MEXICO CITY — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.

At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.

But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.

The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.

NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.

“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.

NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.

The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.

Originally Published: June 13, 2025 at 9:48 AM CDT

NASCAR could be making a big change for the Cup Series race at Mexico City this weekend. According to motorsports reporter Matt Weaver, NASCAR may be moving both practices to Saturday due to logistics challenges.

This likely has to do with multiple NASCAR personnel having travel issues. Weaver previously reported that a flight carrying NASCAR industry members to Mexico City failed to take off from the airport in Charlotte on Thursday afternoon, and the passengers were flown on different flights. He also said another plane scheduled to for Mexico City also had issues.

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ryan Ellis was the first to report an issue with the flight. On X/Twitter, Ellis wrote, “Cancel that, plane attempted takeoff, plane made a small boom, we are headed back.” He then shared a post of himself being on another plane and writing “Mexico bound.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also had minor flight issues to Mexico City, “Taking off from NC. Was delayed a bit because of weather at the next waypoint. Mexico bound,” Earnhardt wrote on X/Twitter.

The Mexico City race is big for NASCAR as it’s the first time the governing body has had an international points race since the 1950s. One driver who going to really enjoy the experience is Daniel Suárez who is a native of Monterrey, Mexico.

More on the NASCAR Mexico City Cup Series race

“It’s very special,” Suárez told ESPN. “Honestly, it’s very difficult to put into perspective for people. Only those who really know me very well understand how important and special this is for me.

“After a lot of work and sacrifices, I was able to make it in NASCAR Mexico, and at one point in my life, that was my goal — that was my ultimate goal. I was able to get there at an early age, which gave me hope to be able to do something in the United States.”

Suárez added, “And now coming back to my home country as a NASCAR Cup Series winner and an Xfinity Series champion, all these different things, it’s very special. Not just for me, but a lot of people who have been in my corner for many, many years, for the fans, the media, for Mexico. They have known me for many years. So, it’s very special.”

Fredrickson is competing on the ASA STARS National Tour in 2025 while also competing in other Super Late Model events. Last Saturday, he scored a victory in the Alive for 5 Series at Dells Raceway Park.

To commemorate Fredrickson’s ARCA debut at his home track, the first 200 children under the age of 12 in attendance will receive a free Ty Fredrickson t-shirt, courtesy of Rack Shack BBQ.

Several of Fredrickson’s partners are part of the ARCA Menards Series appearance, including Fredrickson Masonry, Otte Excavating, CFG Retirement, Buck Wild Racing Products, Nortec Equipment, Herman’s Landscape Supplies, Fredrickson Farms, Rack Shack BBQ, Sorem Livestock Hauling, Jerin Trucking, Simpson Race Products, Motorstate Distributing, Toyota GAZOO Racing, and Venturini Motorsports.

The NASCAR Cup Series will make its debut at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City for nearly 90 minutes of practice Friday.

Cup cars will be on track for a 50-minute session starting at 4:05 p.m. ET and then another 25-minute session on the 15-turn, 2.42-mile road course at 5:30 p.m.

Because of two planes that were grounded Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina, and delayed several teams, NASCAR adjusted the Friday schedule by moving up a 50-lap NASCAR Mexico Series race and shifting the Cup practices later. Xfinity practice also was moved to Saturday.

Some exercised in an oxygen-deprived setting, as seen by Tyler Reddick on a bike at the Toyota Performance Center, and a few slept in hypoxic tents.

Qualifying will be held Saturday at the Mexico City track, which will play host to the first Cup points race in series history Sunday.

Mexico City weekend schedule

(All Times Eastern)

Friday, June 13

Garage open

• 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. — Cup Series
• 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. — Xfinity Series

Track activity

• 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. — NASCAR Mexico practice and qualifying
• 1:30 p.m. — NASCAR Mexico race (50 laps, 121 miles, 90-minute time limit; NASCAR Mexico YouTube channel, MRN)
• 4:05 – 4:55 p.m. — Cup practice (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
• 5:30 – 5:55 p.m. — Cup practice (Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Weather

Friday: Cloudy with a high of 75 degrees, winds from the east at 10 to 15 mph and a 24% chance of rain.

What’s Happening?

Matt Lewis, a producer for iRacing’s upcoming console game, NASCAR ’25, recently answered fans’ questions about the game as part of a Discord Q&A on Thursday. Here are some key takeaways from that Q&A.

• Though they have yet to set a release date for NASCAR ’25, as expected, the game will be released during the playoffs in late September or early October. We previously theorized that this could be the case, as five of the past six NASCAR games were released around that time.
• The game will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Notably, it will not be released on the previous generation of consoles. This confirmation also clarifies that it will be available on PC, something non-simulation racing game fans were worried about.
• NASCAR ’25 will have an online mode featuring 36 (Truck Series) to 40 (Cup Series) entry fields and private lobbies. Alongside a release date, more information and visuals, such as in-game screenshots, series rosters, and gameplay footage, will be released in July and August.
• The roster includes roughly 190 drivers across the three NASCAR National Series: Truck, Xfinity, and Cup, alongside the ARCA Menards Series. With a roster this big, the game will have over 400 paint schemes.
• We have covered all the news and rumors about NASCAR ’25 and its development via the article linked above.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

What’s Happening?

Ahead of perhaps the most important race weekend of the 2025 season, travel issues have forced NASCAR to make crucial schedule changes to this weekend’s race at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.