The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship marked the end of the playoff format. But before the sanctioning body could say goodbye to the 2014 format, it made sure the championship race was a success. That is why fans saw the unthinkable – two-time Emmy award-winning actress Sydney Sweeney strutted on stage, carrying the championship’s checkered flag. But what went behind roping in such a high-profile celebrity was revealed recently.

Behind the scenes of NASCAR’s iconic moment

“Our entertainment team, led by Kat Lee and Phil Metz, had been talking to Sydney’s camp for a long time about doing something. They reached out as part of championship week and wanted to promote her new movie. They didn’t confirm until Friday night, two days before she showed up. Her confirmation was, “She’s going to come. What are you doing with her?” said Michael Verlatti, the Vice President of the Signature Experience Group at NASCAR.

On November 2nd, 2025, NASCAR held its Cup Series championship race at Phoenix Raceway. But fans’ hearts were racing before the green flag was waved – as Sydney Sweeney stepped on stage. She gave an endearing speech about grit and determination, promoting her movie, in which she plays boxer Christy Martin. However, little did fans know about the extent of preparation that went into the few minutes of Sydney’s appearance.

“We really wrapped it around that movie and what she was portraying in that movie, along with the epic-ness of making it to the Champ Four. We wrote that script, we sent it to her team, and they had zero edits, which was incredible. They agreed to it Saturday night. She showed up on Sunday, she walked through, knew what she was doing, memorized the lines, delivered it, and it ended up turning out pretty decent,” Varletti continued.

Overall, the NASCAR executive pulled off the stunt in 42-78 hours, and fans loved it. As well as addressing the crowd, Sweeney met and posed for pictures with some of the drivers in the race, such as Ryan Blaney. The 28-year-old Hollywood star also met WNBA star Sophie Cunningham, popular herself for being one of the most glamorous players in women’s basketball.

The collaboration with Sydney Sweeney was not the only achievement that Varletti’s team pulled off last year.

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A cultural bash in Mexico

In 2025, NASCAR held its first international points-paying Cup race since 1958. To ensure a grand success, the sport partnered with Mexican event promoter OCESA, which also puts on the annual F1 race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez track. And OCESA has bought signage placements around town and at the international airport to promote the stock car series. The OCESA partnership also drove ticket sales for the event, as international fans booked their weekends for the race.

“I’m really proud of the relationship we created with the team at OCESA,” Michael Verlatti said. “We were able to bring in some of that Mexican culture into the event, while also definitely presenting an authentic NASCAR product to the guests in Mexico.” He continued, “We had 25 dancers on stage, all in traditional Mexican dress. It was fun, we rehearsed it,and  we practiced. We had little different things we did for Joey Logano as the reigning Champion, we did something special for Daniel Suarez, but we tried not to overdo it.”

Clearly, Verlatti and his team have worked wonders for NASCAR races. Let’s see what they have in store for the 2026 season.