NASCAR is returning to Mexico in 2026, but this time it’s the domestic NASCAR México Series — and the venue is an active airport on the Caribbean coast, not the famed Mexico City Formula 1 circuit.
Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum, Quintana Roo, will be converted into a temporary oval April 25-26 for the third weekend of the 2026 NASCAR México season, officials announced this week.
The racing will be a paid portion of the new, mostly free Tulum Air Show, organized by the Mexican Air Force and the Mexico Aerospace Fair (Famex).
The four-day program April 23-26 will mix stock-car races with aerobatic displays (involving F-5 jets, helicopters, drones and other devices), aerospace exhibitions and safety workshops at Military Air Base No. 20 and adjoining airport facilities.
The invitation to race in Tulum came from Famex, not from NASCAR México, officials said.
“The project has accumulated over six months of joint work with the Air Force, and the intention is to turn this participation into a recurring relationship with Famex,” NASCAR México president Jimmy Morales said at a news conference Tuesday.
Organizers project roughly 30,000 attendees across the air and racing components. The latter will include the usual practice and qualifying sessions and two races: the main event in the NASCAR México Series and a second-tier Challenge Series race.
As of now, the main event has not been given a name; last year’s NASCAR Cup Series main event in Mexico City was the Viva México 250.
Moreover, organizers haven’t given specifics on the footprint of the racing oval, such as whether it will use parts of the airfield and runway.
The race will underscore how different this event is from last year’s high-profile NASCAR Cup Series debut in Mexico City in June, a points-scoring race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez that included all of the eventual top-12 finishers in NASCAR’s 2025 standings.
That 100-lap race was won by New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen in front of a “sparse” crowd within the 100,000-capacity facility, “with many grandstands empty,” as reported by Autoracing1.com.
Though NASCAR does not announce attendance figures, the fan mag noted “there were reports in Mexico that they sold only 15,000 grandstand seats and the rest were freebies.”
Recuerda Tulum Air Show del 23 al 26 de abril, esta confirmada la participación de #Nascarmexicoseries pic.twitter.com/oQjQqYXMh3
— Feria Aeroespacial México (@FAMEXTweet) February 19, 2026
Citing scheduling conflicts around the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City and travel logistics, NASCAR opted to drop Mexico City from the 2026 NASCAR Cup schedule, with some reports also questioning the economics of the event.
There was talk for a while that IndyCar would fill the void, but the open-wheel racing series best known for the Indianapolis 500 announced it will not visit CDMX in 2026.
The racing circuit that will visit Mexico City in 2026 is Formula 1, which will be back for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Nov. 1, preceded by two days practice sessions and qualifying.
In addition, Mexico City will be hosting a massive interactive showcase called the Formula 1 Exhibition starting March 20.
Organizers for the NASCAR México weekend in Tulum say they expect to max out hotel capacity in a tourism market that is generally saturated but has been slumping recently.
NASCAR México will kick off its 12-race 2026 season March 14-15 in San Luis Potosí and conclude it Nov. 14-15 in Puebla.
With reports from Lapeando, El Economista, Excélsior, NASCAR.com and The Athletic
