What’s involved in taking NASCAR to Mexico? The 40+‑Hour Convoy
This marks the first points-paying Cup Series race held outside the U.S. since 1958. After the Michigan International Speedway race, NASCAR crews initiate a rapid hauler swap—from Michigan backup cars to Mexico-ready cars—and hit the road immediately Haulers head south to Laredo, Texas for the 10 hour drive, stopped in Laredo for 12 hours, then cross into Mexico the next morning and headed for Mexico City which was another 13 hour drive with the convoy only being able to drive approx 40 MPH.
Teams enlisted Rock‑It Cargo—seasoned in handling large-scale logistics like Taylor Swift’s tours and F1 events—to manage border security, manifest compliance, and truck screening via X-ray.The first haulers were expected through Laredo as early as Monday night, with arrival at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (CDMX track) by Thursday afternoon.
On Saturday the Xfinity series was first to hit the track. The Chilango 150 delivered high drama, emotional highs, and a dominant home victory for Daniel Suárez amid tricky weather. With racing from last to first, a wet track showdown, and a packed field featuring provisional entries, it made a tremendous statement for NASCAR’s expansion into Mexico—and left fans enthusiastic for the upcoming Cup Series race. Persistent rain showers created slippery conditions on the high-altitude, technical 2.429 mi road course. Daniel Suárez, hometown favorite from Monterrey, started last after a crash in Cup qualifying but engineered a spectacular comeback in a backup No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to win in front of his home crowd. Suárez led the final 19 laps, fending off a late charge by Taylor Gray to secure his fourth Xfinity career victory and first of the season. Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing) finished 3rd. A late-race incident took out lap leaders Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs—Zilisch rebounded to 5th, Gibbs fell to 14th.
Sunday marked NASCAR’s first modern-era Cup Series points race outside the U.S. since 1958. The event is part of a multi-year agreement between NASCAR and OCESA, aligning Cup and Xfinity races in Mexico. With a $12.56M total Cup purse and roughly $1M for the winner, the stakes were historic .
The event featured cloudy, rainy conditions with temperatures around 60 °F, requiring teams to switch to wet tires early on. Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen managed both slick and rain tires flawlessly, relying on tips from Max Verstappen on racing at altitude in mixed conditions. Van Gisbergen started pole and let 59 of the 100 laps. At one point Van Gisbergen has a 12 second lead over the 2nd place car and wasn’t slowing down. His second Cup Series win of the season, and it locked him into the 2025 playoffs.
This was a homecoming for Daniel Suarez. He started mid-pack and finished 19th. He briefly led a lap and the crowd replied with roaring applause. Clearly he was the fan favourite but was not able to repeat his victory from the day before in the Xfinity race.
