While the Busch Light Clash will be the main event for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday (Feb. 3), there is a second series that will be joining the NASCAR Cup Series for a support race.
And it isn’t the Xfinity Series or Craftsman Truck Series.
The NASCAR Mexico Series will descend upon the temporary 0.25-mile short track for a 150-lap event, which immediately follows the Busch Light Clash. The race, dubbed the Rey Taco la Batalla en el Coliseo (translated to King Taco: The Battle at the Coliseum) is an all-star race, with each driver on the entry list meeting certain qualifications to compete.
But what exactly is the NASCAR Mexico Series?
Introduced in 2004 as DesafĂo Corona, the series was quickly rebranded to the NASCAR Mexico Series. Sponsorship from Corona beer, which is brewed in Mexico, later changed the name to the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series in 2007.
The series made NASCAR news for all the wrong reasons in 2009 when the series’ inaugural champion Carlos Pardo tragically lost his life in an accident at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed. With four laps to go, Pardo was in a battle for the lead with Jorge Goeters. As Pardo attempted to block Goeters, the two made contact and Pardo was turned into the inside wall, where he made impact with the end of a concrete attenuator.
The water barrels didn’t soften the impact and Pardo collided with the wall at 120 mph, completely disintegrating the car and sending the water in the barrels flying, almost as if a bomb went off in that moment. The race was immediately red flagged and did not restart as Pardo was extricated from the chassis of the car and transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Per Mexico Series rules, the final results were scored based on the last completed lap. As Pardo was the leader entering the lap, he was posthumously awarded the win.
The series persevered and was renamed the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series presentado por (presented by) Toyota for the 2011 season. Toyota took over naming rights the following season and the series was officially known as the NASCAR Toyota Series from 2012-2014.
Following the 2015 season, the NASCAR Mexico Series (which had lost its Toyota sponsor following 2014) announced the suspension of the series. The hiatus only lasted through 2016, as the series announced its return for the 2017 season with sponsorship from PEAK Antifreeze.
The PEAK NASCAR Mexico Series continued running business as usual until the 2023 season. That year, PEAK ended its sponsorship, and the series became the NASCAR Mexico Series. Simultaneously, the series introduced its own version of the playoffs. The requirements are simple: the top four drivers in points — plus two wild cards — following the 10th race of the 12-race season would compete in the 11th race for be part of the final four in the season finale. Much like NASCAR’s American counterparts, the highest finisher in the finale is the champion. Salvador de Alba took home the first playoff-structured championship for the series.
The NASCAR Mexico Series was the first iteration of NASCAR-sanctioned international racing. It’s success quickly led NASCAR to form the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (now NASCAR Pinty’s Series) in Canada after buying the CASCAR Super Series. The Pinty’s Series began racing in 2007, three years after NASCAR Mexico.
Shortly after the Canada Series was born, the Whelen Euro Series was formed in 2009 and competes on tracks all throughout Europe. The series is divided into two divisions, EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2. The Whelen Euro Series was the most recent international series sanctioned by NASCAR until 2022, when the NASCAR Brazil Sprint Race was created. The series came to be when the GT Sprint Race reached an agreement with NASCAR to sanction the series.
The champion of the NASCAR Mexico Series from 2004-2011 received an automatic invite to compete in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway. Champions from 2012 and 2013 received the same invite to the UNOH Battle at the Beach exhibition on the Daytona International Speedway backstretch. At Daytona, the driver could choose any of the three series to compete in (K&N Pro Series, Whelen Modified Tour, or Whelen All-American Series) and would automatically qualify with the invitation as champion.
While the champion (and anyone else who wanted to try to qualify) would race at Irwindale/Daytona every year, the race at the LA Coliseum will only be the fourth time the series itself will venture outside of Mexico. The series raced at Phoenix Raceway from 2013-2015.
The series currently runs Chevrolet and Ford as manufacturers, but has also welcomed Dodge, Toyota and Mazda as other manufacturers. All five manufacturers have won at least 14 races apiece in the series, with Toyota holding the most wins at 83. Ford is second with 48.
The Mexico Series could very much be considered the Cup Series of Mexico. Just like the Cup Series, the Mexico Series has always had at least one feeder series. The first iteration was the NASCAR Mexico T4 Series, a four-cylinder series that began in 2005 and was replaced by the NASCAR V6 Super Series. When the Mexico Series suspended its season for 2016, the V6 Series folded.
Upon the Mexico Series’ return in 2017, two new feeder series were formed: the NASCAR FedEx Challenge Series, and the NASCAR Mikel’s Truck Series, both of which still compete today.
As far as notable records go in the series, Ruben Garcia Jr. has the most championships in Mexico Series history with four. At the top of the all-time win list is a tie between Ruben Rovelo and Rogelio Lopez, each having 26. Both drivers still compete in the series to this day, as does Garcia, who sits third on the list with 22.
The Mexico Series, much like the Pinty’s Series, has had its crossovers with NASCAR’s American series’ by way of drivers. To date, only five drivers have starts in both the NASCAR Mexico Series and the NASCAR Cup Series. Scott Riggs and Cody Ware both have one start in the NASCAR Mexico Series, while Goeters has only made one Cup Series start. Kevin O’Connell has just one start in both the Cup Series and Mexico Series.
The most prominent driver to come from the Mexico Series is Daniel Suarez. Suarez started his career in the Mexico Series, winning 10 races and earning Rookie of the Year honors in the series in 2010. He began racing in the K&N Pro Series East and West Series (now ARCA Menards Series) the next season, eventually working his way up to full-time Xfinity Series racing in 2015.
Everyone knows his story from there. He won the Xfinity championship in 2016, becoming the first foreign-born driver to win a championship in NASCAR’s premier series. He was arguably rushed to the Cup Series the following season after Carl Edwards suddenly stepped away from NASCAR, leaving Joe Gibbs Racing with no other option than the Monterrey, Mexico, native to replace him.
After finding little success at JGR, he moved to Stewart-Haas Racing where he didn’t fare any better. His career looked to be over with a move to Gaunt Brothers Racing in 2020 that saw no top 10s, as well as a failure to qualify for the Daytona 500 after crashing out in his duel race.
The following season land with a startup team called Trackhouse Racing. Suarez’s performance improved, and in 2022 he ended up notching his first career win at Sonoma Raceway.
Suarez is very proud of his Mexican heritage. His fan club, dubbed ‘Daniel’s Amigos’, has a strong presence at many racetracks, and was present in full force for his Sonoma win.
Perhaps the second most noteworthy driver who has had a sizeable presence in the NASCAR Mexico Series is Andres Perez de Lara. Perez is currently a full-time ARCA driver who finished runner-up in the 2023 ARCA standings to Jesse Love. Perez also competed simultaneously in the NASCAR Mexico Series’ 2023 season, making the playoffs and finishing fourth in the final standings, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. Perez is a champion of both the Challenge Series and the Mikel’s Truck Series.
Both Suarez and Perez have driven, or currently drive for, a team called Rev Racing in America. Rev works in partnership with NASCAR to field entries in ARCA and the Craftsman Truck Series for drivers who are a part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. Some drivers in this program began their career in the NASCAR Mexico Series, as well as the other three international series sanctioned by NASCAR.
But Suarez and Perez are not the only drivers from the Mexico Series that people have heard of. Though maybe not in the Cup Series, there are plenty of other drivers who have competed in NASCAR’s premier series or ARCA and the Mexico Series.
German Quiroga, a regular Truck Series driver from 2011-2015, won three straight Mexico Series championships from 2009-2011 before going Truck racing. Ruben Pardo, younger brother of Carlos, won also won an ARCA East race in 2006. The younger Pardo is the 2015 Mexico Series champion.
Garcia, hoping to replicate his Mexico Series success in ARCA East, drove for Rev from 2016-2019, winning two races in 2018 – while winning his third Mexico Series title the same season.
2021 Mexico Series Rookie of the Year Max Gutierrez has made a handful of Truck Series starts, with his most recent coming at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2023. He won an ARCA East race in 2021 with Rette Jones Racing and has stuck with Ford in every Truck Series start he’s made, through AM Racing.
The Rey Taco la Battalia en el Coliseo will consist of 21 drivers, chosen from a multitude of parameters. Entrants include de Alba, Gutierrez, Perez, Garcia, Goeters, and Ruben Pardo.
Other entrants include Regina Sirvent, a two-time winner in the Mikel’s Truck Series, who will be the first woman to race in the Coliseum. 2023 Challenge Series champion Alex de Alba will also compete in the event.
One of the parameters for an invitation to the field was a guest driver. To no one’s surprise, Suarez himself will be the guest driver.
The race will air on FS2 immediately following the Busch Light Clash on Feb. 3 as a result of weather forcing NASCAR to heavily amend the weekend schedule to avoid rains heading for California on Sunday (Feb. 4).
Garcia is on the pole, while Suarez will start sixth in his first Mexico Series start since 2014. Perez will start one spot ahead in fifth.
What a way for the NASCAR Mexico Series to kick off its 17th season of competition. No matter what happens, the series will have eyes on it as it takes to an American stage for just the second time in its tenured history.
Its rich history will hopefully turn to increased viewership beyond LA.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter. He has also assisted with short track content and social media, among other duties he takes/has taken on for the site. In 2025, he became an official member of the National Motorsports Press Association. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight coordinator in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.