In last year’s annual “State of the Sport” address, NASCAR said there was interest from north and south of the borders about a potential Cup Series race. Well, it almost happened as NASCAR was in discussions with Montreal on a potential date. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out and the sport will not be racing internationally in 2024.
However, this doesn’t mean that a potential Cup Series race outside of the United States should be ruled out. Last week, NASCAR held this year’s address, and the sport’s chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell talked about the possibility of racing internationally in 2025 and beyond.
“I think 2025 and really beyond look like there’s a number of opportunities,” O’Donnell said. “So when we looked at Montreal, absolutely there was interest on both sides. When you look at our sport, and the ability to go into a marketplace, really grow the sport, we want to make sure we have all the levers in place to not just kind of come in and out, we want to build NASCAR within that particular country or marketplace.”
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“As we continued to talk in Montreal, we probably realized a little quick to be able to make that happen. In the meantime there’s been a lot of discussions in other areas not only in the U.S. but other opportunities in North America and outside the U.S. For us it was a little bit of a pause and let’s evaluate all those opportunities together, look at what’s in the best interest of all of our fans for ’25 and beyond to make sure that we put the most exciting schedule together possible.”
The hope is that NASCAR can figure out a deal with Montreal for the 2025 season. NASCAR should be racing internationally and with plenty of interest around, there should be optimism that it can happen sooner rather than later. It may not be with Montreal but it would be a success either way.
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