Kyle Busch believes NASCAR has opened up a ‘huge playbook’ for the sport to go international
NASCAR has been experimenting with new tracks after the introduction of Next-Gen cars.
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Kyle Busch at LA Memmorial Coliseum (Credits: @rcr/Twitter)
Two times Cup series champion Kyle Busch has claimed that the success of the Chicago Street race and LA Clash has proven that NASCAR can potentially explore international races. The premier stock car racing championship has raced in Mexico, Canada, and Japan, but the current schedule doesn’t have an international race.
Among the few factors stopping NASCAR from going international is the lack of Oval tracks or the targeted audience being fans of other disciplines. The Chicago Street Race was a success in terms of good racing, and it has given NASCAR an opportunity to experiment with races in one of the world’s major cities, which can attract many fans.
The RCR driver pointed out that there is a potential for NASCAR to race in the Americas or a different continent. He backed his arguments by pointing out that sport can now host good races on either street courses or inside a stadium.
“I feel like there’s definitely the potential for that — whether it’s North America, South America, even a different continent. I think there are some opportunities that are out there, so it will be interesting to see where we land with that,” Busch is quoted saying by Heavy.com.
“I think last week kind of showcased that you can do a street event. And we’ve also kind of proven the stadium aspect, as well, with the [Los Angeles] Coliseum. I think that opens up a huge playbook,” Busch added.
In case you missed it: Why is Kyle Busch selling his $13 million lakefront mansion in North Carolina?
NASCAR is confident they can host street races that will be embraced globally
After the Chicago Street Race, Steve O’Donnell, the Chief Operating Officer of the sport, pointed out that the sanctioning body is confident that they can take the Cup series races anywhere they want. He claimed that an event like the Chicago Street Race will be embraced globally.
“I’m not going to put a timetable on it, but I think we’re all confident at NASCAR that we could take the Cup Series anywhere we want, and we do that with the industry, and I think — I don’t think, I know the race we put on today would sell and would be embraced globally for sure,” O’Donnell said on July 2.
If NASCAR plans to go international, the best step might be visiting cities with a good fanbase outside the US. Going into an oval track, as advised by 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski seems like a good start. Going to Mexico and Japan in the next phase and exploring the EuoroNASCAR tracks in Europe will also be a good option.
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Justin P Joy
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