“Lot of dominoes that need to fall”: Executive opens up about whether NASCAR will return to Mexico in 2026

NASCAR senior executive Ben Kennedy shared that while the sanctioning body is hopeful of a return to Mexico in 2026, they cannot commit to the venue at the moment. Speaking after last Sunday's Cup Series, Mr. Kennedy stated that "a lot of dominoes" need to fall to make it happen.

NASCAR concluded its 14th race weekend of the season in Mexico City, Mexico, where they hosted the street course Xfinity and Cup Series races at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Home hero Daniel Suarez and street course expert Shane van Gisbergen came out as the winners in the respective categories.

While the race weekend could be termed as successful, the sanctioning body is unwilling to commit its future in Mexico entirely. Speaking about this, Kennedy said,

"As we’re going through the planning of putting together the pieces of the 2026 schedule, there are a lot of dominoes that need to fall.” (via NBC)

Having said that, he also addressed how the sanctioning body feels they were successful in their attempt to race outside of the United States for the first time in over two decades. Speaking more on this, he further added:

“I would say for us, this is more of a strategic move as a sport to expand our footprint globally and internationally and to a new mass fan base,” Kennedy said. “Just being in a country with 90 million people and over 20 million people in the larger Mexico City metro alone, not in and of itself, this is a success.”

NASCAR last raced outside of the United States when it hosted Xfinity Series races in Mexico till 2008. In recent times, moving outside the United States has been a major part of the body's global expansion plans.

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NASCAR chief explains why it is not 'feasible' to expand globally

While NASCAR would want to expand globally and be more successful worldwide, it is not possible due to a lot of restrictions, mainly considering the logistical and travel side of things. Speaking on this, Ben Kennedy said:

Shane Van Gisbergen, (winner) Christopher Bell, (second place) and Chase Elliott (third place) celebrate in victory lane at the Cup Series race the Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, in Mexico - Source: Getty

"The amount of inventory that we carry through our Cup Series schedule makes it very difficult for us to travel from the United States overseas, pack our stuff up, and then be back the next weekend, seeing that we have 38 [races]”. (Via Blackbook Motorsport)

Notably, global Motorsport racing, such as F1, hosts 24 races around the world in a year, and as a result, is quite successful around the world. Comparatively, NASCAR has 14 more race weekends every year, and that brings enormous extra pressure on logistics and transportation.