NASCAR
Mexico City has cemented its place in history.
Daniel Suárez
and
Shane van Gisbergen
The two victors emerged during a landmark weekend for the sport.
However, reaching their destination posed a challenge for multiple Cup and Xfinity Series teams.
Jeff Gluck
of
The Athletic
said on Sunday’s “
The Teardown
” podcast that NASCAR arranged a charter service for the entire industry to get from the Charlotte area to Mexico City. One of the planes, which van Gisbergen happened to be on, experienced an issue on takeoff. As a result of the subsequent travel delays, NASCAR had to adjust the weekend practice schedule.
“There were travel woes for some of the teams,” Gluck said. “… Two of the planes had problems. One of the planes was on takeoff and from our understanding, was going approximately 160 mph at the time it had its nose lift off the ground and one of the engines blew. This was the plane Shane van Gisbergen was on, among other people. Very scary situation. Thank goodness the pilot did not try to take off. They slammed on the brakes. Everybody heard a pop on the plane. All those people on that plane then had to find their own way down.
The schedule ended up being modified. Instead of conducting their complete practice session on Friday, Xfinity didn’t have any track activities scheduled for Friday, shifting everything to Saturday. The Cup was also rescheduled to permit more participants like Shane van Gisbergen, who showed up several hours prior to the Cup practice on Saturday. There was quite a rush involved. For instance, you noticed that Haas faced issues with their documentation and had to travel all the way to Atlanta just to secure a flight here.
Ryan Ellis
I had to take a red-eye flight to Miami and then another flight from there.
“All this crazy stuff. That’s not ideal. That’s the thing that soured some people’s experience. I didn’t have that experience. I’m speaking about my own. I understand why they get here and they’re like, ‘This stinks, this was a hassle, we shouldn’t have had to do this.’ I get that, and I think that’s something NASCAR can adjust for next year is travel woes.”
A NASCAR insider talks about the challenges teams face with traveling.
It’s
It’s uncertain whether NASCAR will come back to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 2026.
If such a situation occurs, teams would rather manage their own travel arrangements.
Jordan Bianchi
of
The Athletic
said.
Bianchi stated, “Almost every team prefers managing their own lodging.” He added, “NASCAR decided to take charge internally since they believed it would simplify matters. Flying private jets down here isn’t straightforward; you have to utilize an alternate airport located farther away. They aimed at consolidating all aspects logistically for maximum ease. Teams generally believe, ‘We manage these tasks 38 times annually. Booking trips and arranging accommodation fall within our expertise, so allow us to oversee them according to our requirements.'”
There are still several aspects that require refinement in this area, and these changes should become evident when NASCAR returns next year. Similarly, issues arose for the haul truck drivers during their trip southward; they faced quite an extensive journey. Many Cup Series teams traveled all the way from Michigan to reach this location—a substantial undertaking—and once they arrived here, they immediately turned around to head back to Charlotte before heading north again to Pocono.
There are a few aspects here that could potentially be made somewhat more convenient for them. If you examine the schedule, having either a break week directly preceding or following this race might significantly ease the stress on several teams. However, upon reviewing the schedule, I’m not sure how feasible that adjustment would be.
NASCAR insider recaps stay in Mexico City
Next up was the concern about safety in Mexico City. Gluck referred to the city as “beautiful” and mentioned that he did not encounter any problems during his visit.
There was an impression that ‘We won’t be able to leave our hotel premises,’ but we moved about without restrictions,” Gluck stated. “Within our neighborhood, we didn’t feel any security concerns. On my own during the initial day, I strolled for 90 minutes. It was a lovely place. As you walk along the streets, you see things like upscale restaurants, a Ritz-Carlton, parks filled with children and families. This doesn’t match up with how some portray it… While I’ve noticed through social media that others did not have such experiences, I understand their perspective. My comments do not undermine theirs—I felt perfectly safe. In fact, I found the city quite charming.
The post
Insiders within NASCAR respond to the transportation issues and security worries during the Mexico City event weekend.
appeared first on
.
Leave a Reply