IndyCar CEO issues key update on finalizing a race in Mexico

IndyCar and Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles has said that the company is making 'good progress' in their attempts to race at Mexico's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. The American executive also mentioned that a race in the North American country would likely be a points-scoring championship event.

IndyCar have had a long-standing ambition to hold races in Mexico, and their plans to do so are getting closer than ever before, if Mark Miles is to be believed. The likely venue for a race would be the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, which is where NASCAR and F1 currently go racing.

There hasn't been an American open-wheel event in Mexico since the Champ Cars era in 2007, and reports suggest the series is already in contact with promoters, who want to bring the series there.

Speaking to Racer.com in an interview published on Tuesday, Mark Miles expressed how a race in Mexico could potentially help fill a gap in the calendar, and also compared it to the Toronto event.

“We’re making good progress,” he said. “I believe it will become a thing. If it became a thing, it has the potential to help us in that time of year. It would be like Toronto; it’s part of the championship.”

A major reason for IndyCar and the promoters of the series wanting to go to Mexico is believed to be the rising popularity of McLaren star Pato O'Ward, who hails from the country. The 25-year-old is one of the most popular drivers on the current grid, and has a huge following back home.

If a Mexico City event is added to the IndyCar schedule in the future, it would become only the second race outside the United States on the current calendar, after Toronto. The race in Canada is scheduled to go ahead on July 20, as the 13th event of the 2025 season.

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Mark Miles explained how upcoming soccer World Cup could potentially affect 2026 IndyCar schedule

The Flying flag of the IndyCar series at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, March 02 - Source: Getty

Mark Miles has explained that while the 2026 FIFA World Cup might affect the IndyCar season's scheduling for next season, he claims that FOX may be looking to cross promote the global soccer event with the open-wheel series. The event is scheduled to be hosted in North America from June 11 to July 12 in 2026, and will be broadcasted by FOX in the United States.

Speaking about the World Cup's potential impact, Miles told Racer.com:

"It’s obviously a huge sporting event, and FOX is the domestic broadcaster. We have started the discussions with them about a ’26 calendar, and that is really to try to begin to draw them out on what their issues are."

"We’ve had one ‘all the way through the calendar’ conversation about it to identify things we need to look at and work on. But they are confident that, if anything, some of their World Cup promotions and their World Cup programming might be an opportunity to cross promote IndyCar to an audience in a different sport.” he added.

As for the 2025 season, the upcoming event is the Grand Prix of Long Beach, which is set to Round 3 of the season and will be held in California from April 11 to 13.