NASCAR Rumors: Jim France's team explores collaborative race event with IMSA

In a recent development, NASCAR Holdings' leadership is reportedly in talks about having shared weekends with its other racing property, the International Motor Sports Association(IMSA). The two series last shared their weekends in 2020 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course to complete their seasons due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a recent report by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, NASCAR executives and IMSA President John Doonan were in attendance at the Road Atlanta executive dinner. As NASCAR playoffs unfolded and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship concluded, officials from both series engaged in discussions about their respective futures.

When asked about the possibility of having collaborative race events with NASCAR, IMSA President Doonan shared an optimistic response. He said:

"Ben Kennedy[EVP], Steve O’Donnell[Chief Media & Revenue Officer], Steve Phelps[NASCAR President] and I sit down a lot and talk about places where, ‘Could we run with you together,’ so those talks are ongoing. I think it would be incredible for them to come to some of the places we race, and there’s quite a few places I can think of on their schedule -- in particular we did it during COVID at the Charlotte Roval -- that I would love to see us collaborate on."

Doonan has remained tight-lipped about further announcements, but it appears that both series are laying the groundwork for something significant in the near future. He continued:

"Nothing to announce, but I think the discussions are ongoing where there’s a lot of benefit to share a weekend and give the fans a different experience."

With NASCAR moving on to more road courses and street courses next season, this crossover is highly anticipated by many.

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NASCAR's historic move to add Mexico City to its 2025 schedule

Earlier, NASCAR announced its 2025 Cup Series schedule. Among several changes in the playoff tracks, the sanctioning body's decision to take its premier division's stock car racing series to international territory stood out.

NASCAR is set to host a points-paying Cup Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. Moreover, they will partner with OCESA, a promotor for the Mexico City Grand Prix in Formula 1.

Here's what NASCAR Executive VP Ben Kennedy had to say on this significant development. He said(via NASCAR):

"This is a monumental moment for our sport in the sense that this is our first step of really taking the Cup Series internationally, and I think it could set us up for the future in potential new markets. I think we’ve been honest about our interest in taking our Cup Series abroad, whether that’s north of the border or south of the border, and then as we talk about some of our other races, there are opportunities for us to take the Cup Series even further than that."

Kennedy, also the Chief venue and racing innovation officer, continued:

"So, it’s going to be a big project for us. There’s a lot of questions that we have. I’m sure that the industry will have some questions as well, but excited to take this on, and to go to one of the biggest markets — not just in the country, but in the world — is going to be huge for our sport."