Ahead of the inaugural NASCAR race weekend at the Chicago Street Course in 2023, NASCAR made clear that drivers would only be allowed to compete in one series.
The move was made because of the fact that nobody had ever previously competed on the 12-turn, 2.2-mile (3.541-kilometer) temporary street course in Chicago, Illinois, so NASCAR did not want some Cup Series drivers to gain an advantage by competing in the Xfinity Series race first.
It was expected that a similar decision would be made for NASCAR's trip to Mexico this weekend, even though some drivers have previously competed at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
NASCAR reverses course on 2023 restriction decision
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is scheduled to host its first ever Cup Series race on Sunday, June 15, and the Xfinity Series is set to return to the 15-turn, 2.429-mile (3.909-kilometer) road course in Mexico City, Mexico on Saturday, June 14 for the first time since 2008.
However, NASCAR has not instituted such a restriction for this race weekend, meaning that drivers can compete in both races.
Trackhouse Racing Cup driver Daniel Suarez has been confirmed as the driver of JR Motorsports' No. 9 Chevrolet for the Xfinity Series race, while Joe Gibbs Racing Cup driver Ty Gibbs has been confirmed as the driver of Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 19 Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing Cup driver Christopher Bell has also been confirmed as the driver of Sam Hunt Racing's No. 24 Toyota.
Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen had initially been lined up to drive the No. 9 car, but it made more sense for the ride to go to Suarez, given the fact that Mexico is his home country.
Unlike at Chicago, some drivers have actually competed at the Mexican venue before. But Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass believes that the decision to reverse course on the Chicago Street Race approach comes down to the fact that the race is an international race.
As a result, NASCAR wants there to be more big-name drivers in the Xfinity Series race, adding familiarity and enhancing the quality of the racing for the local fans, potentially leading to higher ticket sales.
My guess is that for the Mexican fans and as far away Mexico City is from any other Cup race, they wouldn’t mind some Cup names in that Xfinity race so those fans who follow the sport can see them twice. https://t.co/B75xWnPvqf
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 9, 2025
Of course, you could have made the same exact argument for the Chicago race, even if it is a United States race. The whole goal of these new races is to grow the fanbase and expand into new markets, so big-name driver recognition can certainly be beneficial regardless of where the race is held.
The fact of the matter is that NASCAR made a mistake in 2023, and now they are walking it back. If they really cared about drivers getting an advantage, they'd have kept the rule in place. But now that apparently doesn't matter as much, so they have walked it back by using new logic that should have been used two years ago to begin with.
The Xfinity Series race is set to be shown live on the CW Network starting at 4:30 p.m. ET (watch free on FuboTV!), and the Cup Series race is set to be shown live on Amazon Prime Video starting at 3:00 p.m. ET.