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NASCAR will resume its Mexico Series next season after landing an entitlement deal from automotive products company Peak and a new promoter. Terms were not released, but sources said Peak, which is owned by Old World Industries, is looking at around $5M annually from the multiyear agreement. NASCAR will run an exhibition in Mexico City this December before holding a full season in '17. It has typically run a 14- to 15-race season in the past. The series, which started in ’04, continued on through '15 before stopping this season amid issues with its longtime promoter, OCESA, and key sponsor Telcel, which defected to a new rival stock-car series in Mexico. NASCAR is now working with a new promoter in businessman Jimmy Morales. NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Daniel Suarez this season became the first Mexican to ever win a NASCAR national series race. Old World Industries CMO Bryan Emrich told THE DAILY that after Peak’s deal with Michael Waltrip Racing ended after ’15, “we wanted to find other ways of leveraging NASCAR and the affinity consumers have for the sport." He added, "The ability to have a unique property that would be meaningful to the huge U.S. Hispanic market was also a win for our brand.” Emrich: “We will activate across all key touch point including drivers/team, partnering with major retailers, race entitlements, consumer activation via promotional programs in store, and b-to-b opportunities at track.” The Mexico Series is one of three international series from NASCAR; the other being the Whelen Euro Series and the Pinty’s Canada Series. Peak had a
small deal in the '16 Sprint Cup Series with HScott Motorsports, which is considering shutting down after this season.
DEAL COMES AT RIGHT TIME: This is positive news for NASCAR in that it returns to the market after a one-year hiatus while a rival series was starting up. Old World Industries works with Illinois-based motorsports agency Protential. Peak also becomes an official NASCAR partner as part of the deal, and Old World will look to activate some of its other brands including BlueDef and Herculiner. NASCAR VP/Partnership Marketing Lou Garate led negotiations for the sanctioning body.
