The NASCAR Cup Series' inclusion of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on its 2025 season schedule is a notable move for a sport that has long pushed to host international Cup races. Cup cars haven't raced outside the United States in more than 25 years, and haven't raced in a points-paying championship event since 1958.
Prior to the decision and announcement in Mexico City, the series was also looking at hosting the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, and had also indicated ambitions to expand to Brazil. Other regions and countries have also expressed interest or have their own international series. We recently reported that the city of São Paulo is interested in hosting the race in 2026, and Daniel Suarez himself just competed (and won) in a NASCAR Brazilian Series event at Interlagos.
Suarez is just one of a handful of international drivers who have won at the sport's top level. And the list of international races is even shorter. Here are the few places where NASCAR has been able to get a stamp on your passport and attend a race.
1952 Unknown 100 Mile Event – Stanford Park – Niagara Falls, Canada
The first Cup race outside the United States took place on July 1, 1952. The half-mile dirt track in Ontario had been there since 1923 but closed a year after the Cup Series arrived. Known as the “Car Killer,” the track lived up to its name with a showdown between some of NASCAR's early pioneers. Admission was $1 for adults and 50 cents for children, and spectators watched as only three of the 17 starting drivers crossed the finish line in the 200-lap race. Buddy Sherman, who was last in his 1952 Hudson, averaged 45.610 mph and won by two laps over NASCAR Hall of Famer Herb Thomas. It was Sherman's only Cup Series victory.
Canadian flag
Photo credit: FIA World Rallycross
1958 Jim Mideon 500 – Exhibition Stadium – Toronto, Canada
On July 18, 1958, NASCAR returned to Canada to race at the now-demolished Canadian National Exhibition Stadium. The race took place on a 0.333-mile asphalt oval course that closely resembled Bowman Gray Stadium. In a race that lasted just 46 minutes, Lee Petty won by leading 29 of the 100 laps.
But the most important story of this race may not be who won, but who made his debut. Lee Petty's 21-year-old son made his first of 1,184 starts in NASCAR's final points-earning Cup race outside the United States. The future “King” of NASCAR got in the way of the fastest man in the field — his father — and dropped out of the race.
Race winner Lee Petty
Photo credit: NASCAR Media
1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500 – Calder Park Thunderdome – Melbourne, Australia
Thirty years after the last Cup race in international competition, the sport took the bold step of hosting a non-points race on the other side of the globe. On February 28, 1988, NASCAR traveled far beyond the North American continent to race in Australia. The 280-lap race took place on the Calder Park Raceway oval track, featuring 24-degree banked corners.
The 32 entrants included many of Australia/New Zealand's motorsport stars, including Bathurst 1000 champion Dick Johnson, Jim Richards and Alan Grice. But it was NASCAR regulars who dominated the event, with Alabama Gangster Neil Bonnett narrowly beating Bobby Allison to a 1-2 finish. The event led to the creation of the NASCAR Australian racing division, which ran from 1989 to 2002.
In the modern era of NASCAR, several Australian drivers have travelled across the pond to compete in NASCAR, showing just how strong the bond is between the two countries. Supercars champions Marcos Ambrose and Shane van Gisbergen have won at the sport's top level, and SVG is about to embark on its first full-time Cup season.
Shane van Gisbergen, Kaulig Racing, WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro
Photo: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
1996 & 1997 NASCAR Thunder Special – Suzuka Circuit – Suzuka, Japan
For the next decade, NASCAR shifted its focus to Japan as the location for its next exhibition race, and after the conclusion of the 1996 season, a race was sanctioned on the Suzuka Circuit's East Course on November 24th.
The event attracted a lot of attention and attracted Japanese racing stars such as drift king Keiichi Tsuchiya, Hideo Fukuyama, Akihiko Nakatani and Kazuki Wakita. Rusty Wallace won the event by beating Dale Earnhardt by just over a second, leading 84 of the 100 laps.
Due to the race's success, NASCAR held it again a year later. However, rain was an issue this time. For this special event, the organizers provided rain tires, and most of the NASCAR drivers who competed had their first experience racing in the rain. Mike Skinner won by 3.7 seconds over Mark Martin.
These races inspired future F1 driver and Le Mans 24 Hours champion Kamui Kobayashi, who followed suit and made his Cup debut last year, finally fulfilling a lifelong dream of racing in NASCAR.
Kamui Kobayashi, 23XI Racing, Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Toyota Camry
Photo: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Images
1998 Coca-Cola 500 – Twin Ring Motegi – Motegi, Japan
NASCAR returned to Japan for the third consecutive year on November 22, but this time it was an oval race. After two years of racing at Suzuka, the race moved to the Twin Ring Motegi oval track and became a 201-lap event.
Thirty-one drivers entered the race, with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. facing off in Cup cars for the first time. The race came down to a showdown between Jeff Gordon and Mike Skinner. Gordon, fresh off winning his third Cup title, passed Skinner in the final few laps. He made it to the right rear of the Chevrolet driver, but was unable to get alongside Skinner by the time the checkered flag waved.
Motegi Circuit logo
Photo credit: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
After Japan
NASCAR's three-year experiment in Japan is over, and while many thought it was the start of something, it ended up being the end. Cup cars haven't raced outside the U.S. since that day in November nearly 26 years ago.
The Xfinity Series then held races in Mexico City and Montreal. The Truck Series held races at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. NASCAR formed international stock car racing divisions in Mexico, Brazil and even Europe. In 2016, Daniel Suarez became the Xfinity Series champion, becoming the sport's first foreign-born driver to win a national-level title. Just two years ago, at Watkins Glen, the sport set a record by having a total of seven countries participate in a single Cup race.
The sport has come closer to international racing in recent years, with the powers that be showing renewed interest in global expansion. When the Cup Series comes to Mexico in 2025, it will make history and mark the beginning of a new era for NASCAR. And who knows, maybe Brazil will be next.
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