Mexico City not just another Busch race

The hype from Daytona is over. The glitz and glamour of California's Hollywood appeal is fading. And now the Busch Series moves on to what could be considered its biggest event of the season -- the Telcel-Motorola 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

OK, so it's still short of a full field with 42 cars on the entry list, the second week of the three-race season that the series has failed to have 43 cars on the grid.

Sure, it's one of three road-course races on the schedule, whereas a handful of drivers in the series have never even pressed a clutch at one of the serpentine tracks.

Yes, it's the second leg of the most grueling relay teams endure all season, which takes them from Charlotte to Fontana, Calif., directly to Mexico City, and then west again to Las Vegas -- a 23-day trip that spans nearly 9,000 miles.

But NASCAR considers the payoff to be its biggest, both financially and socially.

This year's purse for the Telcel-Motorola 200 (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN 2) is set at $2,512,372 -- more than a quarter-million dollars higher than Daytona.

Perhaps more importantly, this year's race will have 12 drivers who were born outside the United States, seven of which are from Mexico. It's guaranteed to be the largest international group of talent in a Busch race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Last year a dozen international drivers attempted the race, but just 11 made the field. Two years ago, 11 entered and nine made the cut.

"This race is special because it really gets a lot of the Mexican drivers together and is in an international event," said Adrian Fernandez, who is from Mexico City and will drive Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 Chevrolet.

"Even though NASCAR is still very new to our fans, I think they've been embracing NASCAR pretty well. Obviously having the Mexican drivers there, you know, their participation has been high in the last few years ... so every time we come here and beat the best of the best in NASCAR in front of your crowd, try to be competitive, be competitive in front of your people, I think it makes it very special."

What the local fans might find special is the rekindling of an old fire between Fernandez and Juan Montoya that started in their open-wheel days. (Continued)