The NASCAR Mexico Series (formerly NASCAR Corona Series and other names) is a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

series in Mexico. It is the most prestigious stock car racing series in the country.

Origins (Desafío Corona)

The Desafío Corona was established in 2004 by

NASCAR Mexico NASCAR Mexico is a joint-venture between NASCAR and OCESA, a Mexican entertainment company, aiming to develop, manage and operate local motorsports events and oversee television distribution, sponsorship and licensing. The venture attempts to cre ...

, a joint-venture between

and Mexican entertainment group OCESA, with the idea of developing stock car racing in Mexico, and fueling a transition from the country's historically

Open-wheel car An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

racing fan base to stock car racing. From 2004 to 2006, the Desafío Corona grew considerably in infrastructure, as well as in number of fans, drivers and sponsors.

Present

The NASCAR Mexico Corona Series was officially presented at the 2006 Desafío Corona award ceremony.

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

assumed naming rights in 2012, dubbing it the NASCAR Toyota Series. The series is one of three NASCAR-sanctioned international series, the others are the

NASCAR Pinty's Series The NASCAR Pinty's Series (french: Série NASCAR Pinty's), commonly abbreviated as NPS, is a national NASCAR racing series in Canada, and is a continuation of the old CASCAR Super Series which was founded in 1981. History In September 2006 NASCA ...

and the

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (formerly known as Racecar Euro Series and Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series) is an official NASCAR stock-car racing series based in Europe. It is one of NASCAR's three international-sanctioned series, alongside th ...

. Following North American short-track racing trends to cut costs and unify rules among different tours, NASCAR is considering changes to the Canadian Tire and Corona Series where the two series adopt the Busch rules as to allow the competitors to use the same cars in

NASCAR Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

races. The winner of the series championship received an invitation to the

UNOH Battle at the Beach The University of Northwestern Ohio Battle at the Beach was a nonpoints, all-star race that brought together the top drivers in NASCAR's lower-level series and club racing. A successor to the Toyota All-Star Showdown, held from 2003 to 2011 at ...

, formerly the

Toyota All-Star Showdown The Sunrise Ford All-Star Showdown is a Super Late Model championship event at Irwindale Speedway, originally held from 2006-10 seasons as a non-championship NASCAR event for lower-level series, and since the 2020 motorsport season, revived by t ...

. All other drivers may also attempt to qualify by entering the heat races.

2016 hiatus

After the end of the 2015 season, the series was suspended supposedly due to the fact that organizers of the series wanted to instead support the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Mexican Grand Prix The Mexican Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de México), currently held under the name Mexico City Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México), is a motor racing event held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. It first a ...

, which had just been revived for 2015. Several of the teams and drivers that participated in the series moved to the Super Copa Telcel "V8" series.

2017 return

In October 2016 it was announced that the series would return with new sponsorship from PEAK Antifreeze, with an exhibition race that December to be followed by a full 2017 season. Also in 2017 was created two supporter series of NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series: the

NASCAR FedEx Challenge Series The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

and

NASCAR Mikel's Truck Series The NASCAR Mikel's Truck Series (formerly known as the MasterCard Truck Series) was a Mexican pickup truck racing predecessor of Desafío Corona. Drivers NASCAR Corona Series drivers participated in the MasterCard Truck Series, including Jorge G ...

Mexico Series tracks

In its 14 seasons, the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series has used 16 tracks in 14 venues (two in

Santiago de Querétaro Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

and two in

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

). Currently, six oval tracks are used, only

Autódromo Monterrey The Autódromo Monterrey is a racetrack in Apodaca, Nuevo León, México, in the Monterrey metropolitan area. The track currently is operated by DIPSA and host races for NASCAR México, drag racing, karting and Volks is a Japan-based corpo ...

is a road circuit. Three tracks have been used in two configurations.

long and frijol,

Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a motorsport race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named after the racing drivers Ricardo (1942–1962) and Pedro Rodríguez (1940–1971). The circuit got its name shortly after it opened when Ricardo Rodr ...

in NASCAR Nationwide and oval, Autódromo Miguel E. Abed in a 2.75 km layout and oval. Autódromo Potosino is the shortest track (0.804 km) and

the longest (3.4 km).

is the venue with more races (34, 32 in Autódromo Potosino and 2 in Parque Tangamanga II)

had powered the construction of oval tracks in México, Autódromo Potosino was remodeled in 2001,

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

had new tracks for NASCAR events. In 2012, a speedway in Chihuahua was scheduled for inauguration. For 2013, a race in the Southwestern United States was held: a 75-lap, 75-mile (122 km) race at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...

during the NASCAR Cup Series

Subway Fresh Fit 500 The United Rentals Work United 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held annually at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona since 2005. It is one of two Cup Series races at the track, the other being the Season Finale 500. Cha ...

weekend.

Cars

In the first season, only

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

(through its

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

division) and

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

participated in the series.

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

made its debut in 2005 with its

Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...

model, but since 2006, the

Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

is the Ford model entry. In 2009,

started its participation with its

Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...

. The

Mazda 6 , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one mi ...

was first entered in 2010. As with the other NASCAR divisions in the United States, Dodge subsequently pulled its factory support and no longer participates in the Mexican series. Along with the other international series, the

K&N Pro Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

, and the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

, the Mexico Series has

General Tire Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, & H.B. Pushee as ...

as an exclusive tire supplier.

Most wins

Specifications

*Chassis: Steel tube frame with safety roll cage, must be

standards. *Engine Displacement: (350 in³) V8. *Transmission: 4 Speed

Manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...

. *Weight: Minimum (without driver). *Power Output: 400 hp. *Torque: . *Fuel: 98

octane Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula , and the condensed structural formula . Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2,4-Tri ...

unleaded

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

provided by

Pemex Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexican state-owned petroleum company managed and operated by the Mexican government. It was formed in 1938 by nationalization and expr ...

. *Fuel capacity: . *Fuel delivery: Carburetion. *Compression ratio: 9.3:1. *Aspiration:

Naturally aspirated Naturally may refer to: ;Albums * ''Naturally!'', an album by Nat Adderley * ''Naturally'' (Houston Person album) * ''Naturally'' (J. J. Cale album) * ''Naturally'' (John Pizzarelli album) * ''Naturally'' (Sharon Jones album) * ''Naturally'' ...

. *Wheelbase: . *Tires:

Slick tire A racing slick or slick tyre is a type of tyre that has a smooth tread used mostly in auto racing. The first production slick tyre was developed by M&H Tires in the early 1950s for use in drag racing. By eliminating any grooves cut into the tre ...

s provided by

. *Length: . *Width: . *Height: . *Safety equipment:

HANS device A HANS device (head and neck support device) is a type of head restraint, a safety device in motorsports. Head restraints are mandatory when competing with most major motorsports sanctioning bodies. They reduce the likelihood of head or neck inj ...

Seat belt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...

Champions

Six drivers have won the championship. The Telcel team is the most successful with four drivers' championships. Rubén García, Jr. is the youngest champion (20 years old), and Rafael Martínez the eldest. (45 years old).

Germán Quiroga Germán Quiroga Jr. (born May 29, 1980) is a Mexican professional stock car racing driver. In 2011, he became the first three-time NASCAR Corona Series champion. Racing career Beginnings Quiroga began his career in Reto Neon in 1996. Corona ...

has the most championships to his name at 3.

Rookie of the Year

Series winners

List of winners

Updated after 2022 Monterrey2 (November 27, 2022)

University of Northwestern Ohio Battle at the Beach

Mexico Series champions are invited to the NASCAR

(now the University of Northwestern Ohio Battle at the Beach). In 2011 Daniel Suárez, Germán Quiroga and Rubén Rovelo took part. They finished in 11th, 12th and 30th, respectly. The 2012 Series champion, along with international counterparts in Canada and Europe, will be invited to participate with an automatically exempt entry in any of the three divisions (Late Model, K&N Pro, Whelen Modified) in the Battle at the Beach, which will be held a week and a half before the series race at

Female drivers

To date, three women have started a NCS race.

Mara Reyes Mara Reyes (born March 12, 1977) is a Mexican stock car racing driver. Finding some success in the NASCAR Mexico Series, she started one race in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2005. Reyes currently races in the Super Copa Telcel with Ar ...

scored a

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

in her first race.

Other NASCAR series

Some drivers of NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series have taken part in

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

and

Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

action, but only Jorge Goeters and Daniel Suárez have both raced in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

and NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series.

Scott Riggs Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the 92 for RBR Enterprises in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Racing career Early career Riggs was born in Bahama, Nort ...

Cody Ware Cody Shane Ware (born November 7, 1995) is an American professional auto racing driver. A third-generation driver with experience in stock car, sports car, and open-wheel racing, he is the son of NASCAR team owner Rick Ware.Kevin O'Connell all of them only made one start in PEAK Mexico Series but also had run in both series. Rubén Pardo,

Rogelio López Rogelio López III (born July 29, 1980) is a Mexican racing driver from Aguascalientes. López won the 2006 Desafío Coronachampionship, and went to the United States to drive the No. 03 Telmex/Lucas Oil Dodge in the NASCAR Grand National Divi ...

and Rubén García Jr. have won in the

; while

Daniel Suárez Daniel Alejandro Suárez Garza (born January 7, 1992) is a Mexican professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team. He previously drove in t ...

have won in the

, the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of t ...

and

. In 2016, Suárez won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, driving for

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...

. In 2017 and 2018, he moved to the

driving No. 19 for Joe Gibbs Racing. In 2019, he moved to the No. 41 driving for

Stewart-Haas Racing Stewart-Haas Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. The team is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champio ...

before moving to the No. 96 driving for Gaunt Brothers Racing, then moved to the No. 99 for

Trackhouse Racing Team Trackhouse Racing is a professional stock car auto racing organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by Trackhouse Entertainment Group, a venture of Justin Marks and Grammy Award-winning rapper Armando Christ ...

. On June 12th, 2022, Suárez won his first career

race at

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern S ...

NASCAR Cup Series drivers

Five drivers have raced both the NASCAR PEAK Mexico and

References

External links

* {{NASCAR Corona Series' Champions Recurring sporting events established in 2004 Stock car racing