Pyne: Cup not heading to Mexico any time soon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR's latest international moves into Mexico and Canada will be boons to the Busch and Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR chief operating officer George Pyne said Thursday.

But the impact on the Nextel Cup Series will not be felt for years, as Pyne reiterated sanctioning body chairman of the board Brian France's contention that NASCAR has no current plan to take its premier division international.

George Pyne

"We don't see in the foreseeable future the Nextel Cup Series leaving the United States," Pyne said. "This (international move) is for Busch and Craftsman Truck Series possibilities.

"We don't think we're meeting the demand here in the U.S. (with Nextel Cup), but we do see the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as series that could go outside of the U.S., no question about that."

Pyne said motorsports' growth, and with it NASCAR's booming popularity spurred the latest moves.

"Motorsports and soccer are the two most popular sports in the world," Pyne said. "Certainly, NASCAR has a very good motorsports product and it remains to be seen what the applications are going to be outside of the United States.

"But we believe now that with (NASCAR) races being broadcast in 150 countries in 25 languages that it makes sense to complement that effort with some live events."

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Pyne said the expansion into Mexico would be a major benefit to NASCAR and the Busch Series.

"Our focus for the next couple years will be in North America, and with NASCAR Mexico in particular, we'll achieve a couple of things," Pyne said. "First and foremost, we think it's going to be a real boost to the NASCAR Busch Series.

"The race in Mexico City will have a significant purse, and it enhances the Busch Series from an international standpoint."

A source close to the announcement said the purse for the inaugural Mexico City race would be more than $2 million. Only one race in series history, the 2004 Hershey's Kisses 300 at Daytona, has posted more than $2 million in purse money.

"We're mindful of the impact and the cost of competing on a road course," Pyne said. "That's why you see Watkins Glen on the schedule and Mexico City, so we can minimize the cost to the teams (in building road course cars).

Credit: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

"We think it will be an exciting event, so it's a good thing for the Busch Series."

Earlier this year, NASCAR announced the formation of NASCAR Canada to explore and implement marketing and racing opportunities north of the border.

"For NASCAR overall, or for any sport that wants to grow, the Hispanic marketplace is an important marketplace," Pyne said. "It represents 40 million Americans and 50 percent of the growth in the next 10 years is going to come from the Hispanic marketplace.

"We currently race in Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, Miami and Chicago; (cities) that have meaningful and significant Hispanic communities, so we think that the development of a feeder system where we can develop Hispanic drivers that may someday be able to race in the Craftsman Truck, Busch and Cup Series will be a good thing for our sport in the United States."

NASCAR, to this point, has had limited Hispanic participation, with the exception of team owners Felix Sabates and his son-in-law, Armando Fitz. Sabates got his start in the Busch Series in the late 1980s, branched into Cup racing and remains involved today as a partner to primary owner Chip Ganassi.

Fitz, who owns a three-car Busch Series team with NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, in conjunction with Sabates fielded one of the first Hispanic drivers to compete in NASCAR's modern era, Mario Hernandez, in 2001 in the Busch Series.

More recently, former South American Indy car drivers Christian Fittipaldi and Roberto Guerrero have made brief forays into Busch racing with the Hispanic Racing Team, owned by Rudy Rodriguez.

Mexican driver Carlos Contreras competed full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series from 2000-2002.

"From a team standpoint, it's going to add more value to the current base of sponsors, and hopefully bring in new sponsors," Pyne said. "So NASCAR Mexico is really an international attempt to drive our domestic business."

NASCAR Mexico will seek similar marketing objectives as NASCAR Canada, but it includes a competition element. The series, established in conjunction with Mexican event promoter OCESA Entertainment, would create a wing of NASCAR's current seven-series Touring Division, Pyne said.

Credit: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

"It will be similar to our other (regional) tours," Pyne said. "The idea being is that it's part of the progression up to the national series.

"There's a stock car series there right now that has between 14 and 16 races, and I don't know what the split is between ovals and road courses. There will be oval courses there and it's something we'll be working on in the next 12 to 24 months, to further develop that program."

Pyne said at this time NASCAR has not purchased the Canadian sanctioning body, CASCAR, which has run a touring series similar in specification to the Busch North and NASCAR West Series, for the past decade.

"We are looking at the Canadian marketplace, with 30 million consumers -- 80 percent of which live within 75 miles of the U.S. border," Pyne said. "They make up a sizeable part of our current fan base and current ticket buyers, in places like New Hampshire and Michigan -- and hopefully someday in the Pacific Northwest.

"But it's an important marketplace. There are very strong TV ratings in Canada already, so we have a sizeable audience already in Canada.

"With the formation of NASCAR Canada we're trying to satisfy the demand for more information and more NASCAR experiences in the marketplace, tied to the TV programming.

"Down the road, we'll be studying what, if any event strategies there are to be had. But right now that's all part of a due diligence process and no decisions have been made."

Pyne also said that with the announcement of the 2005 Busch Series schedules, that NASCAR's three major touring series' schedules are set, with no further international moves planned until 2006, if then.

"We're 100 percent solid (in scheduling) for 2005," Pyne said. "The 2005 scheduling process is complete."