For the first time since 1958, NASCAR’s top level raced on international asphalt and it counted for points.
The Viva Mexico 250 saw the grid take on the unique challenge of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. It’s one of the toughest tracks on the calendar considering the altitude (7,349 feet) and road track layout. The light rain before the green flag waved added an extra wrinkle to the racing.
It was befitting that the winner of NASCAR’s first international race in decades is an international driver. Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, a native of New Zealand, earned his second career Cup Series win and a spot in the 10-race playoffs later this year.
It came in dominant fashion with van Gisbergen taking pole position and leading 60 of the 100 laps. He took first as Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell rounded out the top five finishers.
This was a new experience for one of the oldest racing formulas in the world. Was it worth the trip? Here’s what we think.
NASCAR in Mexico City verdict
There were logistical issues with international flights and shuttles getting to and from the track, but once the drivers arrived, they were greeted like rockstars. Middle-of-the-pack drivers like Todd Gilliland, who has just two top-10 finishes this season, had a crowd of fans welcoming him at the track.
Fans at the infamous stadium section of the track stayed after the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity race on Saturday, June 14 to high-five drivers and crew members alike as they left for the day.
These are notoriously passionate motorsports fans, and they certainly lived up to that billing for NASCAR.
Road races can be tough, and this one even more so with the altitude and mixed conditions. Some of the drivers were also dealing with stomach issues, van Gisbergen included, which threw another wrinkle into preparations on race day.
Few drivers were outspoken against making the trip, but one notably had a major change in tune. Carson Hocevar had ripped the sport’s decision to come to Mexico City on a livestream prior to the race.
‘If the travel was better, if getting here was easier, if you felt safer getting to and from everywhere, if it wasn’t such a (expletive), if the track limits were a little better enforced, if it was going to be a little bit better of a race, and it wasn’t so easy to, or feel so locked down like you can’t leave anywhere, it’d be a great experience,’ he said.
Come Sunday night, Hocevar took to social media to take back his comments.
‘Now that I’ve actually left my hotel a couple times and raced here in front of some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen, my opinion has changed,’ Hocevar wrote on X. ‘I am embarrassed by my comments.’
Cup Series champions Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch were both strong supporters of the race.
“The food is amazing, the city has some of the top restaurants in the world,” Busch said per the Associated Press. “This is a great place to be and I don’t understand the people holed up in their hotels too scared to leave. Live a little.”
Should NASCAR race in Mexico City again?
A new course is always a challenge. There were some logistical issues with travel, but that’s likely to crop up in some way at every new venue NASCAR visits. It gets amplified in an international track.
Ben Kennedy, NASCAR executive vice president and chief venue & racing innovation officer, built up this race since its announcement last August and he was ‘proud’ of how the weekend turned out.
Before van Gisbergen took to victory lane, his Trackhouse Racing teammate and Monterrey, Mexico native Daniel Suárez won the Xfinity Race a day prior. It was a near-storybook way for NASCAR to re-introduce itself in the country.
“It couldn’t have been any better,” Suárez said. “I’ve been here since Tuesday just working, doing promotion for sponsors, for the race itself, for fans. Every single thing that we did exceeded my expectations. The fans were amazing.’
This opportunity is huge for expanding NASCAR’s global reach and crucially bringing in new fans. The country has a well-earned reputation for passionate fans when Formula 1 visits the track in the fall so the appetite for racing is there for in-person spectators.
NASCAR is non-committal about Mexico City returning to the calendar next season. It should be back, but scheduling could be an issue considering Mexico will be a host country for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this time next year.
It could be tough to find another slot in the calendar but it’s worth finding a solution. This track is a unique test for drivers and cars alike – given the altitude and layout – with an outstanding fanbase. If the sport wants to tout its drivers as some of the best in the world, this is a key piece to earning that credibility.