NASCAR goes to Mexico for new fans ... in U.S. (cont'd)

"It makes sense that if you're running a race in Mexico City, there's got to be interest in Mexico. Obviously, Mexico has a varied history in terms of supporting motorsports of all types," Ackley said.

"But when you think about who you have in the United States, and you look at the proximity, when you look at Texas and Arizona and Southern California and South Florida, you possibly have a very large Hispanic and Latino fan base. Going into Mexico and running a race not only energizes any interest in Mexico, but also carries over to those Mexican-Americans living in the United States."

There are plenty of shrewd business minds within NASCAR. They see population trends. They see that Homestead-Miami Speedway had to put up additional seating after Montoya announced that the 2006 season finale would be his Nextel Cup debut. They know that if NASCAR hopes to remain successful well into the future, it has to secure a foothold within the fastest-growing minority group in America. They know that diversity, in addition to being the right thing to do ethically and morally, can also be profitable.

Montreal is no different. Yes, it further helps set the globetrotting Busch Series apart, it gives the sport a presence in another internationally renowned city where a foreign language is spoken, and it helps satisfy the six million fans NASCAR claims to have in Canada. But it also helps establish more of a presence in the northeast United States, where NASCAR's lone outposts are tiny Loudon, N.H., and Watkins Glen, N.Y., and where plans for a New York City track were smothered by red tape and local opposition.

Attendance for the Busch race in Mexico City dropped precipitously, from 94,229 for the debut event in 2005 to 74,428 last season. It may very well fall again this year. But this is one of those rare occasions in NASCAR where grandstand numbers don't really matter. What does is whether the race is making an impact on Hispanics in the United States.

Is that happening? "I don't know. I don't see the numbers," said Fernandez, the former Champ Car driver who was born in Mexico City, now lives in Arizona, and appears in Spanish-language television commercials for car sponsor Lowe's. Saturday's race will be his ninth in the Busch Series during the past three years.

"But when I see a lot of fans in the United State that follow us, I would say 50 percent of them, when I see them, they know what I've done in NASCAR and what I'm doing right now with the Le Mans series. I always say that continuity is the best thing that can happen for a sport. If there's continuity in the Mexican race, we'll be successful and we'll get to be known."

The key, as with any good relationship, is commitment. Running a few races in Mexico City and then bagging the operation would send a message exactly opposite of the one NASCAR is trying to convey. Many in the sport still remember the ill-fated exhibition events in Japan, a three-year experiment which took place before NASCAR developed a comprehensive international strategy, and did little to raise the circuit's profile on either side of the Pacific.

Mexico is different. NASCAR has sunk resources into an office and a developmental touring series. To make new fans of Mexican-Americans, NASCAR has to become a part of the Mexican sports culture. And that won't happen overnight.

"I don't think NASCAR plans to go in, do three years and pull out. That won't cultivate the fan base," Ackley said. "So I think they're going to be in Mexico for quite some time, just as I think they're going to be in Canada for quite some time."

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.