It’s a July evening in 1958. Under the glow of temporary lights at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium, NASCAR’s Grand National Series (the forerunner to today’s Cup Series) made a rare international foray. The event? Jim Mideon 500. The spectators? Over 10,r000. And the atmosphere? Buzzing with the novelty of American stock car racing in Canada. That night, Lee Petty claimed victory, but the race is remembered just as much for the debut of a young Richard Petty, whose first NASCAR start took place not in the American South but on foreign soil.
Fast forward 67 years. NASCAR finally made the bold call to go international again. This time in a much bigger way. The 2025 Viva Mexico 250 race wasn’t just a nostalgic nod; it was a statement. One that Joey Logano, defending series champion and longtime voice in the garage, sees as much more than just another race weekend.
Joey Logano shares his thoughts on the NASCAR Mexico weekend
The NFL has played regular-season games in London and Mexico City. Then, look at the NBA. They have hosted games in Paris and Tokyo. Major League Baseball? They have even ventured to Japan and Australia. These leagues know that expanding globally means more fans, more sponsors, and a bigger stage for their athletes. NASCAR is now following suit.
As we move ahead from the NASCAR Mexico City weekend, the chatter still lingers. When asked how important it was for NASCAR to build international appeal, Joey Logano didn’t flinch. Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Logano said, “I think all sports have some kind of national appeal, and you see this in other sports too, as they start to go abroad a little bit and just do a game or two in different countries.”
However, Logano also acknowledged the necessary challenge. “What I’m saying, logistically, it’s a little harder for us because we’re not just taking the team, we’ve got to take the car and all the parts and the pieces, and it’s just a lot. We were able to accomplish that, and you got to step out of your comfort zone.” Well, for the NASCAR Mexico weekend, some teams reported significant logistical issues, including two planes carrying key personnel being grounded. The result? Delay in the arrivals of crew members and drivers for at least five teams! It eventually led to the practice session being rescheduled, but Logano feels this is necessary for the sport to grow. And overall? He feels the weekend went as smoothly as it could.
Despite these hurdles, the Mexico event was a major success. “Last weekend we were doing something that’s outside of our comfort zone, but it went really, really smoothly… The track was great, they were ready for us,” Logano said. The crowd at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was electric, and the racing (both races) was the right kind of competitive. And the whole weekend? It felt like a celebration of NASCAR’s global ambitions.
Hometown hero Daniel Suarez secured an emotional triumph in the Xfinity Series, and the crowd erupted. Even Suarez, a 20-year veteran of the sport, claimed he had never seen anything like it before. Joey Logano, too, praised the passion of the fans in a conversation with Sirius XM NASCAR, saying, “These people are passionate. They are die-hard NASCAR fans.” In the Cup race, Shane van Gisbergen delivered a stellar drive to win by 16 seconds, the largest margin of victory in the Cup Series in over a decade. Overall, it was a historic weekend for the sport, on and off the track.
And Mexico was a smart choice for NASCAR’s first big international push in years. Why? It’s close to home, has a passionate motorsport fanbase, and has already hosted Xfinity Series races in the 2000s, so there’s plenty of local expertise and infrastructure. By starting with Mexico, NASCAR can iron out the kinks, learn from the experience, and build confidence before heading to more distant locations like the Middle East or Europe.
NASCAR eyes San Diego Street Race for 2026
Building on the success of Mexico City and eager to expand its reach, NASCAR is making bold moves into urban markets. This time, NASCAR is eyeing San Diego for a new street-race slot in 2026. According to The Athletic, the governing body is close to finalizing a deal for a downtown Cup Series street race along the Pacific Coast, with an announcement expected next month. This would mark NASCAR’s return to Southern California following the closure of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. But, as they say, someone’s gain is someone’s loss.
To fit San Diego into its already 38-race calendar, NASCAR will likely drop the annual Chicago Street Race after it wraps up this year. Chicago’s deal through 2025 gives NASCAR flexibility, and industry insiders confirm San Diego is a strong candidate to replace it. Enthusiasm is high! San Diego brings a vibrant market, driven by media, tourism, and laid-back SoCal culture, making it a natural next step after successfully hosting the Mexico City event. Yet change always brings tension.
Some fans argue this continues NASCAR’s shift away from traditional ovals toward traffic-heavy street circuits. Others, like veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr., see diversification as essential. “I used to not love road course races, you know, I used to not want them added to the schedule, but I’m sort of understanding at this point in my life,” Dale Jr. commented, acknowledging the evolving fan experience.
If San Diego is confirmed, the 2026 schedule would look quite different. The Mexico City race could remain. Chicago could be retired, and San Diego, added. All while traditional ovals continue to anchor the series. NASCAR appears determined to balance innovation with heritage, pursuing global appeal without losing its core identity.
But the question remains: will this push into icon-filled cities like San Diego and Mexico City deepen fan interest, or alienate the traditional base? Next year’s lineup will reveal just how far NASCAR is willing to shift gears and how much its fans are willing to follow. What do you think of NASCAR’s road course ambitions? Let us know in the comments!
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