Kyle Busch - from that backwoods hicktown of Las Vegas, Nevada - won the Corona Mexico 200 in Mexico City over the weekend. The race was part of NASCAR's Nationwide Series, the AAA of NASCAR. And for all those out there who think NASCAR is still just a hick sport, this annual trip south of The South is a perfect example of NASCAR's growth into markets that don't salute the Confederate flag.
And unlike sports like basketball, baseball, and hockey - which have large numbers of foreign-born players - NASCAR actually sanctions a series in Mexico. The NASCAR Corona Series (the equivalent of low single A baseball) runs a schedule of about a dozen races on ovals and road courses.
NASCAR is still a sport dominated by rural fans and rural drivers. But even the haters must admit it is growing. There is considerable resistance to this growth particularly in the South, as more and more races are run further away from NASCAR's roots. But the abundance of new fans, new markets, and new sponsors makes pissing off some diehards more than worth it. And what are they gonna do about it? Secede?
A few years ago, Busch was the beer associated most with NASCAR. Then it was Budweiser. Now it's Corona. Who would have predicted that 10 years ago? What's next? Guinness? Beck's? (Gasp) Sam Adams?
-The Commodore
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