With vendors selling NASCAR merchandise as far as the eye can see along the crowded roads leading to São Paulo, Brazil’s famous Interlagos racetrack in August, Daniel Suárez knew it would be an important day – for him as a competitor, for the tens of thousands of international fans eager for a day of stock car racing, and NASCAR in general.
“I can’t remember the last time I was stuck in traffic for this long – hours – before getting on the race track,” said a smiling Suárez, the Trackhouse Racing NASCAR driver. Cup Series who spent one of his summer free weeks racing in the NASCAR Brazil Series. “It was incredible; amazing in a good way.
“I only wish that every Cup Series driver and even the media had the opportunity to experience this, because the racing culture that exists in Brazil is incredible.
“I feel like there are so many opportunities. The sport of NASCAR is very important and some people, I don’t think, really realized it and I had the opportunity to see it in Brazil. I have known this for many years in Mexico. And I’m really excited; I’m excited that NASCAR is thinking outside the box.
NASCAR has been doing just that for years, and as vice president and global director of the sport Chad Seigler promises, it’s part of an ongoing effort to introduce and grow the stock car scene internationally. It has been met with exactly the kind of reception Suárez describes with four major series – NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR México Series, NASCAR Canada Series and NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, all thriving and growing – both internally and externally.
“We kind of look at our international focus from three silos,” Seigler explained. “We have the individual series and our philosophy has always been: we know we can’t take the Cup Series and make it travel like Formula 1 does, so if we can go into a market and create local stars , local heroes, team owners, local track infrastructure, it’s good for us.
“Goal number two is if you have that driver who says, ‘as much as I love racing in Mexico, my dream is to race in the United States,’ then we’re leading the way,” he added. , highlighting the upcoming NASCAR race. weekend in Mexico.
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“And the third goal is to take one of the national series (NASCAR) outside of the United States.”
2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series several times in 2018 and, like Suárez, was duly impressed by the enthusiasm of fans and his competitors.
He remembers racing at England’s famous Brands Hatch circuit and the festival-like scene that characterized the event – American flags, American muscle cars on display, track rides and even country music on the speakers – with tens of thousands of people usually showing up every summer. for NASCAR Whelen Euro Series events at the famous road course.
Labonte sees the potential in developing drivers from the different international series and believes the popularity of the NASCAR style of competition in different markets – something he has experienced first-hand – will prove a huge asset.
“It’s already very popular and they want it to get bigger and bigger and stick with it to make it grow – and I’m sure it will,” Labonte said. “NASCAR’s visit to Mexico (for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Cup Series points races) will also generate more potential interest internationally. They build a great overall foundation and you just need to take it to the next level.
And that’s exactly what Seigler and his team of more than a dozen leaders have been doing for years now, promising that the upcoming 2025 season will once again showcase that work and motivation.
“With all of our international series, I wish I could just pack people in and let them come watch,” Seigler said. “When you have 50,000 people at a place like Interlagos and 43,000 at a place like Brands Hatch, that tells you there is a passion for this style of racing outside of the United States.
“I talk to people on our international team and try to educate fans that NASCAR is bigger than the Cup Series,” Seigler said. “When I do presentations, I ask ‘what are the four largest cities that have NASCAR races in’ and they might say a city like Chicago or Dallas.
“And I remind them that we are racing in Mexico, São Paulo, London and Toronto. We’re racing in cities one way or another that have between 20 and 30 million people and that’s a big story for us.
Not only is venue and crowd development important, but, obviously, the race itself is vital to progress – from officials to teams to competitors.
Currencies work both ways and are essential to progress. Long-time NASCAR official Joe Balash, for example, serves as sporting and technical director of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and has moved to France in his new role.
Competitors believe deeply and unequivocally in the potential of this sport on several continents.
“Most people, when they see NASCAR in the United States, think it’s crazy in a good way because they’re used to Formula 1, which can be boring,” Rubén García Jr, five-time champion of the NASCAR México Series. » explained before receiving his new trophy at the NASCAR Awards banquet last month in Charlotte.
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“These (Formula 1) races are very simple. Most races are decided a few laps after the start. But when people see NASCAR, they think it’s really good and now they will have the chance to watch the sport that I fell in love with. Having a race in Mexico will help a lot and people will realize how much fun it is, how great the atmosphere is, and they will fall in love with this sport.
Newly crowned NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion and Italian product Vittorio Ghirelli acknowledges that the form of stock car racing has gained a foothold overseas. He competes at racing-loving venues like Brands Hatch in England and even on an oval – a short track, no less – in the Netherlands.
Its event in Valencia, Spain’s famous Ricardo Tormo circuit, is second in attendance after the MotoGP race each year. And as competitors gain experience, not only does it improve racing in Europe, but it also provides opportunities for these drivers to get noticed and test their growth in the United States.
“At every race, there are miles of queues (people lining up to get in),” said Ghirelli, a former open-wheel and sports car driver who adapted so well to stock- cars that he won pole position for all races in the series. during the 2024 season.
“It’s great because that’s what NASCAR is, leaving it open to everyone compared to other series where the tickets are so high (prices), but NASCAR makes it accessible to everyone They put a lot of emphasis on marketing and you see families coming to camp with young children asking for autographs.
“That’s really what makes this series so special and I love that that connection is growing even more in the United States because my dream would be to have a chance in the United States and maybe at a few races.”
This is certainly a goal for the various series, all of which benefit from concrete signs of progress.
In Canada, the NASCAR Canada series has welcomed a new general manager, Alan Labrosse, who expects to have a bigger footprint on the 2025 season, including a schedule that will feature equal parts ovals and road courses.
“I’m definitely optimistic,” Labrosse said. “I spent most of my (first) year observing, analyzing and evaluating areas for improvement, whether within our organization or third parties, sites, teams. I think people will notice, from 2025, the improvements.
“There is more energy, positive energy, and it is important for NASCAR to develop this product and what it has to show beyond the borders of the United States. They know it and I think everyone is making the necessary efforts to reach new heights.
This is a familiar theme across all four series. They are all more established and now find themselves in the enviable position of generating consistent off-track interest and producing on-track stars.
Important steps have been taken. Not only did the NASCAR Brasil Series feature its first oval – in the season finale, no less – but Suárez’s presence in competition only helped to significantly raise the profile of the two-year-old series.
The NASCAR México Series is planning a high-profile stretch in the upcoming season, competing alongside the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series for a tripleheader weekend in the inaugural race on June 14-15.
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The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series cars will have updated dashboards and a new look for their championships with a PRO division for professional drivers and an OPEN division for “young talents and gentlemen drivers” with four races per weekend: two each for Pro and Open competitors.
All of this speaks to the vitality these series enjoy and the growing global popularity of NASCAR.
“We’ve been working with our partners there to develop pilots, and they’re very involved in that,” Seigler said. “So the goal is if you’re a young kid racing a kart and your dream is to race in Monaco, that’s awesome. But maybe there are kids who dream of going to Daytona, but they don’t know the way.
“What we’re trying to do is give them ‘roadmaps’… and that shows that from the age of five (years old), this is what you do and what this stage could do for you cost. It’s a way to show that if you want to race in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, here are the logical steps you’ll take to get there if you want to do it. Obviously there are no guarantees, but you establish a road map on how to get there.
“What’s unique for us in the international series is that the drivers who race for us are shocked to be racing in front of fans. I know it sounds crazy. But in karting, even in sports car racing, there aren’t many fans. So it’s a lot of enthusiasm that they don’t normally feel.
“We want them to see this, touch it, feel it and also understand that you are the face of NASCAR for us in Europe and understand how important their role is.”
