AUSTIN, Texas — The weeks are counting down for the NASCAR Cup Series’ Mexico City debut and the series’ first race on international soil in 67 years.
Circuit of the Americas is the closest Cup track to Mexico City, and in the lead up to this weekend’s action in the Lone Star State, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez made the trip south of the border for a promotional event at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Feb. 26.
Huge media event in Mexico City today featuring @CBellRacing @Blaney @chaseelliott and the hometown favorite @Daniel_SuarezG !! pic.twitter.com/mbWrSPeOmx
— Holly Cain (@_HollyCain) February 26, 2025
The drivers and NASCAR personnel met with the Mexican media for a press conference at the track, and the four drivers, led by Suarez, spent the evening touring the sights of the Mexican capitol.
Upon returning to Texas, Blaney and Elliott had nothing but praise for the city and the upcoming event.
“I had a great time, it’s fun to see [everything],” Blaney said. “I’ve been to Mexico a few times, but never Mexico City, and it was great. We went to a lot of different things and the track layout there looks great.”
“It was an honor for me and I’m sure Ryan and all of us to have someone like [Daniel] show us around [the city],” Elliott said. “Because obviously being from there, it was really cool to see his genuine excitement and passion for the fact that we’re doing this.”
Even in a promotional event more than three months out from the race weekend, the invested interest from both the fans and the local media was on full display.
“The biggest thing I noticed there is everybody around there is really excited that we’re coming,” Blaney explained. “The press conference was great — everyone’s looking forward to having the Cup Series there and NASCAR back.
“… I was excited to go before and it just made me even more excited to see the excitement level of the people that live there, so it should be great.”
Elliott shared the same sentiments and praised the promoters for a job well done.
“It seems there’s a lot of excitement there for the event,” Elliott said. “Everybody that is putting on the show really seems bought in on it and willing to give it a really good effort to not only from the prep side of things, but from executing a proper race weekend. And they have a lot of experience with it with Formula One, right?
“I think that some of the same people are putting it together and promoting it and pushing the way they do, you know everyone’s in town.”
But Elliott also believes that there is an unsung hero in making this event a done deal, and it’s the man that will have the home crowd cheering him on every step of the way.
“I think [Suarez] probably deserves more credit for [this event] than what he’ll ever get,” Elliott said. “He’s obviously had a huge stance in our sport from the representation side of Mexico for 10-plus years now. … He obviously has a lot of connections and contacts down there that, ultimately, I think his positive influence has helped get over the bridge of making it all happen because I think there’s a lot of logistics that went into it.”
As for Suarez, he’s excited that this vision, this dream is becoming more and more of a reality with each passing day.
“I’m on the moon right now with everything that is happening with the Mexico City race,” Suarez said. “Seeing all the media, seeing a lot of local media, national media from Mexico here this weekend and over last week. A lot of people are super excited.
“I’m very, very blessed to be in this position and to be able to represent not just my country, but everyone in Latin America in support of NASCAR, and now I get to make history with all of you guys. Doing an international race with points in the Cup Series is going to be quite special.”
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf