Jeff Gordon offers verdict on NASCAR racing in Mexico City

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon has offered his verdict on the series racing in Mexico City.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to Mexico City for the first time since 2008 this past weekend, whilst the Cup Series headed there for the first time in what was the first points-paying international race in its modern era.

Some, though, have been less than complimentary about racing in Mexico, including some drivers, with Carson Hocevar branding the place a 's**thole' ahead of the weekend. He later apologized.

Now, Gordon has offered his verdict on racing in Mexico City, claiming that the crowd were great and that racing there opens a lot of doors commercially.

"Listen to the fans,” Gordon said with a smile regarding the reception the series had received. "There are a large amount of fans that want to see NASCAR in person.

"Internationally, I think it opens a lot of doors for sponsorships and if we have a crowd that’s as energetic today as it was yesterday – of course Daniel [winning] played into that too – but to me, the most exciting thing about coming here is the passion, the excitement, the energy that fans here in Mexico bring."

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Will NASCAR return to Mexico City?

Sunday's Cup Series race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was won by Shane van Gisbergen, with the Kiwi star putting on a dominant display and taking the victory by over 16 seconds.

But will the series return to Mexico City? Well, NASCAR's deal to race there is only for one year, so at present, there is no deal in place for the series to return next year.

However, when speaking to the media post-race, NASCAR's senior vice president for racing development strategy, Ben Kennedy, revealed: "We're hopeful we'll be back."

Kennedy also reaffirmed that NASCAR remains 'bold' in their vision to continue to be an international brand, which hints at a desire to either return to Mexico City, or indeed head to other destinations outside of the United States.

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