NASCAR Executive Vice President Ben Kennedy says the Cup Series' first foray into Mexico is 'most anticipated moment of the 2025 schedule.'
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00:00Alex we were here joined by Ben Kennedy and NASCAR has some exciting news to
00:05announce surrounding the long-rumored return to racing in Mexico this time
00:10with the NASCAR Cup Series. I know that the Xfinity Series raced in Mexico from
00:132005 to 2008 but it's time now for the Cup Series to head down to Mexico. It is
00:20we're going international for for the first time in the modern era with a
00:24point series race for a Cup Series so it's a year point Alex we've we've had
00:29the Xfinity Series here for a few years we actually had a few points races for
00:33a Cup Series in the 1950s but this has been on our radar for a long time you
00:38know we've been talking about the continued iteration of our schedule
00:41right you go back a few years went to new markets like Nashville and Austin
00:46Texas we went to the Coliseum for the clash for a few years we went to our
00:52first international or our first street race in downtown Chicago and this is
00:57going to be another first for us in a lot of ways you know this is going to be
01:00certainly a monumental event for us the first time we're going south of the
01:04border we're gonna have great partners down there with the OSESA team you know
01:09they have a ton of experience putting on massive events in and around Mexico and
01:13Mexico City they put on the Formula One race and it's gonna be a really big
01:18event and a monumental moment in our schedule next year probably the most
01:21anticipated moment of the 2025 schedule. Yeah most anticipated for me for sure
01:26and I know we've done Mexico but in the Xfinity series but I want to know how
01:31the success of a place like Chicago and bringing a street race to the NASCAR Cup
01:36Series it's played into the NASCAR Cup Series securing this international
01:41points race. Yeah in a lot of ways Chicago was a bit of a catalyst for us
01:47to go to Mexico City you know if you think about Chicago again the first time
01:53we've ever had a street race in our Cup Series history and to be able to go to
01:59downtown Chicago any unique way around that the operations of the event the
02:04entertainment the event experience a lot of new elements for our sport and our
02:09industry to go to Chicago and be able to implement an event like that. Mexico is
02:14gonna have a lot of those same elements right we're going to a new market we're
02:18going a pretty long distance from a lot of you know where a lot of our teams are
02:23based out of in Charlotte North Carolina and there are a lot of
02:25logistics involved in getting down there so we're gonna put an entire team
02:29together in the next several months a lot of folks that have been involved in
02:33the Chicago process from the start and you know they're gonna be helping kind
02:38of shepherd us down to Mexico City so it's gonna be a big project for for our
02:42company in our sport over the next year or so but you know as we saw in Chicago
02:46it was certainly a big lift but you know a lot of neat storylines that came out
02:50of it I think we're gonna see the same thing in Mexico City. Yeah for sure the
02:54the Cup Series we know internationally has been to Japan and Australia it's
02:58been exhibition races however we noted the Xfinity Series passed in Mexico the
03:03Truck Series is also run in Canada how important and significant is
03:08international racing to the sanctioning body for the Cup Series? It's huge you
03:15know when we talk as a leadership team about where we feel like our biggest
03:20growth opportunities as a sport is international is always one of the first
03:24things that come up and you know to your point Alex we brought the Craftsman
03:27Truck Series to Canada for a number of years we've had the Xfinity Series in
03:31Mexico this is a monumental moment for our sport in the sense that this is our
03:37first step of really taking the Cup Series internationally and you know I
03:41think it could set us up for the future and potential new markets you know I
03:45think we've been honest about our interest in taking our Cup Series
03:49abroad whether that's north of the border or south of the border and then
03:53as we talk about some of our other races you know there are opportunities for us
03:56to take the Cup Series even further than that so you know it's gonna be a big
04:01project for us there's a lot of questions that we have you know I'm sure
04:04that the industry will have some questions as well but you know excited
04:09to take this on and you know to go to one of the biggest markets not just in
04:14the country but in the world is is gonna be huge for our sport. Well no work
04:19on my end Ben my passport is ready so you just tell me when I need to be in
04:23Mexico thank you so much for joining us we look forward to the NASCAR Cup Series
04:26racing in Mexico in 2025