🇨🇦 🌎 🌏 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 1 / 6 What’s Keeping NASCAR From Racing Abroad More Often 1 / 6 What’s Keeping NASCAR From Racing Abroad More Often 2 / 6 What’s Keeping NASCAR From Racing Abroad More Often 🇨🇦 3 / 6 What’s Keeping NASCAR From Racing Abroad More Often 🌎 4 / 6 What’s Keeping NASCAR From Racing Abroad More Often 🌏 5 / 6 What’s Keeping NASCAR From Racing Abroad More Often 🇦🇺 6 / 6 What’s Keeping NASCAR From Racing Abroad More Often 🇳🇿 Andrew Ravens · MotorBiscuit Sat, November 7, 2026 at 9:10 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NASCAR COO Ben Kennedy says the sport is open to racing in new countries, but a 38-race Cup season makes regular trips overseas difficult.
Kennedy, NASCAR's chief operating officer , spoke about international expansion in an interview shared by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Friday.
"You know, if you think about our schedule for starters, we have 38 races the entire season. Logistically speaking, you know, it's difficult for us to go overseas and then come back week to week," Kennedy said.
The Cup calendar includes 36 points races and two exhibitions. NASCAR also lines up off weeks across its national series so the whole industry gets a shared break.
That is why Kennedy sees North America as the most realistic starting point. He pointed to Canada and Mexico as the nearer-term options for a points race.
NASCAR has already been to Mexico. The Cup Series raced at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City in 2025, its first points race outside the United States since 1958.
Canada has come up before. NASCAR was reported to be exploring a race in Montreal for 2024 before those plans fell through.
For places farther away, Kennedy pointed to the Clash. The preseason exhibition does not count toward the championship, which gives NASCAR more flexibility with where and when it runs.
He named Brazil and Europe as markets worth exploring for the Clash. NASCAR launched its Brasil Series in 2023 and already sanctions a Euro Series.
The 2027 Clash is headed back to Daytona , so any overseas Clash would come later.
Kennedy described Australia and Asia as longer-term possibilities. He pointed to viewership growth in Australia and New Zealand, along with drivers such as Shane van Gisbergen .
Van Gisbergen moved from Supercars to NASCAR and drives for Trackhouse Racing . He won his first Cup start, the 2023 Chicago Street Race.
NASCAR has raced abroad before. It held an exhibition at Calder Park in Australia in 1988 and three exhibition races in Japan from 1996 to 1998.
CEO Steve O'Donnell has also talked about growing the sport overseas. He has said Europe is a major goal and has named Canada, Europe and England as places NASCAR could go.
Kennedy is the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. He took over as COO this spring when O'Donnell became CEO, the first from outside the France family.
NASCAR has also hired Adam Layton as senior vice president of international efforts. Kennedy said Layton is studying NASCAR's existing markets and gathering data for a plan that looks five, 10 and 15 years ahead.
Other motorsports series are making the jump, too. IndyCar's 2027 schedule includes a race in Barcelona, its first outside North America since 2013.
In a separate media call, Kennedy indicated the next media rights cycle, in 2032, could open the door to bigger schedule changes.
Source: Sports
