The 75th season of the NASCAR Cup Series is about to begin, but the sanctioning body continues to focus on the future. According to The Sports Business Journal, this focus includes active talks with new markets.
Adam Stern provided the update on February 13. He cited comments from NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell, who said that the sanctioning body is having talks about a race in the New York City area. O’Donnell has made some site visits, but there was no information provided about the locations where events could take place.
NASCAR already races in New York state. It has an annual event at Watkins Glen International, but the road course is hours away from the heart of New York City. Putting an event in the Big Apple would put NASCAR front and center in a massive media market.
The move to New York City would provide NASCAR with an opportunity to potentially engage with more fans, and it would be a natural progression after the past two trips to Los Angeles. The sanctioning body estimated that 70 percent of attendees at the 2022 Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial were watching their first NASCAR race in person. The estimated number in 2023 was 40 percent.
Stern Identified Other Potential Location Options
GettyNASCAR drivers race at the LA Memorial Coliseum.
A potential race in New York City is not the only option on the table for NASCAR. According to Stern’s report, other possibilities include Denver and Seattle. The veteran insider also noted that there is interest from both Mexico and Canada about hosting a potential international race.
Denver and Seattle have been possibilities for a considerable amount of time. O’Donnell acknowledged as much during an appearance on Corey LaJoie’s “Stacking Pennies” podcast on November 17.
“I think domestic, you’d probably look at the Northwest and Colorado,” O’Donnell told LaJoie. “If you can get Denver, Seattle, you know, there’s a reason we went out to Portland, just to see what the turnout would be for us. We had an Xfinity race in the pouring rain, and people showed up and it was pretty cool. So that would be a big market for us.”
The Xfinity Series will return to Portland International Raceway during the 2023 season as drivers hope for better racing weather. However, the Cup Series will focus on other markets, as well as the first-ever Chicago Street Race.
NASCAR Has Some History in Mexico & Canada
GettyKyle Busch celebrates an Xfinity Series win in Mexico City.
There have been national series races in both Mexico and Canada throughout NASCAR’s history. However, this has mostly been limited to the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series.
The Cup Series has competed in Canada on a very limited basis. The NASCAR Convertible Series raced at Canadian Exposition Stadium in 1956 while the Cup Series raced on the .333-mile paved track in 1958. The 1952 season featured the Cup Series drivers competing at Stamford Park, a .5-mile dirt track in Niagara Falls.
There have been seven Truck Series races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, but the series has not been back north of the border since 2019. COVID-19 disrupted plans in 2020, and NASCAR has not scheduled any other events in Canada since.
Similarly, the Xfinity Series held four races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City between 2005 and 2008. The series also went to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada six times between 2007 and 2012.
NASCAR Engaged in ‘Active Talks’ With Major US Market: Report