NASCAR announces Cup Series race in Mexico for 2025
NASCAR Executive Vice President Ben Kennedy says the Cup Series' first foray into Mexico is 'most anticipated moment of the 2025 schedule.'
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00:00Alex we were here joined by Ben Kennedy and NASCAR has some exciting news to
00:05announce surrounding the long-rumored return to racing in Mexico this time
00:10with the NASCAR Cup Series. I know that the Xfinity Series raced in Mexico from
00:132005 to 2008 but it's time now for the Cup Series to head down to Mexico. It is
00:20we're going international for for the first time in the modern era with a
00:24point series race for a Cup Series so it's a year point Alex we've we've had
00:29the Xfinity Series here for a few years we actually had a few points races for
00:33a Cup Series in the 1950s but this has been on our radar for a long time you
00:38know we've been talking about the continued iteration of our schedule
00:41right you go back a few years went to new markets like Nashville and Austin
00:46Texas we went to the Coliseum for the clash for a few years we went to our
00:52first international or our first street race in downtown Chicago and this is
00:57going to be another first for us in a lot of ways you know this is going to be
01:00certainly a monumental event for us the first time we're going south of the
01:04border we're gonna have great partners down there with the OSESA team you know
01:09they have a ton of experience putting on massive events in and around Mexico and
01:13Mexico City they put on the Formula One race and it's gonna be a really big
01:18event and a monumental moment in our schedule next year probably the most
01:21anticipated moment of the 2025 schedule. Yeah most anticipated for me for sure
01:26and I know we've done Mexico but in the Xfinity series but I want to know how
01:31the success of a place like Chicago and bringing a street race to the NASCAR Cup
01:36Series it's played into the NASCAR Cup Series securing this international
01:41points race. Yeah in a lot of ways Chicago was a bit of a catalyst for us
01:47to go to Mexico City you know if you think about Chicago again the first time
01:53we've ever had a street race in our Cup Series history and to be able to go to
01:59downtown Chicago any unique way around that the operations of the event the
02:04entertainment the event experience a lot of new elements for our sport and our
02:09industry to go to Chicago and be able to implement an event like that. Mexico is
02:14gonna have a lot of those same elements right we're going to a new market we're
02:18going a pretty long distance from a lot of you know where a lot of our teams are
02:23based out of in Charlotte North Carolina and there are a lot of
02:25logistics involved in getting down there so we're gonna put an entire team
02:29together in the next several months a lot of folks that have been involved in
02:33the Chicago process from the start and you know they're gonna be helping kind
02:38of shepherd us down to Mexico City so it's gonna be a big project for for our
02:42company in our sport over the next year or so but you know as we saw in Chicago
02:46it was certainly a big lift but you know a lot of neat storylines that came out
02:50of it I think we're gonna see the same thing in Mexico City. Yeah for sure the
02:54the Cup Series we know internationally has been to Japan and Australia it's
02:58been exhibition races however we noted the Xfinity Series passed in Mexico the
03:03Truck Series is also run in Canada how important and significant is
03:08international racing to the sanctioning body for the Cup Series? It's huge you
03:15know when we talk as a leadership team about where we feel like our biggest
03:20growth opportunities as a sport is international is always one of the first
03:24things that come up and you know to your point Alex we brought the Craftsman
03:27Truck Series to Canada for a number of years we've had the Xfinity Series in
03:31Mexico this is a monumental moment for our sport in the sense that this is our
03:37first step of really taking the Cup Series internationally and you know I
03:41think it could set us up for the future and potential new markets you know I
03:45think we've been honest about our interest in taking our Cup Series
03:49abroad whether that's north of the border or south of the border and then
03:53as we talk about some of our other races you know there are opportunities for us
03:56to take the Cup Series even further than that so you know it's gonna be a big
04:01project for us there's a lot of questions that we have you know I'm sure
04:04that the industry will have some questions as well but you know excited
04:09to take this on and you know to go to one of the biggest markets not just in
04:14the country but in the world is is gonna be huge for our sport. Well no work
04:19on my end Ben my passport is ready so you just tell me when I need to be in
04:23Mexico thank you so much for joining us we look forward to the NASCAR Cup Series
04:26racing in Mexico in 2025