NASCAR has officially confirmed its plans for an exciting race weekend in Mexico City, featuring the famous Cup Series tackling a 14-turn, 3.89-kilometer track at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on June 15th.
This layout is set to host not just the Cup Series, but also the Xfinity and Mexico Series races, making it a must-see event in the NASCAR calendar. The newly confirmed track layout departs from the standard Formula 1 Grand Prix Circuit usually seen here, offering a unique challenge specifically tailored for this NASCAR race weekend.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez will present a unique course that incorporates the stadium section, creating a novel 14-turn route. This differs from the Grand Prix setup, which generally includes 17 turns over 2.674 miles.
NASCAR's version diverts from Formula 1 by turning right at turn four, skipping what are normally turns five and six on the circuit. This gives the track a fresh feel for viewers who are into both motorsports, breaking from the traditional layout.
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For those with a keen eye, this isn't the first time NASCAR has run races in Mexico City. The Xfinity Series raced at this venue from 2005 to 2008, though on a different eight-turn course that measured 2.518 miles. Remarkably, this is also the first points-paying Cup race outside the United States since 1958.
The announcement, made on August 27, was part of NASCAR's plan to expand its international footprint. Replacing one of Richmond's two annual events, the addition of Mexico City brings the season's road course races up to six.
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The race weekend promises to be spectacular with it being NASCAR's first triple-header event featuring Cup, Xfinity, and Mexico Series races all in one weekend. This event will also be among the select NASCAR races to be exclusively streamed on Prime Video, helping to broaden access to audiences worldwide.
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Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president, chief venue & racing innovation officer, said the following regarding the Mexican race:
"This has been on our radar for a long time.
"We've been talking about the continued iteration of our schedule, right? You can go back a few years, went to new markets like Nashville and Austin, Texas. We went to the Coliseum for the Clash...
"We went to our first street race in downtown Chicago, and this is going to be another first for us in a lot of ways. This is going to be certainly a monumental event for us, the first time we're going south of the border."
He continued, discussing the importance of growing internationally:
"It's huge. When we talk as a leadership team about where we feel like our biggest growth opportunities as a sport is, international is always one of the first things that comes up...
"We brought the Craftsman Truck Series to Canada for a number of years, we've had the Xfinity Series in Mexico. This is a monumental moment for our sport in the sense that this is our first step of really taking the Cup Series internationally, and I think it could set us up for the future in potential new markets.
"I think we've been honest about our interest in taking our Cup Series abroad, whether that's north of the border or south of the border, and then as we talk about some of our other races, there are opportunities for us to take the Cup Series even further than that.
"So, it's going to be a big project for us. There's a lot of questions that we have. I'm sure that the industry will have some questions as well, but excited to take this on, and to go to one of the biggest markets — not just in the country, but in the world — is going to be huge for our sport."
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