The NASCAR Cup Series including Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the 2025 season schedule is a remarkable move for the sport, which has been pushing for an international Cup race for some time. Cup cars haven’t raced outside of the United States in over 25 years, and not in a points-paying championship event since 1958.
Prior to the Mexico City decision and announcement, the series had also been considering a date at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada and showcased ambitions for expanding into Brazil. And it seems other locales and countries are expressing interest in hosting, or have an international series of their own. We reported recently that the city of Sao Paulo is interested in hosting the 2026 Clash, and Daniel Suarez himself just raced (and won) in a NASCAR Brazil Series event at Interlagos.
Suarez is but one example of the few international drivers who have won at the top level of the sport — and the list of international races is even shorter. Here are the few places NASCAR’s managed to get its passport stamped and go racing.
1952 Unnamed 100-mile event – Stamford Park – Niagara Falls, Canada
The first Cup race outside of the United States took place on July 1st, 1952. The Ontario half-mile dirt track had been around since 1923, but closed one year after the Cup Series visited. Known as a ‘car killer,’ it lived up to its name against the early pioneers of NASCAR. Paying an admission of one dollar for adults and 50 cents for children, spectators watched on as only three of the 17 starters made it to the finish line in the 200-lap race. Buddy Sherman made his ’52 Hudson last, averaging a speed of 45.610mph and winning by two laps over NASCAR Hall of Famer Herb Thomas. It was Sherman’s only victory in the Cup Series.
Canadian flag
Photo by: FIA World Rallycross
1958 Jim Mideon 500 – Exhibition Stadium – Toronto, Canada
On July 18th, 1958, NASCAR returned to Canada to race inside the now demolished Canadian National Exhibition Stadium, competing on a 0.333-mile asphalt oval that had a striking resemblance to Bowman Gray Stadium. Lee Petty would take victory, leading 29 of 100 laps in a race that only lasted 46 minutes.
However, the most important story of this race may not be who won, but who made their debut. The 21-year-old son of Lee Petty made his first of 1,184 starts in NASCAR’s last points-paying Cup race outside of the United States. The future ‘King’ of NASCAR was wrecked out…
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