This weekend, Nascar will race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, marking the first points-paying Cup Series race held outside the US in the modern era. Technically, a points-paying race did take place in Ontario, Canada, back in 1958 but that was well before the start of what’s widely considered modern Nascar, which […]

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1 month ago

June 10, 2025

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This weekend, Nascar will race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, marking the first points-paying Cup Series race held outside the US in the modern era.

Technically, a points-paying race did take place in Ontario, Canada, back in 1958 but that was well before the start of what’s widely considered modern Nascar, which began in 1972. Since then, there has never been an event like this.

Exhibition events have taken Nascar to places like Australia and Japan, while from 2005 to 2008 the second-tier Xfinity Series raced at the circuit hosting this weekend’s action. The Cup Series, though, is a different matter entirely.

Nascar may be the governing body for multiple series but, for those outside the US especially, Nascar is the Cup Series and the product that needs to be brought to their doorstep.

Still, introducing an international race to the official Cup Series schedule is far from straightforward. Unlike Formula One, which has long operated with a global infrastructure, Nascar is not an internationally established series and faces real challenges when expanding to new markets.

Lessons from Chicago

In many ways, the groundwork for Nascar’s expansion into Mexico began with the downtown event in Chicago, despite that not being an international event.

The 2023 edition was the first street race that Nascar had ever held, a sign that the series wanted to start doing things a little differently. However, it also highlighted that Nascar was not appropriately set up for the various logistical challenges.

Jeff Wohlschlaeger, head of sales for Nascar at the time, told BlackBook Motorsport that Nascar failed to anticipate “the level of work that would be required” for the event. The race ended up costing a reported US$50 million, which far exceeded the original budget of between US$15 million and US$25 million.

While Mexico will present its own unique challenges, the experience in Chicago means Nascar is far more prepared than it was previously.

Nascar’s most recent attempt to branch out into new markets has not been without teething issues, but these have been invaluable lessons for the series’ expansion into Mexico

“There’s some learnings [from Chicago] and quite a few of the people that work on the Chicago event are also spending time helping promote Mexico City as well,” Ben Kennedy, Nascar’s executive vice president and chief venue and racing innovations officer, tells BlackBook Motorsport.

“The biggest [learning] is how we think about marketing and promoting events and taking it to market. One example of that is we’ve branded the weekend in Chicago and the weekend in Mexico with the Nascar name. It’s important for us to be able to build the Nascar name in Chicago as well as Mexico.”

Indeed, Nascar races are usually heavily commercialised and centred around brand partnerships, like the Coca-Cola 600. But all the marketing in the buildup to this weekend has focused on the ‘Nascar Mexico City Weekend’, before being called the ‘Viva México 250’ one month out from its debut.

One major difference from Chicago is that the series won’t be promoting the event itself. Instead, the weekend is being led by Oseca, the promoter behind the Formula One race at the same circuit. Yet, as Kennedy points out, it remains a great undertaking for Nascar.

“The travel and logistics, travelling a pretty good distance from Michigan and having our entire industry go to Mexico City, it’s a far drive,” he explains.

“We have to coordinate flights and hotel rooms, and logistics when people get on the ground, as well as a couple hundred haulers that are going to be travelling down there as well.”

‘We felt the best first step would be to go south’

Kennedy reveals that Nascar “had multiple conversations across many countries and continents.” So why choose Mexico?

Nascar wanted to make a statement at the start of its new seven-year media rights deal, which is reportedly worth US$7.7 billion across four broadcasters. One of those, Amazon Prime Video, holds a five-race package that includes this weekend’s event, marking the first time the Cup Series has aired exclusively on a streaming platform.

The significance of going abroad for this race should help drive viewers to Prime Video, though the decision to pick Mexico also reflected practical considerations given the logistical challenges meant Nascar couldn’t venture too far afield.

“The amount of inventory that we carry through our Cup Series schedule makes it very difficult for us to travel from the United States overseas, pack our stuff up, and then be back the next weekend, seeing that we have 38 [races],” says Kennedy.

While Mexico is the most logical choice for now, Kennedy adds that Nascar will “take a race north of the border” at some point soon, meaning Canada is very much in the mix for a future event.

“We want to focus on North America,” continues Kennedy. “We’ve had a few conversations in Mexico. We’ve also talked to folks north of the border as well at a few different locations and we’d still love to have an event up in Canada at some point.

“But with everything on the table, and the great partners that we already have down in Mexico, we felt like the best first step for us would be to go south.”

The race was officially unveiled at an event at the circuit in August 2024, featuring appearances from Ben Kennedy and Daniel Suárez

Maximising the Mexican market

One of Nascar’s drivers is Daniel Suárez, who graduated from the Nascar Mexico Series. It highlights the organisation’s existing presence in the country and sits alongside similar regional series in Canada, Brazil and Europe. All of these offer insight into Nascar’s broader international expansion plans.

“It’s really important for us for building the overall awareness and relevance of Nascar in these markets prior to us considering it for a Cup race,” Kennedy says. “But, just as important, we want to use it as a pipeline for the future stars of our sport.

“Daniel Suárez is a great example of someone that started in Mexico and is now in our Cup Series, and we would like to see the same for Brazil and Canada and our other territories too.”

Nascar will also look to maximise its visibility in Mexico during its visit through a free-to-air (FTA) broadcast deal with US-based Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivision.

Notably, Nascar gave the Spanish-language rights to a local broadcaster rather than Prime Video, which is airing the race in the US. This underscores how eager series executives are for the event to reach the widest possible audience.

“It was one of the first things when we decided that we’re going to Mexico City,” notes Kennedy. “It was a priority for us to find a free-to-air partner so that we could have the distribution and exposure going into the weekend and race day.”

Suárez is the only Mexican driver to have ever won a Cup Series race, while only two drivers from the country – Jorge Goeters and Pedro Rodríguez – have ever made it to the top level of Nascar previously

Avoiding F1 comparisons

Working closely with Oseca and racing at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez inevitably invites comparisons between Nascar and Formula One, something that is only increasing as the open-wheel series grows its presence in the US.

Nascar’s global expansion plans are, in part, a response to Formula One’s rising influence, as well as the increasing competition for eyeballs.

Kennedy himself stops short of making any direct comparisons between the pair.

“Even though we’re going to be racing on a very similar layout to Formula One, and I would guess that many fans that come on June 15th have gone to a Formula One race, so much of it’s going to feel different,” he says.

“The closeness of competition, the level of aggression that our drivers are going to have … they’re going to see a different style of racing that’s going to be true to what Nascar is.”

Evidently, Nascar is keen to distance itself from Formula One amid mounting pressure.

Since the first race of the Formula One season on 16th March, Nascar’s average viewership has been 2.56 million. Formula One is not that far behind, averaging 1.33 million viewers over the same period.

Take out the first three races of the Formula One season, which aired during the middle of the night in the US, and the gap narrows further: 2.53 million for Nascar versus 1.58 million for Formula One.

Formula One is also attracting viewers in the sought-after 18 to 49 demographic, with last month’s Miami Grand Prix drawing 917,000 viewers in that age group.

In this context, it’s easy to understand why Nascar feels the need to evolve and also why Mexico won’t be a one-off. But the first hurdle to clear will be ensuring this weekend’s event is a success, laying the foundation for a long-term future on the schedule.

“The biggest thing is making sure that we strike the right tone when we go to Mexico, that we have people that are following the weekend, that come to the event, that tune into the race weekend,” Kennedy says.

“We feel like we’ve done a lot of things in our power, especially over the past few months, to make sure that this event is successful.

“Hopefully this is just the catalyst and the start to many years of racing in Mexico.”

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Motorsports

NASCAR In-Season Tournament Bracket 2025 Updated Point Standings After Dover

Ty Dillon and Ty Gibbs will race each other for the NASCAR In-Season Challenge’s $1 million prize next week. Dillon and Gibbs won their respective individual matchups at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday to advance to the championship battle. Gibbs finished fifth, four spots behind winner Denny Hamlin, while Dillon landed in 20th to seal […]

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33 minutes ago

July 21, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Ty Dillon and Ty Gibbs will race each other for the NASCAR In-Season Challenge’s $1 million prize next week.

Dillon and Gibbs won their respective individual matchups at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday to advance to the championship battle.

Gibbs finished fifth, four spots behind winner Denny Hamlin, while Dillon landed in 20th to seal his semifinal victory.

Gibbs and Dillon will go head-to-head next Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first-ever NASCAR In-Season Challenge prize.

No. 32 Ty Dillon vs. No. 6 Ty Gibbs

Full NASCAR points standings can be found here.

Gibbs and Dillon had to be patient to outlast Tyler Reddick and John Hunter Nemecheck in their respective head-to-head battles.

An hour-long rain delay and two wrecks in the final 10 laps after the restart wreaked havoc on the field.

Gibbs moved up during the wrecks to fifth place to create separation from Reddick, who finished seven spots behind the No. 54 car in 12th place.

Reddick and Gibbs were near each other on track almost all day, but Gibbs found the upper hand in the final 10 laps.

Dillon and Nemechek fought until the final lap to determine their matchup.

Dillon’s No. 10 car edged out Nemechek’s No. 42 vehicle by one place to secure the showdown with Gibbs.

Denny Hamlin won the race with Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson all behind him. Hamlin entered the In-Season Challenge as the No. 1 seed, but he lost in the opening week of the event to Dillon, the No. 32 seed.

The winner between Dillon and Gibbs will be determined by highest finish at Indianapolis next Sunday.

A year ago, Dillon took 19th and Gibbs placed 23rd at Indy, so the In-Season Challenge battle could take place in the middle of the pack away from the lead.

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Motorsports

Chase Briscoe finishes runner-up at Dover

For the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series weekend, Chase Briscoe started and finished in second-place, this time at Dover Motor Speedway Sunday to teammate Denny Hamlin. Briscoe found himself in a familiar position in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, side-by-side on the final restart on the front row. Despite having fresher tires, Hamlin’s No. 11 […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 21, 2025

Your Sports Nation

For the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series weekend, Chase Briscoe started and finished in second-place, this time at Dover Motor Speedway Sunday to teammate Denny Hamlin.

Briscoe found himself in a familiar position in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, side-by-side on the final restart on the front row.

Despite having fresher tires, Hamlin’s No. 11 proved the victor in their side-by-side battle for the lead in NASCAR Overtime.

“I thought I was going to win the race,” Briscoe said. “I was able to stay just beside him into (Turn) 1. I thought we were going to have a good shot coming into (Turns) 1 and 2. I didn’t think he was going to be able to do that.

“I almost cleared him off of (Turn) 2. I thought I timed it right, so I was going to clear him going into (Turn) 3, just because I had the lane you typically want to be in. He was able to hang right there – another two or three inches and I thought I was going to win the race.”

Through the first 21 races of the year, Briscoe has set personal bests in the Cup Series with four poles and eight Top-5 finishes.

Briscoe’s Dover run tied the Joe Gibbs Racing driver for his career-high of Top-10 finishes in a single season at 10.

“Glad that we were able to have a good finish,” Briscoe said. “Obviously would have loved to win the race, but we had a fifth-to-10th place car and we ended up second, so a lot to be proud of with our Bass Pro Shops Toyota. I’m looking forward to going home next week.”

With five races before the start of the playoffs in the Cup Series, Briscoe is ranked eighth in points and has earned six playoff points (five from his Pocono victory and one from a stage win at Pocono).

Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.

From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book “All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story” with racer Geoff Bodine.

Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.

You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.

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Motorsports

Rick Ware Racing: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 from Dover – Speedway Digest

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) RWR Finish: ● Cody Ware (Started 35th, Finished 36th / Handling, completed 232 of 407 laps) RWR Points: ● Cody Ware (36th with 148 points) Race Notes: ● Denny Hamlin […]

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2 hours ago

July 21, 2025

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Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

RWR Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 35th, Finished 36th / Handling, completed 232 of 407 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (36th with 148 points)

Race Notes:

● Denny Hamlin won the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 to score his 58th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading fourth of the season, and his third at Dover. His margin over second-place Chase Briscoe was .310 of a second.

● There were eight caution periods for a total of 50 laps.

● Only 20 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

● Chase Elliott leaves Dover as the new championship leader with a 16-point advantage over second-place William Byron.

Sound Bites:

“A long day for us at Dover. We did everything we could to work on our car and get it fixed but, unfortunately, after a trip to the garage, we just couldn’t fix it and had to end our day. Ready to head to Indianapolis and reset.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Mighty Fire Breaker Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by TNT and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

RWR PR

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Motorsports

Bell “disappointed in myself” after spinout from lead fight

Christopher Bell led 67 laps at Dover on Sunday, scoring 19 stage points and winning Stage 2. But that doesn’t mean he had it easy — as Bell ultimately finished 18th after spinning twice during the race. Starting the final stage while leading the race, Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spun out. Somehow, […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 21, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Starting the final stage while leading the race, Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spun out. Somehow, the entire field avoided him and he was able to rejoin at the back of the cars still on the lead lap.

While Bell did a great job slicing back through the pack, he gained a lot of track position by staying out longer than most other drivers and catching a well-times caution.

After an hour-long rain delay, he found himself restarting on the front row with teammate and eventual race winner Denny Hamlin. Neither driver gave an inch, but Bell got loose on the bottom and ended up spinning wildly out of Turn 4. Again, no one hit the No. 20 as he spun in front of the field, but his chances of winning at the ‘Monster Mile’ were officially over.

Nobody was lifting

Christopher Bell spins, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

“I definitely wasn’t going to lift and I knew he wasn’t going to lift either,” Bell told NASCAR on TNT. “We were gonna race really hard, and I just spun out. Dover and spinning out — I’ve got a problem with that. It’s a bummer.

“The guys did a really good job. I’m honestly proud of the effort that this team has put into trying to improve. The intermediate stuff has been a little hard for us, and the guys on this #20 team did a really good job bringing really good pace this weekend. I felt like we were as strong as any of them. We restarted on the front row with under 10 to go and had a shot at it. It didn’t work out, but we got a playoff point. Hopefully, we can keep bringing that speed and I can be in contention more often.”

In the end, Bell was happy to see another JGR driver win, but he was obviously furstrated with himself over what could have been.

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

“I’m glad that JGR still won the race,” said Bell. “Denny did a great job, obviously. He always does, closing these things out. Chase [Briscoe] got a good finish, and yeah, great day for company. Disappointed in myself for making so many mistake, but our speed was really good.”

Along with a 1-2 finish by Hamlin and Briscoe, Ty Gibbs also managed to advance into the finals for the $1 million bracket challenge, where he will face Ty Dillon.

Photos from Dover – Race

Motorsports

Exclusive Video From Tommy Baldwin Racing/Catalano Motorsports Confrontation Sunday At Monadnock

Exclusive Video From Tommy Baldwin Racing/Catalano Motorsports Confrontation Sunday At Monadnock – RaceDayCT.com We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Manage consent Copyright 2018 E-Media Sports Website Designed […]

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July 21, 2025

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Exclusive Video From Tommy Baldwin Racing/Catalano Motorsports Confrontation Sunday At Monadnock – RaceDayCT.com

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AUTO RACING ROUNDUP: Denny Hamlin picks up Cup Series high fourth win of season at Dover

AUTO RACING ROUNDUP: Denny Hamlin picks up Cup Series high fourth win of season at Dover Published 2:18 am Monday, July 21, 2025 Denny Hamlin won Sunday’s rain-interrupted AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Del. (Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images) DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin waited out a one-hour red-flag delay, won three […]

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July 21, 2025

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AUTO RACING ROUNDUP: Denny Hamlin picks up Cup Series high fourth win of season at Dover

Published 2:18 am Monday, July 21, 2025

Denny Hamlin won Sunday’s rain-interrupted AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Del. (Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images)

DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin waited out a one-hour red-flag delay, won three restarts on older tires inside of 10 laps to go, and took the overtime checkers in Sunday’s rain-interrupted AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.

In the second overtime, Hamlin lined up beside Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who was on much fresher tires. The Toyotas made contact coming to the white, allowing Hamlin’s No. 11 to nose ahead and beat Briscoe’s No. 19 by 0.31 seconds for his series-leading fourth victory.

Hamlin, who led 67 laps, also fended off teammate Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson in late restarts — in regulation with eight laps left and the first overtime, respectively — to help him repeat at Dover and give Toyota its third straight win there.

Alex Bowman, Larson and Ty Gibbs completed the top five.

In the In-Season Challenge semifinal, NASCAR’s version of the Final Four, Gibbs (fifth place) beat Tyler Reddick (12th), while Ty Dillon (20th) topped John Hunter Nemechek (21st).

Gibbs and Dillon will square off Sunday at Indianapolis for the $1 million top prize given to the winner of the 32-car tournament.

The first stage, a 120-lapper around the one-mile concrete track, was all about Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who managed to beat Bell as the segment ended and hold on to the point.

Following that pair were Hamlin, William Byron and a fast-moving Bowman, who sliced through the top 10 in Stage 1’s late laps.

Elliott’s day turned sour when his Chevy fell off the jacks while being serviced under green on Lap 186. After the stops cycled, Bell was out front with Hamlin over three seconds in arrears.

In his No. 20 Toyota, Bell won Stage 2 and told his JGR team to leave the car as it was as he headed to pit road. Bowman and Hamlin crossed under the checkers for second and third in bonus points, respectively.

However, Bell spun on his own while leading on the Lap 260 restart and racing with Elliott, hitting nothing and forcing the field to split as his JGR ride slid down the high banks.

NASCAR puts brakes on

2026 Chicago Street Race

The Chicago Street Race will not be on the NASCAR calendar in 2026, officials announced Friday.

NASCAR and city officials are working toward a return to the Windy City in 2027.

“Following the success of the first three years, the Chicago Street Race will hit pause in 2026 to afford us the time necessary to work collaboratively with the City of Chicago to explore a new potential date and to develop a plan that further optimizes operational efficiencies, with a goal to return to the streets of Chicago in 2027,” the event’s social media account posted on X.

“Together, we have built and grown an expanded community of fans that consists of longtime NASCAR enthusiasts and first-time racegoers from around the globe, and for that, we are immensely grateful.”

From 2023-25, drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series raced along a 12-turn, 2.2 mile course from Columbus Drive to DuSable Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue.

Shane van Gisbergen of New Zealand dominated the Chicago streets, winning the Cup Series races in 2023 and 2025 and the Xfinity races in 2024 and 2025.

Alex Bowman, Larson and Ty Gibbs completed the top five.

In the In-Season Challenge semifinal, NASCAR’s version of the Final Four, Gibbs (fifth place) beat Tyler Reddick (12th), while Ty Dillon (20th) topped John Hunter Nemechek (21st).

Gibbs and Dillon will square off Sunday at Indianapolis for the $1 million top prize given to the winner of the 32-car tournament.

The first stage, a 120-lapper around the one-mile concrete track, was all about Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who managed to beat Bell as the segment ended and hold on to the point.

Following that pair were Hamlin, William Byron and a fast-moving Bowman, who sliced through the top 10 in Stage 1’s late laps.

Elliott’s day turned sour when his Chevy fell off the jacks while being serviced under green on Lap 186. After the stops cycled, Bell was out front with Hamlin over three seconds in arrears.

However, Bell spun on his own while leading on the Lap 260 restart and racing with Elliott, hitting nothing and forcing the field to split as his JGR ride slid down the high banks.

NASCAR puts brakes on

2026 Chicago Street Race

The Chicago Street Race will not be on the NASCAR calendar in 2026, officials announced Friday.

NASCAR and city officials are working toward a return to the Windy City in 2027.

From 2023-25, drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series raced along a 12-turn, 2.2 mile course from Columbus Drive to DuSable Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue.

Shane van Gisbergen of New Zealand dominated the Chicago streets, winning the Cup Series races in 2023 and 2025 and the Xfinity races in 2024 and 2025.

Pato O’Ward wins in Toronto,

inches toward Alex Palou in season race

TORONTO — Mexico’s Pato O’Ward eked out his second win in three weeks on Sunday at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, keeping alive his underdog chances to win the season championship.

Alex Palou rode a dominant start to the season to a 129-point lead in the points race, the largest margin this deep in a season since IndyCar began using the scoring system. After the Spaniard finished 12th in Toronto, O’Ward sliced that deficit to 99 with four races to go.

O’Ward started back in 10th but led 30 out of 90 laps in his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and beat the Netherlands’ Rinus VeeKay by 0.4843 seconds. Kyffin Simpson of the Cayman Islands was third, his first podium finish in two IndyCar seasons.

“I knew I had a great car under me to race with and the guys nailed it on the strategy,” O’Ward said in his post-race interview.

That strategy was for O’Ward to start the race on his alternate set of tires before moving to his primary tires early on Lap 3.

“I was feeling so good on the (primary) tires all weekend really. We were just struggling to get the alternates to work in qualifying. Sadly, that’s the one you need to transfer,” O’Ward said.

Palou, conversely, started on his primary tires from the No. 2 position. The seven-time winner this year led 37 laps but faded down the stretch.

“Well, I chose the strategy, so that’s what we did wrong today,” Palou said. “I was pushing for that strategy. I thought it was going to give us the best opportunity to win. I wanted to be up front trying to avoid being trapped in traffic.”

Simpson was the biggest mover of the day after starting the race 13th.

“It was a crazy race,” Simpson said. “So many ups and downs. At one point we thought we were in the worst position, and then very quickly it turned into one of the best positions.”

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