NASCAR Cup Series teams will be on their toes this weekend at the Michigan International Speedway. It’s not a regular weekend of racing, but it sets up the stage for the preparations of the international race in Mexico City. It is a 72-hour drive from Michigan to Mexico City, which is why the Cup Series garage is working overtime before the race starts in the Irish Hills.

As planned, the Xfinity haulers were already on their way to Mexico City on Saturday. The Cup haulers were scheduled to reach the border by Sunday night. This led to a lot of activity in the garage area, and the crew were seen pushing the back-up cars out of the haulers and replacing them with cars ready for the Mexico race.

Jeff Gluck captured the frenzy and shared an update on X: “Bell 19 car? Larson car being pushed by the 48 team? What’s going on here? Well, this morning is the great swap-out. Teams are taking their Michigan backups off the haulers to clear room and then loading the Mexico cars. Haulers leave tonight and must be at the border tomorrow.”

The stakes are sky-high with the first trucks of a weeklong convoy already crossing the border Monday to set up for NASCAR’s first international points race in Cup history. NASCAR vice president of racing operations Tom Bryant, a former Army Ranger with a knack for logistics, has been planning this move for nearly a year, making multiple trips to Laredo, Texas, to sync with U.S. Customs and Mexican officials. “It’s been a ton of coordination moving lots of people and lots of stuff safely and efficiently across a great distance and an international border,” Bryant said on the latest Hauler Talk podcast. The 40-hour haul from Michigan to Laredo, Texas, leaves no room for error.

The Cup convoy hits the Laredo border Monday night for a Tuesday crossing, unloading at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez by 2 p.m. ET Thursday. “Literally every hour from Sunday morning until about noon Tuesday is planned and there are events tied to it, and by gosh, it better happen on time,” Bryant noted. NASCAR’s tapped Rock-It Cargo, pros at moving 200 haulers for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, to smooth the process.

The plan hinges on detailed manifests for every hauler’s equipment, with border officials ditching the original seal-in-Michigan idea after seeing NASCAR’s tight ship at Circuit of The Americas. Instead, haulers will roll through a massive X-ray machine in Mexico. “I’m confident with the work we’ve done ahead of time with the Border Patrol authorities on both sides that we’re going to be able to get our convoy soon in a pretty relatively short amount of time,” Bryant said. With weather and timing as wild cards, this last-minute swap-out has the garage buzzing, hoping the haulers make it across without a hitch.

NASCAR brings podium celebrations to Mexico

NASCAR’s shaking things up with a first-ever podium celebration for the top three finishers in the Cup and Xfinity races at Mexico City next weekend. While the sport traditionally honors only the winner in U.S. races, this international debut at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez will mirror Formula One and IndyCar, giving silver and bronze to second and third. The last time Cup saw podiums was the 2022-24 Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum, a nod to its Olympic past with gold, silver, and bronze medals. Now, it’s coming to a points race, marking a historic shift since 1958.

“For this historic weekend, it felt appropriate to recognize the heritage of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and give a nod to the traditional international motorsports celebrations,” NASCAR shared. The Mexico City event, June 14-15, will see both Cup and Xfinity podiums, with the NASCAR Mexico Series joining in on June 13-14 as it does for all its races. It’s a bold move to blend global flair with stock car roots, though there’s no word on making it a permanent fixture across all tracks.

Daniel Suarez, the Monterrey native and lone foreign-born NASCAR champ, backs the idea. “Honestly, when they told me about it a while back, like six months ago, they were not doing it. I thought—man, it could be a good idea. If you think about it, we are pretty much the only sport that does it like this. The Olympics—everything has a podium. Sometimes the culture can be extremely different and I don’t hate it.” Suarez said. He sees the 30,000 fans packing the stadium’s central podium area as a game-changer, echoing the Coliseum’s vibe.

A lot of things are indeed new for the NASCAR culture, but it is also a bold step taken by NASCAR to promote its brand of racing to a new fan base. Finally, NASCAR’s vision and ambition are taking a shape with this special event.