NASCAR’s decision to take the Cup Series to Mexico in 2025 marks an important step for the sport, one that feels both inevitable and overdue.
The race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez is set for June 15, 2025. It’s a deliberate move to broaden NASCAR’s reach beyond America, and hopes of tapping into a growing fanbase south of the border. NASCAR’s turn toward a more global presence isn’t surprising considering NASCAR’s slow-simmering struggles domestically.
NASCAR has been experimenting with new markets and formats for years now—just look at the recent street race in Chicago, the Bristol Dirt race, the Clash at the LA Coliseum, and NASCAR Trucks in my backyard at Mosport. But Mexico City is different. It’s a track with history, a circuit that’s been home to everything from Formula 1 to NASCAR’s own Xfinity Series in years past.
Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s executive vice president, says this event has been on NASCAR’s radar for a while.
“It’s huge,” Kennedy said. “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. 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.”
And then there’s the Mexican driver, Daniel Suárez. For him, this race is personal. Suárez is the only driver to ever graduate from the NASCAR Mexico Series and blossom into a Cup Series winner/ Along the way, he’s become an Xfinity Series champion and is now the longest-tenured foreign-born driver to ever race in NASCAR.
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with its tight turns and high elevation, should make for compelling racing and deliver the potential to attract a few high-profile road course aces. For example, Jensen Button, who has already driven for Rick Ware Racing, has plenty of experience around the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez in a Formula 1 car. NASCAR is expected to use the full 2.7-mile Grand Prix layout, not the shortened version used by Formula E, nor the rarely used oval located on site.
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