The topic of IndyCar taking a trip south of the Rio Grande has been a hot topic since NASCAR announced plans in August to have a race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – the same track where Formula 1’s Mexican Grand Prix is held.
That stock car event will take place across 14-15 June next year on a shortened 14-turn layout, with drivers going right at Turn 4 instead of left, skipping Turns 5 and 6 of the full configuration.
It will be NASCAR’s first points-paying Cup Series race in Mexico City, with the Xfinity Series previously racing at the track four times between 2005-08.
There hasn’t been an IndyCar presence in Mexico since 2007, which came under the Champ Car era at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit.
“We’ve been in discussions with IndyCar,” said Alejandro Soberón, the president of Mexico City GP promoter CIE.
“They were here before in Mexico. Next year, NASCAR is coming to Mexico. They’re going outside the United States for the first time. There’s a lot of excitement. It’s a completely different type of race and championship.”
Another element that bolsters chances for an IndyCar return is the surge of interest in Pato O’Ward, a Mexico native from Monterrey who drives for Arrow McLaren.
Race winner Sebastien Bourdais, Newman Haas Lanigan Racing
Photo by: Dan R. Boyd / Motorsport Images
25-year-old O’Ward, who won three IndyCar races this past season and also came within two corners of winning the Indianapolis 500, completed his first FP1 running of the 2024 F1 season at his home event last Friday as one of two required young driver sessions.
Sliding into the cockpit of Lando Norris’s MCL38, he finished just 0.3s behind team-mate Oscar Piastri after logging 21 laps in the one-hour session.
It was shared that O’Ward received similar support as Sergio Perez, the only Mexican who competes full-time in F1, with over 3,000 fans attending a recent sponsor appearance at the Plaza Reforma 222 shopping mall in downtown Mexico City.
“We have set up conversations with IndyCar in January to think about 2026,” Soberón added. “Of course, Pato is a big factor in all that.”
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