Less than a day after the checkered flag dropped in Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR teams and crews were already packed, ready, and hit the road for the 2,250-mile long journey down south to Mexico City for one of the season’s most ambitious cross-country turnarounds.
From Heartland to Highland – NASCAR’s Starts Its 2,250-Mile Hustle
Behind every event are hundreds of moving parts, each one crucial and all of them demanding. In essence, organizing a NASCAR race is far more complex than it appears. That complexity only intensifies when the race crosses international borders.
As the Stock Car Racing giant gears up for its first international points race since 1958, set in the heart of Mexico City, at the famed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, excitement is building across the sport. But along with that excitement comes a daunting logistics hurdle of recreating the full NASCAR experience across the border.
While the first batch of trucks arrived in Mexico earlier this week, the next lot, including team haulers, began their journey on Sunday, June 8, right after the FireKeepers Casino 400. Prominent racing journalist Jeff Gluck shared a post on his social media, noting, “The garage is packed up and the haulers are ready to make a run for the border.”
The garage is packed up and the haulers are ready to make a run for the border. pic.twitter.com/2D8QvP4DQq
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 8, 2025
A few days ago, NASCAR’s Vice President of racing operations, Tom Bryant, during NASCAR’s Hauler Talk podcast, detailed the strategy: “Sunday night in Michigan, the Cup Series teams will swap out their race cars that morning before the garage opens. They’ll go ahead and get their Mexico cars in, take them off the secondary hauler, and load them into the main hauler that is going to Mexico.”
“But then, after the green flag, those drivers will immediately begin getting that hauler ready to pull out, as soon as the race is over,” he added. The sanctioning body estimates a 10-hour drive to the southern border, followed by another 30 hours to reach the capital city, where the action unfolds, with its full convoy of haulers and equipment.
In total, around 200 haulers are en route to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with arrival expected by 2 p.m. CT on Thursday. To ensure a smooth border crossing, NASCAR has partnered with Rock-it Cargo, an international logistics firm known for its precision and expertise.
The company recently coordinated the transport of 200 haulers to CDMX for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, proving it’s no stranger to high-profile operations.