The NASCAR Cup Series will race in Mexico City next weekend, the first points paying race on international soil, which requires an intense logistical process considering they’re practically racing just south of Canada this weekend.
Michigan International Speedway.
That race should end somewhere around 5 p.m. but the Mexico race cars will already be en route to the southern border according to NASCAR’s vice president of racing operations Tom Bryant, a former Army Ranger who specializes in logistics.
“Sunday night in Michigan, the Cup Series teams will swap out their race cars that morning before the garage opens,” said Bryant on NASCAR’s Hauler Talk podcast this week. “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 .”
But also, Sunday will also see the Xfinity Series teams cross the border with their race ending on Saturday afternoon.
It’s roughly 10 hours to the southern border and NASCAR estimates 30 hours from there to Mexico City with its convoy of haulers and equipment. There will be 200 total haulers traveling to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez expected to arrive by 2 p.m. CT on Thursday.
“Also, we’re really praying for really good weather in Michigan,” Bryant said. “That’s critical for us, and I kind of say it half-jokingly, but there’s just not a lot of extra time … Literally every hour from Sunday morning until about noon Tuesday is planned, and there are events tied to it, and by gosh, it better happen on time.”
To get across the border with expert precision, NASCAR is working with Rock-It Cargo, an international logistics company that most recently handled 200 haulers that went to Mexico City for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert.
It’s also the same company contracted to get F1 haulers across the country and the World Cup next year.
“When it comes to navigating international borders and moving stuff on the ground, they have been a tremendous help for us, and they will also augment our security for all of our trucks,” Bryant said. “We’re anticipating no issues. Those guys have been doing it for 45 years and haven’t had an issue, so knock on wood, we’re gonna keep that record going for them.”
To cross the border, evert piece of equipment will need to be documented on a manifest. Mexican officials even relaxed some of their requirements after attending the race weekend at Circuit of the Americas and observing series procedures.
NASCAR haulers will drive through a large X-Ray machine upon entering the country.
“They have determined that our folks did such a good job getting those manifests straight and listing all that equipment, and they had an opportunity to review it,” Bryant said. “I’m confident with the work we’ve done ahead of time with the Border Patrol authorities on both sides of the border that we’re going to be able to get our convoy soon in a pretty relatively short amount of time.”
There is a 40-50 percent chance of rain on Sunday so is NASCAR’s vice president of racing development John Probst feeling any nerves?
“Yes, we have had some discussions around contingencies,” Probst said in a NASCAR Zoom media conference earlier in the week. “It is our unwavering desire to get that race in on time or early if need be so the trucks can get on their way to Mexico City. Certainly, with a great partner like Amazon Prime, we have some flexibility we don’t with out other partners since it’s a streaming partner.
“We are in lockstep with them in determining how aggressive we need to be but we are aligned and tracking that thing. We’re aware that this thing has to go off on or before schedule.”
