Mexico City dropped from '09 Nationwide schedule

The Nationwide Series race in Mexico City will be replaced on next year's schedule after just four events at the famed 2.518-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course.

NASCAR officials said the original goal of taking the Nationwide Series international in 2005 was to further develop stock-car racing in Mexico, something they said has been achieved.

Mexico City

Former Winners

Year	Winner	Make
2005	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet
2006	Denny Hamlin	Chevrolet
2007	Juan Montoya	Dodge
2008	Kyle Busch	Toyota

• Autodromo Hnos. Rodriguez

"Well, we have accomplished what we set out to do and that was to create a NASCAR presence in Mexico and the NASCAR [Mexico] Series is very successful now," said Ramsey Poston, managing director of corporate communications for NASCAR. "We've got capacity crowds, 14 events at nine different venues, full fields, 30-plus cars in every event.

"In evaluating the progress, we really feel like we are on our way to having a great established NASCAR in Mexico."

When asked if the Nationwide event in Mexico was ever to be a permanent date, Poston said, "No, it was part of the strategy to really bring the Nationwide event down there to really showcase NASCAR and to introduce the sport to racing fans who are largely open-wheel ... Clearly we've seen NASCAR racing become more popular."

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton defended the move.

"Though the years, we've gone to different paces and moved on," Pemberton said (watch video). "We've gone to Australia, we've gone to Japan, we've gone to Mexico. And Mexico, I don't think we've ever said we would be there permanently.

"We went down there to help establish a new series, the Mexico Corona Series, and that series has taken off nicely. They've built some new facilities, remodeled some, car counts have been great, and their series has really gotten a good boost from the Nationwide cars being down there in Mexico City."

In addition, Poston said NASCAR hopes the Mexico Series will develop Mexican drivers and serve as a pipeline of talent to NASCAR's three national touring series similar to what the NASCAR Camping World Series does in the United States.

The Nationwide Series now has a sudden opening in the schedule, and the favorite to fill that slot could be Iowa Speedway. The seven-eighths-mile track in Newton, Iowa, hosts IndyCar and the Camping World Series East.

Nationwide Series senior manager of communications Tracey Judd said NASCAR hopes to have its 2009 schedules set soon but did not specify what tracks may be considered to replace Mexico City.

The Mexico City race first appeared on the Nationwide Series schedule in 2005 and was won by eventual series champion Martin Truex Jr. Each winner since then has been a full-time Cup driver. Juan Montoya's victory in 2007 was his first in one of NASCAR's three national series.

"We're not going to be global, but we'll race in and out of the United States occasionally, and we've always done that," Pemberton said. "We've done that for 20 years that I know of."

Also:
• In Mexico, slow and steady setting pace for progress

The Associated Press contributed to this report.