NASCAR prepares to expand its footprint – and exit its comfort zone
One of the most anticipated events in NASCAR Cup Series history is now just days away. Mexico City began welcoming the haulers Tuesday as the escorted convoy from Laredo, Texas, where teams staged after leaving Michigan International Speedway Sunday night, has officially crossed the border. Sunday will be the first Cup Series race held in […]
One of the most anticipated events in NASCAR Cup Series history is now just days away. Mexico City began welcoming the haulers Tuesday as the escorted convoy from Laredo, Texas, where teams staged after leaving Michigan International Speedway Sunday night, has officially crossed the border.
Sunday will be the first Cup Series race held in Mexico. It will also be the first international points-paying Cup Series race since 1958.
“I hope it’s all worth it because it’s definitely a lot of work,” three-time and reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano said. “I was at the NASCAR building (recently) and they were having meetings with the truck drivers about how they’re going to get everything there. They don’t do that for any other race. This is a very specific thing. I think it could be great. I think NASCAR is doing a good job so far, from what I can tell, of covering their bases; making sure there are no surprises when we get down there.
“We have to have our faith in them that they’re doing their job and it all ends up going well. I’m sure it will. I think everyone has been down there enough and talked about things enough that it will go well.”
Before the haulers were packed, teams were given instructions for what could and couldn’t be on the haulers (such as liquids), had to create manifests, and take other steps to ensure a smooth trip. Richard Childress Racing was among the teams that also had to remove alcohol or tobacco sponsors from the haulers and any apparel because local laws prohibit those items from being advertised in Mexico.
“I hope the fans enjoy it,” Logano said. “I hope it’s a good turnout. I think there is no doubt that a lot of times when you step outside your comfort zone, it’s uncomfortable. There is risk involved. But there is also high reward for our sport by doing this – stepping out of what we typically do in America and going international. It’s kind of a scary thing to do, let’s be honest. I think everyone … probably has some concerns of how are we going to get there? Where are we going to go? What do we do?
“I don’t know how to speak Spanish. I’m going to be hanging out with [Daniel] Suarez as much as I can. I don’t know where to go. So, the unknown factor is at an all-time high when we go there.”
Logano won’t be alone if he does indeed stick by Suarez, who is making a grand return home to his native country. Suarez has been the face of the event, and NASCAR has used him to do promotional events in Mexico City as well as viral videos where he teaches his fellow drivers Spanish and about Mexican food.
“I really, honestly, don’t know what to expect other than Daniel has said a lot of great things about it,” said Ryan Preece. “I know going into Chicago I had an open mind because I had never traveled to Chicago, even though it’s in the United States. But I had a great experience there and it would be somewhere I would take my family or if we wanted to go sightseeing. So, going to Mexico, I have the same open mind. I hope it’s a great experience and something that is really good for not only myself but for NASCAR as a whole. From what I’ve heard, there are a lot of race fans there and they are very welcoming to us, so we’re excited about it.”
Alex Bowman hopes his Mexico trip results in a trophy. It is much-needed for his Hendrick Motorsports team, who has finished 29th or worse in the last three races. But Bowman also paid attention to what Suarez has said.
“I talked to Suarez and he swears it’s going to be more of a party than any other racetrack that I’ve been to, so I’m excited to see that,” Bowman said. “Hopefully, we all have a good time.”
Large, vocal and passionate crowds are a hallmark of the Mexican GP. NASCAR is hoping for a similar welcome. Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Bowman is also one of the drivers who admitted Mexico will be his first trip outside of the United States. Which means Bowman, Preece, and Josh Berry are among those who had to go through the process of getting a passport. Plenty of others had to renew their passports ahead of this season’s international race.
“It’ll be an experience in itself just to travel and get there,” Berry said. “The one thing I’m excited for, looking at Formula 1 races, is the number of fans there. I think it’s going to be a huge event with a ton of fans. The racetrack, the layout, looks pretty cool and I think that’ll be fun. But just taking in the whole experience is the biggest thing I’m looking forward to.”
Said Bubba Wallace of his hopes for the weekend: “I think just taking it all in. I have no expectations. It’s just going to be me; the family is not going. I have a couple of appearances there early in the week, so to get down there and see and officially say I’ve been to Mexico. And (eating) good food.”
Oh, the food is on the list of many traveling to Mexico City. Kyle Larson spent time there doing promotion events the week before the race at Nashville Superspeedway, and could see how excited the community, including the local media, is about NASCAR bringing both of its national series to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit.
“The venue looks amazing,” Larson said. “I love Mexican food, so I’m super pumped to go eat some authentic Mexican food. It’s going to be a great time and a great event. It’ll be cool to go race in a different country and in front of race fans who have maybe never seen us race in person.”
NASCAR does have local series that compete in other countries, including Mexico, but there is a push to bring its biggest stars international. Brazil was rumored to be the 2026 host of the Clash, but that now seems to be a way off, if it does happen at all. NASCAR perhaps sees how the NFL and MLB have taken their games international, and is trying to expand its footprint beyond the events in Mexico City that the Xfinity Series once ran (2005-2008), in Montreal (2007-2012) and the Craftsman Truck Series in Ontario (2013-2019).
There is a multiyear deal between NASCAR and Mexico City. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit is well known for the Formula 1 events it has hosted, however NASCAR will not run the same exact course but a 2.49-mile layout that has 14 turns.
Additionally, it will be the highest elevation race ever held for the Cup Series, with the altitude at 7,350 feet. Cup Series teams will be dealing with reduced horsepower because of the thin air, and some drivers have done attitude training to prepare for how different the conditions will be behind the wheel.
Brad Keselowski has raced internationally with NASCAR before (in Canada in the Xfinity Series). Once this weekend is complete, he knows he’ll be able to speak more about the Cup Series taking on Mexico City, but his expectations and thoughts are very much in line with many others.
“It’s an interesting event and there are all kinds of sentiments, positive and negative,” he said. “I think it’s good for the Cup Series in general to see the schedule variability that has been driven over the last half a dozen years or so. An international race fits the bill with everything else we’ve been doing.
“I’m really curious about the reception from the fans. I think the reception from our partners has been strong, which is always fun and great for the teams. But I’m really curious about the reception from the fans here and in Mexico. Will they turn out the way we think they are going to turn out? What will the fans here think?”
NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series events in Mexico City begin Friday, with each series getting two practice sessions. The NASCAR Mexico Series will be the companion event to the weekend, running a race on Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. The inaugural Cup Series event Sunday afternoon caps off the weekend.
NASCAR in Pocono: Key information, links, results throughout race weekend
The NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck series are in action this weekend for a tripleheader at Pocono Raceway. Bookmark this page and come back often for your race-week essentials — from links to qualifying order, average practice speeds, results and more. NASCAR Cup Series Race day: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on Prime Video. The […]
The NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck series are in action this weekend for a tripleheader at Pocono Raceway. Bookmark this page and come back often for your race-week essentials — from links to qualifying order, average practice speeds, results and more.
NASCAR Cup Series
Race day: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on Prime Video. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.
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Tires: Seven sets for the race (six race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying).
Entry list Qualifying Order Practice Results Practice Lap Averages Practice Lap Times Qualifying Results Pit Stalls Stage 1 Results Stage 2 Results Race Results
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Race day: Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.
Tires: Five sets for the event.
Entry list Qualifying Order Practice Results Practice Lap Averages Practice Lap Times Qualifying Results Pit Stalls Stage 1 Results Stage 2 Results Race Results
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Race day: Friday at 5 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.
Tires: Five sets for the event
Entry list Qualifying Order Practice Results Practice Lap Averages Practice Lap Times Qualifying Results Pit Stalls Stage 1 Results Stage 2 Results Race Results
Big Rigs & Long Trips — NASCAR’s Real Road Warriors
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — After last Sunday’s inaugural Viva Mexico 250 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, NASCAR Cup Series crew members were back in their respective homes by Monday night, most in time for dinner. Chris Avery, meanwhile, had just crossed back into the United States. Home was still another 20 hours away. […]
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — After last Sunday’s inaugural Viva Mexico 250 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, NASCAR Cup Series crew members were back in their respective homes by Monday night, most in time for dinner.
Chris Avery, meanwhile, had just crossed back into the United States. Home was still another 20 hours away.
Avery drives the 18-wheeler for Rick Ware Racing that carries the team’s No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse to all 38 races on the Cup Series schedule. He departed Mexico City a few hours after the checkered flag dropped to begin his 1,974-mile trek back to RWR’s NASCAR facility in Concord, N.C.
“Time-wise, this was our longest trip of the season,” Avery said. “When we go out to Sonoma, California, that’s actually our longest trip mileage-wise, but this one was more involved because of the border crossing and just traveling in another country.”
The Cup Series’ race in Mexico City was its first international points-paying event in 67 years. There was some teeth-gnashing and hand-wringing when it came to the logistics of moving NASCAR’s small city to and from Mexico City in between the June 8 race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn and this Sunday’s race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, a route which will total nearly 5,000 miles.
Avery, however, already had a good idea of what to expect. He drove racing transporters internationally, specifically, all across Europe for teams competing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
“I’ve been driving for about 25 years,” Avery said. “I’ve done a lot of work in sportscar racing, and I had the chance to travel all over the world. Matter of fact, 20 years ago, we won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
Avery was the transporter driver for Champion Racing, which won the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans with drivers J.J. Lehto, Marco Werner and Tom Kristensen in an Audi R8.
Ironically, Champion Racing was the last customer team to win the twice-around-the-clock endurance race until this past weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, AF Corse, stood atop the podium with its No. 83 Ferrari and drivers Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson.
Chris Avery (RWR photo)
“We started with right-hand drive trucks, and that was a little bit interesting and took some getting used to. Eventually, we got left-hand drive trucks and that definitely felt more natural,” Avery said.
How does one break into the world of hauling millions of dollars of racing equipment to events in the United States and abroad?
“As a kid, I watched races with my dad, and he was always a Bill Elliott fan, and a big Ford fan,” said Avery, who grew up in New Bern, North Carolina. “With that always in my head, I eventually got a job hauling showcars for a motorsports marketing agency, Cotter Promotions. Starting in 1997, I drove a big dually pickup all over the country, and one of the cars I hauled was for Cale Yarborough Motorsports. I was able to work with the team at some of the races. I worked my butt off and proved myself to them, and they invited me back to help some more and I became their hauler driver in ‘98.”
Driving a show car hauler while operating with an always-on mentality earned Avery the nickname “Showtime.” He eventually transitioned away from Cale Yarborough Motorsports and pivoted to sportscar racing, where he did more than just drive.
“My wife and I created a trucking logistics company that specialized in motorsports,” Avery said. “For European teams coming to the U.S. to race, we operated their haulers. From the paperwork needed to get their equipment into the states to actually driving their trucks to races, we did it all.”
Avery returned to NASCAR in 2022, driving the Wood Brothers Racing transporter. He moved to Spire Motorsports in 2024 and joined RWR ahead of the 2025 season. His worldly background prepared him well for this Michigan-to-Mexico-to Pocono journey.
“The prep for Mexico started in January,” Avery said. “There were numerous – more than I can even explain – emails between NASCAR and the teams just to make sure that we had all of our paperwork and all of our manifests. And the paperwork was probably the single largest endeavor, which took months to get through, making sure everybody had passports, making sure everybody was cleared through customs, not only going into Mexico, but getting back into the United States too.
“Then, about a month out, we were looking more at the individual logistics of everything we needed to do. We put plans in place to make sure that when we got to Michigan to do our swap out, everything that needed to go on the hauler to Mexico actually made it onto the hauler, that every ‘T’ was crossed and every ‘I’ was dotted, so that we could be as efficient as possible, because there truly wasn’t any time to waste. We had to get on the road as quickly as we could out of Michigan and focus on the logistics of physically getting to Mexico.”
Avery and his hauler-driving counterparts made it to Mexico City on time, just like they manage to do week-in and week-out during the longest season in all of professional sports. With experience in their back pockets, returning to the United States was even quicker.
“As soon as we hit the U.S. border, it was standard operating procedure,” Avery said. “We have a day-and-a-half turnaround at the shop and we’ll be back on the road to Pocono on Thursday.”
The long hours, exacting details and tight timelines don’t faze Avery. After all, it is the routine of a NASCAR hauler driver.
“We’re the first ones to leave the shop. We’re the last ones to get back to the shop. Every morning when we’re at the race track, we’re the first one in the gate. I’m the one at the hauler every week. I make sure that the generator’s on, the coffee pot’s got fresh coffee in it, and I try to be standing at the back door to greet the guys as they show up to walk in the door every single week, every day of every weekend, that we’re out racing,” Avery said.
“Here in the Cup Series, the level of professionalism that these guys have, all of these hauler drivers, is second to none. I’ve never worked with a better, close-knit group of guys that are willing to do what they can to help you, regardless of what team you’re affiliated with.”
Avery has already driven more than 22,000 miles this year as the season hits its halfway mark this weekend at Pocono. There are still many more miles ahead of him, with an estimated year-end tally of 68,000 miles.
“You’ve got to love racing to do this and make a career out of it,” Avery said. “I’m also lucky in that I have a very supportive wife who knows racing and understands its demands, especially as it relates to trucking. Gina keeps me grounded and organized at home so I can do my job seamlessly out here on the road.
“I love what I do and I’m going to do it until I get to the point that either I can’t or I’m not good at it.”
26-year-old Justin Haley hoping to break long NASCAR drought at Pocono this weekend | Sports
LONG POND, Pa. – Ten races remain before the playoffs as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway this weekend. Justin Haley drives the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 26-year-old Haley earned his lone Cup Series win in 2019 driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet at […]
LONG POND, Pa. – Ten races remain before the playoffs as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway this weekend.
Justin Haley drives the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 26-year-old Haley earned his lone Cup Series win in 2019 driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway.
Haley has gone 157 races since winning a Cup race, the longest streak among active drivers who have won in the series.
“I think we all like Pocono,” Haley said. “I think its a fun racetrack for us and we just kind of drive it. The three corners, the engineers and crew chief can worry about, on how to make it drive good. It’s tough, but when you have good cars there, its a pretty good place.”
The main event for the four days of racing at the Tricky Triangle is scheduled for Sunday when the 160-lap Great American Getaway 400 NASCAR Cup Series Race gets underway at 2 p.m.
CONCORD, N.C. — Margins in NASCAR have never been smaller. Whether it’s the leveling effect of the Next Gen car or the evolving technological arms race among teams, the Cup Series has never been tighter. And as parity grows, so does the need to uncover even the slightest competitive advantage. That’s where artificial intelligence comes […]
CONCORD, N.C. — Margins in NASCAR have never been smaller.
Whether it’s the leveling effect of the Next Gen car or the evolving technological arms race among teams, the Cup Series has never been tighter. And as parity grows, so does the need to uncover even the slightest competitive advantage.
That’s where artificial intelligence comes in.
From performance analysis to data visualizations, AI is playing an increasingly pivotal role in how race teams operate across the NASCAR garage. Teams are using AI not just to crunch numbers, but also to make quicker decisions, generate strategic insights — and even rewrite the way they approach race weekends.
“It just builds a little bit more each year,” said Josh Sell, RFK Racing’s competition director. “We’re doing more now than we were a year ago. And we’ll probably be doing more a year from now than we are sitting here right now. It just continues to evolve.”
ASK BETTER QUESTIONS
The rise of AI in NASCAR mirrors the broader tech world.
Early large language models — or LLMs — were trained to answer basic questions. But now, they can cite sources, detect tone and reason through complex decisions. That opens up a new world for how teams evaluate everything from strategy calls to post-race feedback.
For example, a full race’s worth of driver and crew radio chatter can be fed into an AI model that not only identifies which calls worked and which didn’t, but also interprets tone and urgency in real time.
“Information is speed in this game nowadays,” said Tom Gray, technical director at Hendrick Motorsports. “He who can distill the information quicker and get to the decision quicker, ultimately, is going to have the race win. “
FINDING THE TIME
AI is also helping teams develop talent and streamline operations.
Even if someone on the team isn’t an expert in a particular field, AI can help them learn new skills faster. That’s especially important in the highly specialized Cup Series garage — and it could help smaller teams close the gap with bigger operations.
RFK Racing, now a three-car Cup Series team, is already seeing those benefits.
AI helps reduce the hours team members spend manually analyzing photos or videos. Instead of having a crew chief sort through everything, the software flags the most relevant material and delivers it quickly. On the technical side, the team is also using tools like ChatGPT to assist with software development, solving coding problems in various languages and freeing up engineers to focus on execution.
“It’s trying to figure out ways where, instead of having a crew chief spending three hours studying whatever it might be — photos, videos — if we can shorten that to an hour of really impactful time,” Sell said. “Looking at things that are important to them, not searching to find those things. That’s the biggest gain we see, and certainly whether it’s through the week or on race weekends, time is our limiting factor.
“You have a finite amount of time from the time practice ends to when the race starts. What you’re able to do to maximize the efficiency of that time is kind of a race in and of itself.”
VISUAL DATA
At Hendrick Motorsports, the winningest team in Cup Series history, AI is being used both to look ahead and to look back.
The team now works closely with Amazon Web Services (AWS) — a relationship that began after Prime Video sponsored one of its cars. The partnership has accelerated Hendrick’s use of AI across several key areas.
One of those is visual communication. Engineers are now generating images to help share ideas, whether they’re pitching a new part or breaking down a technical strategy. That ability to visualize complex concepts instantly helps everyone stay aligned and efficient.
Hendrick is also leveraging its four decades of data. The team can now go back and test old strategies, setups and decisions using AI to predict how past insights might inform future success.
“We’ve had a long history in the sport,” Gray said. “Not only can we look forward, but we can also look backward, back-test all the information we have, and see how that predicts the future.”
Chase Elliott given trial run with potential Hendrick replacement – Motorsport – Sports
He has worked his way up from multiple jobs in the race shop, including being part of Larson’s Cup Series championship-winning No.5 team in 2021. “It’s a huge opportunity for me,” Wall said earlier this season. “I’ve been a lot of places in this organization, kind of worked my way up through it, so to […]
He has worked his way up from multiple jobs in the race shop, including being part of Larson’s Cup Series championship-winning No.5 team in 2021.
“It’s a huge opportunity for me,” Wall said earlier this season. “I’ve been a lot of places in this organization, kind of worked my way up through it, so to get to this point, it’s the whole goal of my journey through this place was to get here. It’s a cool spot to be in.”
All eyes will now be on how Elliott works with Wall in the No.17 car this weekend as he performs double duty before Sunday’s Cup race at the ‘Tricky Triangle’.
NASCAR legend Mark Martin inducted into Wisconsin International Raceway’s Circle of Fame
BUCHANAN (WLUK) — A NASCAR Hall of Famer stopped by the Wisconsin International Raceway for a special ceremony Thursday. Mark Martin, who raced numerous times at WIR early on in his career, was officially inducted into the track’s “Circle of Fame.” His name will forever be engraved at the raceway’s honor wall. Racing fans coming […]
BUCHANAN (WLUK) — A NASCAR Hall of Famer stopped by the Wisconsin International Raceway for a special ceremony Thursday.
Mark Martin, who raced numerous times at WIR early on in his career, was officially inducted into the track’s “Circle of Fame.”
His name will forever be engraved at the raceway’s honor wall. Racing fans coming from near and far said this induction is well deserved.
“Always a clean driver and he’s just a gentleman,” fan Timothy Mikelson said.
“Just to tell him thank you for how he raced. To me, he was always a champion,” said Matthew Latus, a fan from Fort Collins, Colorado.
It’s not everyday you see a legend. Dozens of race fans waiting in line couldn’t believe their eyes when “The Kid” walked up to sign autographs and take pictures with them. It brought out the inner-child in many of the fans.
“I’ve always wanted to meet racers like him, Matt Kenseth, and to get to actually meet him. It was nerve racking because again, he’s such a household name. He’s such a big racer,” fan Joseph Mikelson said.
Martin was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017. He spent his early days racing at WIR from the late 1970s into the 80s, even earning Red, White and Blue State Champion in ’85 and ’86.
He said it’s great to be back in America’s Dairyland.
“It’s so cool to see the track. It almost looks the same. It made me feel like I could just get out there and make laps again, and I haven’t been in a racecar in 10 years,” Martin said.
In his NASCAR career, he’s considered the one of the greatest drivers to never win a championship, but he did win 40 Cup Series races. Martin said it’s a great honor to be put into WIR’s Circle of Fame, saying it was one of his favorite tracks.
He said he owes a lot to the Badger State for jumpstarting his career.
“I can’t stress enough my feelings toward Wisconsin fans and the Wisconsin racers, because those racers are the ones that taught me how to race,” Martin said.
Fans said it’s fitting Martin came back to the racetrack where he cut his teeth at early on.
“It means a lot, because the fact is, you know, Mark Martin and how successful he was on one of the biggest stages in America of racing,” fan Mike Van Domelen said.
