This weekend, NASCAR made history by crossing into Mexico City, staging the inaugural Viva Mexico 250 at the famed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Under the pale sky and intermittent drizzle, Shane van Gisbergen, the New Zealand ace driving for Trackhouse Racing, powered from pole position to dominate 60 of the race’s 100 laps. Crossing the finish line a stunning 16.6 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell, he earned the largest margin of victory in the Cup Series since 2009. The sight of SVG drop-kicking a rugby ball into the grandstands was a celebration as bold as the win itself. “Man, that was epic,” he said.

But the emotional centerpiece wasn’t the winner, but the homegrown hero Daniel Suarez, who electrified Saturday’s Xfinity Series race by charging from last to first in wet conditions. The Monterrey native weathered a qualifying crash, fought back in a backup car, and claimed victory to chants of his name echoing through the grandstands. Though he slid to 19th in the Cup event, his performance throughout the weekend lit a fire under Mexico’s fanbase and galvanized NASCAR’s international appeal.

But this wasn’t NASCAR’s first sprint across the border. Over the years, the series had dabbled in international venues, from the streets of Toronto to Calder Park Thunderdome in Melbourne in 1988. But in the modern era, these efforts were put in motion after the inaugural Chicago Street Race, where SVG won on his debut. These experiments proved that NASCAR can easily adapt and thrive on foreign tarmac. While the weather could’ve been better in the City of Palace, the first points race outside the USA since 1958 had flashes of what could be a sustainable feature on the Cup Series calendar.

Looking ahead, NASCAR SVP Ben Kennedy said, “We’re very hopeful we’ll be back” in Mexico next year as well, citing strong local support as 90% of attendees of the race were from Mexico, with 44% hailing from Mexico City. A trip back to Canada has long been on the cards, but a road course in Mexico City isn’t a huge hurdle for NASCAR to deal with. Not to forget, this partnership requires cross-border authorities to work in sync to plan and execute such an event on a massive scale. Now that NASCAR has the experience, a trip back to Mexico should be a smoother ride.

Beyond North America, NASCAR’s development strategy includes nurturing regional series in Europe, Brazil, and Mexico, with the NASCAR Euro Series having already raced at iconic tracks like Brands Hatch, Circuit de Valencia, Oschersleben, Zolder, and Vallelunga. With the return to Mexico City, the race served both as a historic milestone and a stepping stone in its broader international vision.

But while this may be exciting for some fans, others have debated the possibility of a return to Mexico City. Many fans on Reddit have been divided over the idea of a core American sport hopping across borders, with a possible drift away from its traditional roots. But this might just be NASCAR’s chance to shine, collecting international fans wherever they go.

What do fans think about NASCAR’s Mexico move?

“This was an epic race, crowd seemed into it, and it had plenty of opportunities for chaos without it being turn 1 at Indy / COTA chaos. Would love to see them run it back next year (or alternate years with Montreal),” commented one fan on the speculation of NASCAR’s return to Mexico again next year. With NASCAR in the contract year with the Chicago Street race, this road course event that brought new fans to the sport could be the turning point in NASCAR’s ambitious visions. Chicago and Coliseum races were given multiple opportunities, so going by that pattern, the Mexico race deserves another shot.

With that blend of excitement and drama, it is no wonder that many are calling for a repeat next year, or with a bi-annual alternation with Montreal and other tracks. Mexico City was, therefore, instrumental in showing that NASCAR can deliver a high-octane international outing without resorting to gimmicks or crash-fest chaos. Another fan agreed, saying, “It would be neat if NASCAR had a ‘Global’ portion of the schedule where they run 2 international races back-to-back that are relatively nearby that makes logistical sense to each other, with an offweekend either before or after the swing too. Mix it up every year or so.” 

“Guess if we’re getting Montreal, it’s gonna have to replace Chicago or the Roval,” commented a race fan. NASCAR needs to be wary about its international adventure. Currently, there are six road/street races on the schedule, and if they want to have multiple international events in the same year, they cannot cut out another date from a short-oval or intermediate track The logical option would be to do away with Chicago street racing and also convert the Roval into a full oval. This might be a more balanced approach for NASCAR that keeps the traditional fans happy while they continue with their expansion project.

There have been reports that indicate that NASCAR has initiated intensive negotiations to bring the Xfinity and Truck Series, and ultimately the Cup Series, to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the 2026-27 season. Meanwhile, speculations in motorsport circles also suggest that the Chicago Street Race, now entering its 3rd year, might be dropped to make room for the Montreal event. And because NASCAR typically avoids increasing the total number of races, adding Montreal likely means sacrificing an existing one that occupies similar calendar slots and formats.

But NASCAR fans also have solutions for all such problems, as one commented, “Throw an off weekend before Mexico and (if you can’t do one after also) then Texas the week after to minimize the logistics of it all. Also still hoping against hope we get to Montreal.” Adding a Texas race the week after fits perfectly, as teams would simply continue down the I-35 corridor. Eliminating a long reposition before hopping back east, and maximizing the return from the cross-border effort.

But with schedules planned strategically, many fans think that this was a quiet omission of Canada for this season, as one commented, “it always sounded like they wanted to go to canada for this spot and that was in the cards for next year. idk how the crowd and reaction was to this but maybe they showed that this may be a better option for international other than canada but i guess it’s all ultimately up to Nascar.” It has long been reported that NASCAR had Canada in its sights for this international slot, tipping Montreal or Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as the top targets for 2026-27. Ben Kennedy also confirmed that they have been ‘talking to folks north of the border’ and that Canada remains a possibility.

NASCAR is going to have the final say on how it will approach its international plans. But with schedule constraints and competition from F1, they will have to tread carefully. Mexico was a good starting point, and building on it could open doors for more such opportunities.