The hugely popular U.S. sport of NASCAR auto racing is about to vroom into uncharted territory this weekend: a top-level Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.
Expected to capitalize on Mexico’s motorsports fervor and attract 243,000 fans, the Viva México 250 on Sunday will mark the NASCAR Cup Series’ first points-earning race outside of the U.S. in the modern era.
La NASCAR Cup Series está en el Autódromo Hnos. Rodríguez a máxima velocidad!!#nascarmexico #NASCARMexicoCity pic.twitter.com/F9GcffnUYF
— Autodromo Hnos. Rodriguez (@autodromohr) June 13, 2025
NASCAR has staged exhibitions in Japan and Australia, and lower-level series events in Canada and Mexico.
But in the circuit’s 77-year history, there have been only two official top-level races outside of the U.S., both in Canada, most recently in 1958 — back when NASCAR’s Cup Series was called the Grand National Series.
The milestone race on Sunday, which was announced last summer, will see drivers tackling 15 turns over a 3.8-km course at an elevation of 2,285 meters (7,500 feet) — where the thin air will significantly impact engine performance and driver endurance.
The track includes a 1.1-mile straightaway in which cars exceed 200 km/h (124 mph), far from the top speeds of over 322 km/h (200 mph) the same stock cars can reach on superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega.
The three-day festival of speed in the capital started Friday with practice and qualifying in the morning and a NASCAR Mexico Series race in the afternoon.
On Saturday, a NASCAR Xfinity Series race tabbed the Chilango 150 is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m., with the main event Viva México 250 set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Alongside all of the excitement heading into the weekend is news that multiple racing teams faced logistical travel hurdles en route to CDMX.
The situation emerged when two chartered flights from North Carolina were grounded Thursday due to mechanical issues. Some crews drove to Atlanta to catch commercial flights.
NASCAR announced it had adjusted the CDMX schedule, noting it had condensed Xfinity Series practice but spared Cup teams schedule changes.
A homecoming for Mexican driver Daniel Suárez
The Cup Series race on Sunday will mark a homecoming for Monterrey native Daniel Suárez, 33, the first Mexican-born driver to win at the Cup level: in 2022 at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California and 16 months ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
He also won the championship of the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series, often described as NASCAR’s “minor leagues,” making him the first non-American and first graduate of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program to win a national series title.
Suárez heads into this weekend carrying the weight of a nation’s hopes — especially after back-to-back disappointing finishes by Guadalajara-born Sergio “Checo” Pérez in Formula 1’s Mexico City Grand Prix, including last place in 2024 and crashing out of the race on the opening lap in 2023.
This year’s F1 race in Mexico City is scheduled for Oct. 24-26.
Also weighing on Suárez’s mind is his unresolved contract situation with Trackhouse Racing. He is in the final stretch of his contract, and has acknowledged that negotiations are distracting.
“I’m super excited for the event. I’m super excited to live the moment because the first time is going to only happen once,” said Suárez, who arrived early to acclimate. “I’m really trying to be as present as possible, enjoy the moment and try to execute the best possible weekend that we can.”
From 2012 to 2014, Suárez won three Mexico Series races at the Hermanos Rodríguez track, and his No. 99 Chevrolet carries sponsorship from Mexican telecom giant Telcel.
Suárez is also expected to race in a different car in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. There, he is expected to be joined by two drivers from Mexico City — Andrés Pérez de Lara, 20, and Rubén Rovelo, 37, whose status as chilangos will give the name of the race, the Chilango 150, a little extra punch.
NASCAR’s venture into Mexico was orchestrated by Ben Kennedy, the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. “Our biggest opportunity to grow as a sport is international,” he said. “Mexico City checked every box.”
The favorites for Sunday’s race include Americans William Byron (the current Cup Series standings leader) and Christopher Bell (fourth place) and New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen (who excels on non-oval tracks). Suárez is 28th in the standings.
Many tickets for Sunday’s race, which start at 1,000 pesos (US $52) on the backstretch and rise to 10,500 pesos (US $554) pesos in the main grandstand, have already been sold. TV coverage will be on Channel 5 and Fox Sports in Mexico and Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.
With reports from El Economista, Infobae and Associated Press
