“A pretty cool thing”: Chase Elliott on board with NASCAR’s Mexico move

Chase Elliott has given his approval to NASCAR's unprecedented move regarding Mexico. The sport will race in Mexico next season, thus marking the first international points-paying Cup race in its modern history.

NASCAR announced Tuesday they will be putting the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez track in Mexico City on their 2025 schedule, with the race taking place on June 15.

The Hermanos Rodríguez circuit has been hosting NASCAR's Mexico Series since the track's inception in 2004. It has also held four Xfinity races, from 2005 to 2008, and three current Cup drivers, namely, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch, have triumphed there.

Amid NASCAR's historic move to the international asphalt, Chase Elliott approved the step, saying (via NASCAR on X).

“The leadership group at NASCAR has been exploring a lot of different things that historically would probably have never happened, so I give them a lot of credit for that. I think to get outside the country is really a pretty cool thing.

"And it’s a pretty cool honor for us to have a following big enough to be able to leave and go somewhere and have an event and draw a big enough crowd for it to be successful. I think it’s really good and it’s healthy, and it’s something that we should probably look at doing if it goes well,” Chase Elliott added.

To accommodate for the historic international race in Mexico, the Richmond Raceway will reduce its two-race schedule to one.

Not only Chase Elliott but homeboy Daniel Suarez also lauded NASCAR's Mexico move

Daniel Suarez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and, dreamt of racing in a Cup Series race in his country. Before moving to the Xfinity Series in 2015, the Mexican driver started his journey in the Mexico Series.

He bagged the Rookie of the Year award in 2010 and has 11 wins in the series. His latest Mexico triumph came at the 2024 King Taco La Batalla en El Coliseo at the LA Coliseum. He missed out on Busch Light Clash held at the same venue, to participate in his home series race.

In addition to Chase Elliott, Suarez also appeared in a teleconference with NASCAR. The latter went down memory lane of his 2014 Mexico Series race win and expressed excitement for his "dream" coming true.

“Exactly 10 years ago, I was here racing NASCAR Mexico in 2014, and I won a race here before winning NASCAR Mexico and moving full time to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2015. And I knew that some years before my time, the NASCAR Xfinity Series had the opportunity to come to Mexico for a few years," the Trackhouse Racing driver said.

"I remember thinking, what a dream would be for me to race the NASCAR Cup Series one day in my country. I remember thinking that. And fast forward now nine years later, here we are,” he added.

The sport has inked a multiyear deal with Mexico City to expand the Cup Series' global footprint.