Mexico City

Most of the history of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez comes from Formula One racing. In fact, it was the success of a Mexican-born Formula One racer, Ricardo Rodriguez, that hastened the track's creation.

Rodriguez drove a Ferrari in the 1961 Italian Grand Prix at the age of 19, making him the youngest driver to complete at least 12 laps in an F1 event. Two years later, in 1963, the track hosted its first F1 event.

Formula One continued running there through the 1970 season, when the FIA took the track off the schedule due to security concerns after a string of crowd control problems at the track.

The track sat dormant until the aging facility was rebuilt in 1985. A year later, the F1 teams returned. The track was bumpy but they all agreed it was a great challenge, particularly the final curling banked 180-degree corner called the Peraltada. There were modern pits and high fences, and guard dogs ensured that crowds did not get too close to the track.

However, as years went on, the track's bumps became a major liability. In 1991, Ayrton Senna turned his McLaren upside down in the Peraltada during qualifying. What's more, Mexico City was becoming too crowded and polluted, and the stop had become a chore for the teams. F1 pulled the track from the schedule again in 1992.

It would be another 10 years before the Mexico City road course would host another international event. CART team boss Gerry Forsythe went into partnership with the Mexican entertainment company CIE to rebuild the track yet again and promote a CART race.

In August 2004, NASCAR announced the track would host a Busch Series event, beginning in 2005.

"Mexico has a long tradition in motorsports, and we are thrilled that NASCAR is now part of it," said NASCAR chairman/CEO Brian France.

Martin Truex Jr., who was the defending Busch Series champion and would go on to win the 2005 title as well, won the first Busch race held on foreign soil on March 6, 2005.

"Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a beautiful track that provides our NASCAR Busch Series teams the opportunity to perform on an international stage," France said. "We look forward to providing this event for our growing Mexican fan base."