Big Question: Why race in Mexico City?

So, going on five-plus years now, with today's fourth annual running of the Mexico 200, what have NASCAR executives accomplished? How is NASCAR's great Hispanic initiative really working?

This is really quite an unusual race, not only for the location but also for the sheer scope of what NASCAR is trying to do: Turn Mexico into NASCAR country.

There are many questions surrounding this venture: What is NASCAR's goal in all this? What is NASCAR selling, and to whom? What is the target market? And how successfully is this target market -- these target markets -- being leveraged?

More questions:

□ The Sunday crowd. The first year, a solid crowd of 100,000 or so filled Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The second year, though, it was significantly down, to about 72,000.

□ Who goes to these races in Mexico City anyway?

□ How do corporate sponsors leverage the Mexico City race and the Corona series? Suites? How many are available; how many sold?

□ How well is NASCAR doing in getting this race -- all its races, for that matter -- on TV sets around the world? (NASCAR just signed a new deal with Euro-centric Sky Sports, with high-def coverage of all Sprint Cup races ... although the size of the French, British and German market for NASCAR is still debatable. But will NASCAR be able to get any TV foothold in China, which is now the second-biggest car market in the world?)

□ Where is this Hispanic thing working well; where does it need shoring up?

□ Do NASCAR and Fox/ABC-ESPN need to be working harder on the international angles?

□ As a whole, how well is NASCAR doing as an "international brand?"

□ What about NASCAR and Brazil? NASCAR and Japan?

□ How well is NASCAR doing with this Mexico City race on American TV sets? What kind of ratings is it getting, and in what key markets? Is NASCAR working hard enough to hit the Los Angeles/San Diego/Phoenix market, for example, to promote this TV show? And why in the world schedule this race the same weekend as the Indy-world's Long Beach Grand Prix and Motegi, Japan, doubleheader? Maybe a NASCAR-Indy-car doubleheader might work in Mexico City, and get Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon out there in both races. Maybe, when Bruton Smith buys the NHRA, add one of those races too. Broaden the Mexico City experience.

□ Where are Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton? Shouldn't they at least have cars in today's field, if not driving? Shouldn't they be doing their part to promote this thing? Why can't they be car owners for some top Mexican stars -- cross-promotion, and pretty cheap at that?

□ Maybe NASCAR needs to rename this as a "special race," such as Charlotte's All-Star race, and lure more Cup stars by offering bonus Sprint Cup points. Maybe an extra 25 Cup points; maybe letting a Mexico City win count toward seeding in the Sprint Cup championship playoffs. Then again, it would appear to be in Stewart's better interests to help promote sponsor Home Depot, which has about 60 stores in Mexico and just announced plans to expand with a major new distribution center.

□ Doesn't Adrian Fernandez really have to win this thing? Or did NASCAR bank too much on him to begin with?

□ And what kind of bump did Juan Pablo Montoya's win give this program? How is NASCAR leveraging Montoya internationally?

□ How well does NASCAR follow up this race? Traditionally, NASCAR does its promotions ahead of the game, and then leaves town immediately after the race. Maybe NASCAR needs to spend a little more time in post-promotion, in follow-up. Maybe NASCAR needs to do a follow-up at the next Cup/Nationwide race -- Talladega, bring in Carlos Slim, for example, by some accounts the world's richest man and the guy who helped put together this NASCAR-in-Mexico venture.

□ How are the race's major sponsors -- Telmex, Telcel, Modelo, Banomex, Telavisa -- marketing this thing?

□ Why aren't more U.S. companies involved?

□ Where are the politicians? Where is Felipe Calderon? Politicians love big crowds, and Los Pinos, the Mexican White House, in Chapultepec Park, isn't that far from the track.

□ Why isn't Mexico City a full Sprint Cup race anyway? Fear of failure by NASCAR? Security problems? Certainly there are a number of current Cup stops that are drawing less-than-rousing crowds, such as Martinsville, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

An optimistic spin

Robbie Weiss is NASCAR's multilingual internationalist -- the managing director of NASCAR's growing international game plan, a former TV executive, and now also vice president of broadcasting for the new NASCAR Media Group umbrella (based now in Charlotte). Weiss said that things are going just spiffily, and he's optimistic that NASCAR's Hispanic operation is full-speed ahead:

"This is not an experiment. We're married to our partners in Mexico City, and we're looking ahead to having kids and grandkids," Weiss said.

"Looking back four years ago, when we first came down to Mexico nobody had ever really heard of NASCAR before.

"Now we've got a tremendous race, with a great field of drivers. And we've got the Corona series (a 14-race tour across Mexico), with 47 cars, and three new tracks. That's really big.

"This is a market that has historically gravitated to open wheel. That's where the drivers went, that's where the sponsors went, that's where TV went … and that's where the races went.

"In a very short period of time, we've transported Mexico from an open-wheel market to a stock-car market. And that said a lot.

"So we're pretty excited and proud about the progress we've made.

"It's important for our industry. It's helping build the sport and keep things moving along.

"For four years along, we're pretty pleased."

There is more than one market at issue here, of course.

"This is certainly a positive step for our North American market and our inner cities -- for NASCAR, our licensees and the tracks.

"We're committed to this. We didn't do this casually. We checked with the industries and laid out a plan that would deliver a lot of results for everybody over time."

Perhaps some of the skepticism is from NASCAR's four-year Japanese venture, which never panned out. But Weiss said that Mexico is much different.

"Mexico is working out pretty good for us ... although there's still a lot of work to be done, a lot of wood to be chopped," Weiss said. "And it can't be judged on just four years.

"Still, for only four years in, NASCAR has done as well, if not better, than any of the other properties coming into this market."

But why three international races the same weekend: Motegi, Long Beach and Mexico City? Doesn't that stretch fan interest too thin?

"No," Weiss said. "We've got Adrian Fernandez doing double duty, in Long Beach and Mexico City. And for motor-sports fans, to have this much racing going on one weekend has to be great."

Sponsorship leverage for the Mexico 200 "has been pretty solid," Weiss said. "Goodyear had over 1,000 people at the race. All the suites are completely sold out. Coors has a large presence.

"If you look at companies that are supporting the promoter, and at sponsors that are supporting the teams and drivers, you can get a pretty good feel for how they judge the opportunity."

Where are the stars?

Nevertheless, if Mexico City is such an important race, shouldn't NASCAR's biggest stars be on hand to do their part?

"I don't know," Weiss said. "If you look at the entry list, we have a pretty impressive field of drivers, particularly from the Cup side -- Like Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer. And we've got top-notch international drivers too, like Ron Fellows (the brilliant Canadian) and Boris Said and Scott Pruett and Adrian….

"We've got an impressive field of drivers -- and compared to the other races taking place this weekend,


NASCAR has the most impressive and strongest field of drivers on the grid for Sunday.

"And I think there is just a little something extra about winning in Mexico City … or in Montreal. These are pretty neat races. And we're building some great stories around these races -- I know you can remember every one of them, because of the drama.

"I try not to talk about weather, and I try not to talk about crowds. But each of these races has its own unique story line. And there is a certain amount of bragging rights in winning Mexico City or winning Montreal.

"I get confused when people talk about our attendance, and yet you look at our crowds and when you get 60,000 or 70,000 or 80,000 people to any sporting race on a given weekend, I think that's pretty darned good.

"Ratings overall are absolutely solid. If you want to track them year to year, for all the properties on TV, you can keep yourself pretty busy. But when we look at our numbers weekly -- from the Craftsman Truck series to the Nationwide series to the Sprint Cup series -- those are impressive numbers.

"And when you watch this thing on TV Sunday, you'll see an impressive crowd, standing and enjoying the racing.

"The attendance here has been solid every year we've been in Mexico City. The weather will be good, the crowd will be good, and the racing will be good. And we'll see where the numbers come in Monday."

■ Mike Mulhern can be reached at mmulhern@wsjournal.com
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