NASCAR insider names dream international destination for Cup Series race

Over the past couple of seasons, the NASCAR Cup Series has been looking to expand their brand, and part of that is coupled with their desire to take their circuit international.

That’ll be the case in 2025, as NASCAR will bring the Cup Series to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on June 15. It’ll serve as the first international points event in the division’s modern history, NASCAR revealed earlier this season.

While Mexico City will be an awesome event, FOX’s Bob Pockrass has a couple more ideas in mind for where the Cup Series can go next. During an appearance on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, he relayed his ideas to Mamba Smith and Kaitlyn Vincie.

“Where do I want to go? Oh my goodness. Where do I want to take them? I mean look, I was going to say Montreal. I would love to see the Cup cars at Montreal,” Pockrass stated. “Part of me would kind of like to see them at Le Mans, just because of the historic part of it. Another part of me would kind of love to see them either at like Monaco or Abu Dhabi, one of the big F1 circuits.”

While F1 fans might shudder at the idea of NASCAR infringing on their tracks, it would certainly be a sight for the motorsports world to see if the Cup Series went to Montreal, Le Mans, Monaco or Abu Dhabi. Perhaps if the race in Mexico City is successful, they’ll be more open to expanding their horizons.

Regardless, bringing the NASCAR Cup Series international can go a long way towards growing the sport, and deliver some exhilarating action. Almost everybody wins in that case, and it would provide for some incredible entertainment as well, if any of Bob Pockrass’ ideas come to fruition.

Bob Pockrass makes surprising dark-horse pick for NASCAR Cup Series championship

Meanwhile, nature of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff format lends itself to unpredictability, and that allows dark-horse contenders to emerge each season. 

While many would agree the best eight have made it to the Round of 8 in 2024, Bob Pockrass tried to make sense of who would be this season’s unheralded contender, and his choice, Joey Logano, may seem odd at first, given he’s a two-time champion, the No. 22 wheelman standing tall at the end of it all would certainly be a surprise.

“I would say it’s Logano, because you know, he was out, right? And now he got in. He’s a two-time champ. He knows how to — he’s been used to these pressure situations,” Pockrass added, regarding which overlooked driver could win the title. “Certainly they ran well at the Roval, but I still — here’s the thing, I always doubt Logano, and he always proves me wrong. 

“So, I still think, to me, he’s the dark-horse. He’s the guy who wasn’t in the top seven in regular season points who’s still alive.”

Of course, Logano almost didn’t make the Round of 8, and he was only elevated after Alex Bowman and the No. 48 team was disqualified. That’s not taking anything away from the two-time champion, but if he does win his third this season, it would certainly come in surprising fashion. 

As Bob Pockrass stated, you can never count out Joey Logano, and many NASCAR fans learned that earlier this season, as his team looked far from championship caliber at the midway point in 2024. Motivated and looking to prove his doubters wrong, the No. 22 wheelman will be as dangerous as any over the Round of 8.