Drivers Discuss if NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Should Travel Outside the USA

Huntersville, N.C. (April 15, 2008) – This weekend, the NASCAR Nationwide Series will head south of the boarder to Mexico City for its fourth installment at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The event consistently draws one of the largest crowds on the Nationwide Series tour.

Last season the Nationwide Series raced at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. It was the first time since 1958, when the Sprint Cup Series raced in Toronto, that NASCAR traveled to Canada. The success of the event has the Nationwide Series returning this August.

The most recent foreign venture for the Sprint Cup Series was in 1998, when it traveled to the Suzuka Circuit in Japan for an exhibition race. With NASCAR’s popularity hitting all-time highs, should its flagship series cross the borders again? NASCAR drivers discuss the pros and cons of sending the Sprint Cup Series into another country.

Bobby Labonte, Sprint Cup and Nationwide Veteran:
“I’m sure it’s something that NASCAR has and continues to take a look at. I’m sure it can be great for the sport, but all the parts and pieces have to fit just right. It’s not an easy task for these teams to travel like that and get back to race the following week. We’re a weekly series, and we don’t have much room in our schedule right now. Logistically, it’s tough.

But, eventually, you have to think for our sport to continue to grow that we’ll have to take the Sprint Cup Series outside the United States. I’m not sure overseas is the first place to start, but Canada and Mexico have proved worthy for the Nationwide Series. They have had good attendance and it has brought more attention to our sport. That has been good.”

Marc Mitchell, Driver #15 Ergon Toyota, Craftsman Truck Series Rookie-of-the-Year Candidate:
“Yea, I don’t know. That’s tough. Traveling outside the U.S. is costly. It has to be the right situation for the Sprint Cup teams. I see us as a solid truck series team, and we already race in a few events out west. That’s still financially hard for us.

“It’s just about timing. Right now, there are lots of teams hunting for sponsors. The economy is a little shaky. I just don’t think right now is a good time for teams to have to incur another big cost. But, I don’t think it couldn’t be the right answer for all the series to travel outside the United States in the future. It’s always fun to go somewhere new, and the Nationwide Series has been well received in Mexico and Canada. It’s exciting to think that NASCAR could travel to different markets and win over some fans.”

John Andretti, Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Open Wheel Veteran:
“I think that is the next natural progression. There are plenty fans outside the United States who are starved for the Sprint Cup Series. You just need to look at our neighbors to the north and south to see that. The races at New Hampshire, Michigan, Phoenix and California are hosting a more and more diverse fan base. That has been good for the sport.

“We have the drivers from outside the United States that can help draw the crowd too. Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier are names that can draw more fans. The problem will be the scheduling. It’s already a very demanding schedule right now. I guess it’s just something that needs to happen for the sport to continue to grow. We couldn’t stay in the southeast all the time. We eventually had to expand”