Daniel Suarez’s triumph in Mexico City was more than just a win; it was a deeply personal moment, filled with pride and emotion as NASCAR brought its first-ever points-paying race to Mexican soil. For Suarez, it was a celebration of his roots; for fans, that was a historic weekend that blended the sport’s high-octane energy with the rich culture of his homeland. The cheers, the flags waving in the stands, in the electric atmosphere made it a race to remember. Yet, as the 2026 NASCAR schedule emerges, Mexico City is notably absent. Instead, the sport appears to be shifting gears, setting its sights, and expanding into a new country as it continues to broaden its global footprint.

NASCAR’s decision to bring a Cup Series race to Mexico City wasn’t an overnight thought; it was a carefully plotted move aimed at expanding the sport’s reach. After months of exploring logistics and negotiating with track officials, NASCAR officially confirmed the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez would host its first-ever point-paying event in 2025, marking a bold step toward international expansion and tapping into a passionate fan base south of the border. And when race day arrived, the inaugural Mexico City race did not disappoint.

Daniel Suarez, the hometown hero, started near the back and navigated through traffic and pressure to claim a dramatic victory on the road course in the Xfinity event, and the event saw SVG’s road course dominance. It was an electrifying event, proving that NASCAR’s international leap can deliver top-tier excitement. But NASCAR will not return to Mexico City for a Cup Series race in 2026. The spot is being replaced by a revival event at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The primary roadblock is the scheduling conflict with the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, a NASCAR executive has other international plans.

And with that international buzz still resonating, NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy dropped a revealing hint about the future, which was revealed by Jeff Gluck in on X: “Ben Kennedy got asked about a Canada race: We’d love to be both north of the border and south of the border in the future. (Canada) is something we’re taking a look at as we think about 2027 and beyond.” Adds it’s “something high in our consideration set for ’27.”

The final NASCAR national series race in Canada was the 2012 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Montréal Circuit Gilles Villeneuve held on August 18. It was contested over 74 scheduled laps, extended to 81 due to a green-white-checkered attempt. After a hard-fought race, Justin Allgaier charged into the lead on the last lap, securing his first win of that season in spectacular fashion.

The 2012 event was a textbook road course thriller. Jacques Villeneuve led much of the way, but a late-race caution set the stage for chaos. Justin Allgaier, starting deep in the field, positioned himself for the final overtime restart and executed a bump-and-run on Villeneuve in Turn 6 to snatch the win. He called it an awesome day, praising the enthusiastic Montréal crowd that never disappointed. It was a memorable, high-stakes finish to the NASCAR nation series showing in Canada.

With the recent success in Mexico and Kennedy’s clear nod to Canada, NASCAR might be revving up to revive its presence north of the border. But as of now, the fans are fixated on the 2026 schedule. Amid disappointment with the schedule, another problem arises: the playoff format, and Ben Kennedy has finally opened up about it.

Ben Kennedy assures the NASCAR community of a playoff change based on fan feedback

With the 2026 schedule for all three national divisions finally out of the bag, Ben Kennedy jumped into a media availability to break it all down. He wasn’t alone; Jusan Hamilton, NASCAR’s managing director of competition operations, joined in for the ride. But it wasn’t just about who was racing where and when. Kennedy also got thrown into the deep end of one of the sport’s juiciest talking points of the summer: the 2026 playoff format. NASCAR’s own social media graphics are still showing the standard elimination rounds, but Kennedy made it clear: this thing is far from locked down.

Speaking to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, he said, “It’s not yet. I know the playoff committee has had a number of meetings over the past several months on different formats that we could look at, and they’ve run a handful of simulations on just various formats, collected some fan feedback.”

So what is on the table? While NASCAR is keeping the official options under wraps, three fan-favorite ideas keep bubbling up. First, stick with the current format but swap the one-and-done finale for a multi-race championship round; second, dust off the original playoff setup, where the driver with the most points over the final 10 races takes the crown; or third, crank the time machine back to a full-season points battle like the series ran from 1949 to 2003.

Kennedy added, “I know there are conversations as early as a couple days ago on what the future of the playoff format looks like. Nothing to announce today. What I would say, though, is we want to make sure that we take the time to do it right, that we collect as much information as we can, and hopefully whatever this new format is, if there is a new format, it’s something that will last a long time.” For now, the finish line on this decision is still a ways off. But once NASCAR waves the green flag on a new playoff system, if they do, it is bound to get fans and drivers talking just as much as the races themselves.