While the Busch Light Clash will be the main event for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday (Feb. 3), there is a second series that will be joining the NASCAR Cup Series for a support race.
And it isn’t the Xfinity Series or Craftsman Truck Series.
The NASCAR Mexico Series will descend upon the temporary 0.25-mile short track for a 150-lap event, which immediately follows the Busch Light Clash. The race, dubbed the Rey Taco la Batalla en el Coliseo (translated to King Taco: The Battle at the Coliseum) is an all-star race, with each driver on the entry list meeting certain qualifications to compete.
But what exactly is the NASCAR Mexico Series?
Introduced in 2004 as Desafío Corona, the series was quickly rebranded to the NASCAR Mexico Series. Sponsorship from Corona beer, which is brewed in Mexico, later changed the name to the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series in 2007.
The series made NASCAR news for all the wrong reasons in 2009 when the series’ inaugural champion Carlos Pardo tragically lost his life in an accident at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed. With four laps to go, Pardo was in a battle for the lead with Jorge Goeters. As Pardo attempted to block Goeters, the two made contact and Pardo was turned into the inside wall, where he made impact with the end of a concrete attenuator.
The water barrels didn’t soften the impact and Pardo collided with the wall at 120 mph, completely disintegrating the car and sending the water in the barrels flying, almost as if a bomb went off in that moment. The race was immediately red flagged and did not restart as Pardo was extricated from the chassis of the car and transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Per Mexico Series rules, the final results were scored based on the last completed lap. As Pardo was the leader entering the lap, he was posthumously awarded the win.
The series persevered and was renamed the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series presentado por (presented by) Toyota for the 2011 season. Toyota took over naming rights the following season and the series was officially known as the NASCAR Toyota Series from 2012-2014.
Following the 2015 season, the NASCAR Mexico Series (which had lost its Toyota sponsor following 2014) announced the suspension of the series. The hiatus only lasted through 2016, as the series announced its return for the 2017 season with sponsorship from PEAK Antifreeze.
The PEAK NASCAR Mexico Series continued running business…
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