“Aircraft issues” force NASCAR to change Mexico race weekend schedule

Earlier this Thursday, reports emerged that a private jet carrying multiple NASCAR personnel experienced an engine malfunction, leading to an emergency landing and significant delays. This incident compelled the team to seek alternative transportation routes to reach Mexico City. Coupled with ongoing air travel disruptions and delays across the industry, NASCAR has been forced to revise its race weekend timetable.

A statement from NASCAR clarified, “Due to technical issues with two aircraft that grounded several racing teams in Charlotte, North Carolina, the schedule for this weekend’s events at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City has been modified.”

Consequently, the organization has postponed the initial Cup Series practice session, rescheduling it for later in the day. All Xfinity Series practice sessions originally planned for Friday have been moved to Saturday. Additionally, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will now take place a few hours earlier on Friday.

The Xfinity Series will experience a reduction in practice time, with only a single 50-minute session scheduled for Saturday morning, immediately before qualifying. Other minor schedule adjustments have been made, but the Cup teams will retain their practice slots unchanged.

The revised schedule (Eastern Standard Time) is as follows:

Friday, June 13

1:30 p.m. – NASCAR Mexico Series Race 1

4:05 p.m. – Cup Series Practice 1

5:30 p.m. – Cup Series Practice 2

Saturday, June 14

11:05 a.m. – Xfinity Series Practice

12:10 p.m. – Xfinity Series Qualifying

2:05 p.m. – Cup Series Qualifying

7:00 p.m. – NASCAR Mexico Series Race 2

Sunday’s events remain as scheduled, with the main Cup race set for 3:00 p.m. EST, with the green flag dropping at approximately 3:23 p.m. EST. Notably, Denny Hamlin will be absent from the race, opting to stay with his family following the birth of his child, and will require a playoff waiver to participate later in the season.

Fortunately, the transportation logistics for the event have proceeded smoothly, with all 132 haulers and support vehicles traveling directly from Michigan International Speedway to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez without major issues-an impressive feat given the scale of the operation.

NASCAR support vehicles lined up for the race weekend

Photo credit: James Gilbert / Getty Images

In this article