NASCAR has reached a significant milestone with the Mexico race. It is the first race towards the sport’s international expansion. But one veteran does not seem impressed. Yes, it is Mark Martin, who has a firm opinion about the recent developments.
This is a big deal for NASCAR, as it is the first step in their goal of drawing more eyeballs to the sport. Well, being the first time, there were a few ups and downs. While the race was top-notch, Martin doesn’t quite buy the sport’s whole ‘going global’ agenda. But why?
Mark Martin Opened Up on NASCAR Going International With the Mexico Race
Well, NASCAR faced some logistical challenges during the Mexico weekend. For example, haulers had to leave for Mexico directly after concluding the Michigan race, or the planes carrying several NASCAR teams were delayed, forcing the officials to change the weekend’s schedule. But apart from this, the race was a success.
Hometown hero Daniel Suarez bagged the Xfinity race while NASCAR’s road course king, Shane van Gisbergen, got his first win in the Cup Series. The race had rain, with teams switching to wet tires, and it saw 14 lead changes and a few wrecks. Overall, it was a thriller! Martin seems to agree with this. But what he doesn’t get is NASCAR’s need to go international.
In a recent conversation with Kenny Wallace, Martin said, “I don’t really know why we want to go overseas, but that’s not my business…As a race fan, and that’s all I’m trying to do is represent race fans today. I saw a great race. I didn’t see any problem with it from my standpoint.”
Well, the global expansion was one of the reasons why they also brought Amazon Prime Video on board for broadcasting. It’s an attempt to tap into their international reach to get more viewership.
The same is true for the Viva Mexico 250. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a staple in Formula One, so the region already has racing fans. NASCAR just gave them a taste of stock car racing. They probably plan on doing this with more tracks and countries.
Brazil has already been discussed as a possible destination, and NASCAR could soon race at the iconic Sao if all goes well, Paulo. But to Martin, who ran at an international venue back in the day, it doesn’t get the whole appeal.
NASCAR held exhibition races in Japan for three years (1996-1998). Martin drove to P2 in the ’97 NASCAR Thunder Special Suzuka. The broadcast’s first line opened with, “It’s all about bringing traditions together.” However, Martin wasn’t very pumped about that.
“I did go over, I don’t know if you went over to Japan to race but I did go over one year. Rusty [Wallace] went for multiple years. I don’t know about that, you know, but that’s not my business,” he added.
With the Mexico race wrapped up, let’s see what the next steps are in NASCAR’s expansion plans. Hopefully, fans will get to see more international circuits in the future, as they not only bring newer audiences to the sport but also the thrill of an unknown track for the drivers.