Jeff Gordon admits NASCAR wasn’t ready for Mexico in the 2000s despite the popularity of Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards

The vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, has put forward his opinions on the NASCAR Cup Series race at Mexico City ahead of the Viva Mexico 250 race. The race on Sunday (June 15) was won by the Trackhouse Racing team driver, Shane Van Gisbergen, after a dominating performance, finishing ahead of the second driver by a lead of over 16 seconds. The race had a buzz and hype around it over the entire weekend. Gordon's team had a decent performance in the race, with two drivers finishing in the top 20.

Gordon shared his opinions on why the Cup Series did not race in Mexico City despite having amazing drivers like Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.

"In hindsight, it would be nice to figure, why we didn't... This car offers a lot more opportunity. That is why we are going to street courses... The brakes on this car, the aero package on this car, the transmission, everything allows you to do more road racing. I don't know if road racing at that time was as popular as it is today, especially in the Cup Series, and we didn't have a car that I think could be as adaptable," Jeff Gordon said via Cup Scene on YouTube. ( 1:40- 2:20 )

Tony Stewart retired from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2016 but was part of the sport as a co-owner before selling his team's charter after 16 seasons in the sport. Stewart now competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class of drag racing. On the other hand, Carl Edwards took a surprising retirement from NASCAR after the 2016 Cup Series season. He now works as a NASCAR analyst on Prime Video.

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Jeff Gordon provides his verdict on the NASCAR horsepower debate

The current vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports and four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jeff Gordon, has been an active part of the sport and has provided his insights on discussions revolving around the sport from time to time.

The 53-year-old was recently asked about the increasing horsepower debate in the Cup Series cars and gave his verdict on the topic.

"If we thought as a team, adding horsepower, adding softer tires, was going to be the fix-all … it’s not. We‘re too glued to the race track right now. Adding as much power as I think maybe it takes would do two things: number one, cost, I hate bringing up cost, but we‘re talking about components that won‘t last. And then the other is, it might make the cars harder to drive, and the drivers like it more, but that doesn‘t mean that it‘s going to be a better race," Jeff Gordon said via a Barstool Sports podcast.

Gordon also added that even a softer tire is not the solution for having better and interesting races. He explained that the sport needs a tire that has grip but falls off, and the driver has to manage tire wear. Gordon's statements are different from the opinion of drivers, as most of them have supported an increase in horsepower.