By Jerry Jordan, Editor
MEXICO CITY – No one died! No one was kidnapped. No one was drugged, taken hostage and woke up in a hotel bathtub minus a kidney. And no one was robbed at gunpoint or had all their possessions taken from them by cartel members or drug lords preying on the racing community.
These were just some of the wild, overdramatic comments and provocations made by so-called fans and even some insiders from the racing community when NASCAR announced it would be taking the Cup Series out of America and into Mexico City for the first time in the sport’s history. In fact, some industry members spread rumors that hauler drivers would boycott the event or that somehow NASCAR would cancel the Mexico City race at the last minute. It became so bad that several reputable media outlets had to respond to the rumors being published by fly-by-night clickbait sites that were gaining traction.
The sad truth is there are still some people in the sport who are small-minded, bigoted and hateful people who would rather try and destroy something altogether than see it thrive by trying something new.
Instead of doom, gloom, death and destruction, what happened was a coming together of two cultures at a time in both countries, where relations over border issues and immigration are top of mind for everyone. Mexico City race fans and the entire community embraced NASCAR and its traveling cast of characters. And, oh yeah, the racing was spectacular!
At local restaurants, several people were asked what brought them to town and if they were there for “NASCAR,” which was, sort of, obvious as they had NASCAR lanyards and hardcards hanging from their necks. Then, they would strike up conversations about their favorite driver (Suarez in most cases) and talk about it being the “first time the top series is coming to Mexico.”
Already a hero in his home country of Mexico, NASCAR Cup Series driver Daniel Suarez has for months wanted to share his country with his friends in the NASCAR world and likewise, he wanted to share NASCAR with his home country.
“Man, it’s been, it’s very hard to put into words,” Suarez said, before the weekend’s action officially got underway. “I had an expectation, you know, on the hype of the people and energy and the fans coming and the media, you guys, I have, like, the entire week and weekend now. It has exceeded every single expectation that I had. So, for that, I want to say thank you to you guys. This event, I feel like it hasn’t even started yet, and it has been, I’ve been living a dream. That’s exactly what has been happening for me the last few days and I feel very blessed, very, very happy to be here racing in front of you guys.”
He said the process to get to the point where he was sitting in front of the media at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez media center took three years. Along the way, there were logistical discussions and planning that he was confident could produce an exciting event for all race fans.
Asked if he wanted NASCAR to return to Mexico City in the future, Suarez was emphatic.
“Yeah, I do. I hope that we come back many, many times,” he proclaimed.
That decision, however, will ultimately fall on executives at Ocesa, the event’s promoter, and NASCAR. It’s something Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President for Racing Development, discussed following the race with members of the media. Although he was non-committal, his words appeared encouraging for a return.
Looking back, there were some legitimate logistical issues with charter planes and getting equipment from the previous week’s race in Michigan to Mexico City but those things can be worked out. There are issues every week but most of the time, no one hears about it because there isn’t a giant spotlight that shines when a hauler blows a tire going from Mooresville to Martinsville or a team plane is swapped out due to maintenance. Yes, some crewmembers had stomach issues, as did a few drivers, but those aren’t reasons not to return to Mexico City. As far as safety goes, one of the leading complaints from the naysayers, Mexico City was likely safer for drivers and teams than the IndyCar teams had it back in St. Louis, where a drive-by shooting took place near the track. Oh yeah, NASCAR heads there in September. Where’s the outcry?
“We have Steve Phelps and Jim (France) kind of, you know, at the helm, and we’ve been bold and we’ve been innovative,” Kennedy said. “We’ve done things like races in downtown Los Angeles and building a temporary stadium there, for the first-ever street race in our sport’s history in downtown Chicago and this was the next milestone moment for us, bringing a race internationally. I can tell you, we’re very bold about continuing to bring our NASCAR Cup Series internationally. You know, Mexico is a great place to do it. You know, this weekend is a great example of that. And I would say we’re very hopeful to be here, you know, long term.”
When asked if NASCAR’s success in Mexico City should serve as a message to the haters who panned the event even after it proved to be an overwhelming success, Kennedy didn’t shy away, saying NASCAR can be a unifier, “bringing people together from all walks of life,” and that was proven throughout the weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez facility.
“I think so. And I heard some of the same rumors,” he told Kickin’ the Tires. “There’s always a rumor mill in our industry. It seems like I can never keep my finger on the pulse. I imagine it’s every industry that’s out there. Though we never had any doubts that we wouldn’t be here this weekend. We were 100% confident we would be competing here. And you know, I’ll leave you guys with this, I think, one of the coolest moments, and we talked about a little bit earlier, obviously, seeing all the fans and their reaction was incredible, but being at the start/finish line yesterday and today, as they played both of our national anthems for Mexico and the United States, it gave me chills. It gave me goosebumps.”
Por todas estas razones y más, NASCAR necesita regresar a México!
