NASCAR Cup

NASCAR has discussed a race in Canada with "a few groups"

Could Montreal still make a return to the NASCAR schedule, or have discussions stagnated?

Nick DeGroot

Edited: Aug 21, 2025, 9:41 PM

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Danica Patrick leads the field

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While there are no international races on the 2026 schedule, NASCAR remains committed to expanding outward into other non-US markets.

In a teleconference with the media on Wednesday, NASCAR's Ben Kennedy said "we'd love to be both north of the border and south of the border in the future, and potentially beyond that at some point."

General view

Photo by: Jam Media / Getty Images

However, he had nothing concrete to report in regards to ongoing conversations. NASCAR last raced at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal with the Xfinity Series in 2012, but the most recent national division to visit Canada was the NASCAR Truck Series at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 2019.

"We've had a handful of conversations with a few groups north of the border interested in a national series race," continued Kennedy. "We haven't been able to deliver that yet. But I would say that is something that we're taking a look at as we think about 2027 and beyond. We have some good relationships up there. I think the good news is we have experience bringing both our O'Reilly Series and our Craftsman Truck Series north of the border with a handful of promoters.

"Nothing to report today, obviously, but something that is high on our consideration set for '27."

This year, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City hosted the first points-paying Cup race outside of the USA since 1958. Local hero Daniel Suarez won the Xfinity race, while Shane van Gisbergen won the Cup race in a dominant showing. And despite NASCAR deciding not return next year, the track is deep in discussions to potentially bring IndyCar to the track for 2026.

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