Mexican Drivers Eye Route to NASCAR John Oreovicz - ESPN
go to original October 15, 2013

Adrian Fernandez gave NASCAR a brief try as his Indy car career was winding down. Now he's hopeful some young Mexican drivers get an opportunity in the stock car circuit. (Rick Dole/Getty Images)

NASCAR no longer stages a Nationwide Series race in Mexico, but a cultural shift from road racing to American-style oval competition is gradually taking place south of the U.S. border.

Rising young Mexican stars once looked to emulate national idols like the Rodriguez brothers (Ricardo and Pedro) in Formula One, or Adrian Fernandez in Indy cars. But these days, many of those aspiring racers set a career trajectory for NASCAR instead.

"In my days, NASCAR was probably nonexistent in Mexico," said Fernandez, who won 11 CART- and IRL-sanctioned Indy car races between 1996 and 2004 as well as the 2009 American Le Mans Series LMP2 championship.

"Road racing was the big thing for many, many years. Things have changed now, definitely."

NASCAR has been directly involved in supporting grassroots oval racing in Mexico since 1994, resulting in the construction of a half dozen racing facilities. While many include road course options -- including the top-notch Autodromo Miguel E. Abed in Puebla, which hosted a round of the World Touring Car Championship from 2005 to 2009 -- the clear emphasis in these new venues is on the oval.

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