Newman: Reach U.S. fans before going abroad

'Rocketman' says there are American fans who can't go to races

LAS VEGAS -- NASCAR's first foray outside of the U.S. was considering a success for the racing series, which ran a Busch Series event in Mexico City last weekend.

Ryan Newman did not race in Mexico last weekend.

But at least one driver doesn't understand why NASCAR bothered to run in Mexico.

"We need to touch people in the United States before we go to Mexico," said Ryan Newman, who will start from the pole Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "The Pacific Northwest for sure. The upper Midwest, maybe North Dakota. And there's a lot of people in Montana.

"We need to take care of the United States before we take care of anything else. Maybe that's selfish. Canada is more my style than Mexico. But I still think taking care of the United States is number one. We don't need to be a traveling international series."

Newman didn't participate in Sunday's race in Mexico, although several Nextel Cup regulars did.

Some said they would even be interested in a race in Canada, with Jeff Gordon singling out the road course in Montreal.

"I'd love to see us in Canada," said Gordon, who didn't compete in Mexico City. "Staying in North America is extremely important. Canada seems like the next natural place for us to go. Obviously Mexico went well for the Busch cars; that might be a good option (for a Cup race) as well.