NASCAR set for F1-style podium celebration after Mexico Cup race
NASCAR will celebrate its top-three finishers with a podium ceremony at the Mexico City round, marking a rare departure from tradition♉ for its first points-paying Cup Series race outside the United States in over half a century.
NASCAR will honour the top three finishers of the Mexico round𒆙 with a Formula 1-style podiuꦕm ceremony.
Unlike other major championships, NASCAR typically restricts post-race festivities to the winning driver in victory lane, with no formal recog𝕴nition for second or third place.
However, for the first points-paying Cup Series race outside the United States since 1958, scheduled for 15 June at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, NASCAR has announced a one-off shift in pr🅺otocol.
Organisers have confirmed that the top three finishers in both th🍸e Cup Series and the Xfinity Series will be invited onto a podium for a ceremonial cel𒐪ebration.
“For this historic weekend, it felt appropriate to recꦰognize the heritage of Autodromౠo Hermanos Rodriguez and give a nod to the traditional international motorsports celebrations,” NASCAR stated to NBC Sports.
“There are currently no plans for podium-style celebrations following the🐬 Mexico City event.”
This is not the first time NASCAR has experimented with a podium format. Between 2022 and 2024, the Clash exhibition races at🅷 the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum featured podium presentations for the top three finishers — a tribute to the 1984 Summer Olympics held at the venue. NASCAR awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals as part of the ceremony.
So far in 202🏅5, Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports Ch🔯evrolet) share the most top-three finishes in the Cup Series with six apiece.
