Viva La México: NASCAR to take Cup Series international for 1st points race of modern era

NASCAR will take its elite Cup Series international for the first points-paying race outside the United States with a June stop in Mexico City.

The Cup Series will race at storied Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where NASCAR and track officials have a Tuesday morning news conference to announce the June 15 race, track officials told The Associated Press.

NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series and NASCAR Mexico Series will be part of the weekend.

The Xfinity Series ran in Mexico City from 2005 to 2008 and current Cup Series stars Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were winners during the four-year stretch.

But the Cup Series has never gone international in the modern era for anything besides exhibition races. The Cup Series held exhibitions in Japan between 1996 and 1998, and once in Australia in 1988.

The only two points-paying Cup races previously held internationally were in Canada. The first was at Stamford Park in Ontario, Canada, in 1952, then Canadian Exposition Center in Toronto in 1958.

Now NASCAR will take its stars — including Mexican driver Daniel Suarez — to the same circuit beloved by Formula 1 fans. The Mexico City Grand Prix was voted the best event on the F1 calendar until the fan-decided polling ended during the pandemic.

The 17-turn road course is 2.674-miles long and sits at an elevation of 7,342 feet. The track was built in 1959 and named for racing brothers Pedro and Ricardo Rodríguez. The circuit has hosted eight F1 races since a 2015 remodel.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing