Although the NASCAR Cup Series race held in 2025 in Mexico City was enthusiastically received by Latino fans, NASCAR will not include CDMX on the 2026 schedule, The Athletic reported in this July 2025.
Internal sources assure that the logistical complexity of staging the event at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, added to the lack of free dates in the calendar and the coincidence with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, were determining factors in discarding the Mexican capital as the venue for next year.
Reasons behind the decision
Among the main reasons that led NASCAR to remove Mexico City from the calendar are the following:
Logistical difficulties: Moving cars, tools and equipment from the United States became a challenge.
During the 2025 race, two charter flights were delayed due to customs and airport permitting issues.
Interference with the 2026 World Cup: Let’s remember that CDMX will be one of the venues for the World Cup, so public infrastructure, security and hotels will be saturated during June and July.
Just in the months when NASCAR is looking to place key races of the summer.
Calendar limitations: The 2026 NASCAR season runs from February through November, with only a handful of weekends off.
Including an international race would require restructuring dates, which would affect established venues such as Talladega or Bristol.
Chicagoland Speedway, the new contender
Buzzy
According to multiple sources consulted by The Athletic, NASCAR plans to reactivate Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, as a replacement for the date originally assigned to Mexico City.
This circuit was inactive since 2019, but could now receive a new opportunity.
Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy expressed his support for the project, although his inclusion has not yet been publicly confirmed.
If it comes to fruition, the race in Chicagoland would be located between late July and mid-August 2026, in the space that would become vacant after the exclusion of Mexico.
Is there hope for 2027?
The 2026 NASCAR season runs from February to November
QuéOnnda.com
Although the 2026 calendar is almost closed, the organizers do not rule out a return of NASCAR to Mexico City in 2027.
Authorities of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez have expressed their intention to maintain active negotiations for future editions.
“We know that the Mexican fans responded with passion and enthusiasm.”
“The ideal is to return as soon as conditions permit,” a NASCAR spokesman reportedly told U.S. media.
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com.
