The NASCAR Mexico Series kicks off the season with La Batalla En El Coliseo. This made history because the Mexico series hasn’t raced in the U.S. since 2015. La Batalla En El Coliseo is a racing event similar to The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, an event that was also held the same day. The main difference between these two events is that one represents Mexico while the other represents the U.S., and  the cars driven are very different. The Mexico series drivers are all from Mexico, and the cars are smaller, which makes them fragile.

This race was supposed to be run on Sunday, Feb. 4, before the Busch Light Clash, but rain conditions made it push a day ahead to Saturday. Before the race, racers participated in qualifying rounds, which lined up the field so whoever got the fastest lap starts in the first position. After that, the stadium held the Busch Light Clash. Once that ended, it was now time to start the La Batalla En El Coliseo. The race was 150 laps long, which may seem a lot, but considering that the track is a quarter mile, it goes by fast. The racing was really aggressive because drivers end up side by side, which creates a lot of good battles. The main challenge for drivers was the corners, because in one technique, drivers will dive bomb the corner and cars on their outside will get dumped. It was funny to see this because some drivers would lose their temper and do it intentionally. This move can be risky, though. If the driver loses control of their steering, it can cause a lot of cars to wreck.

 The driver who ended up winning was Daniel Suarez in a  ’99 Chevrolet Camaro. Daniel Suarez used to be a Mexico Series driver, but he went up the ranks in NASCAR, and is currently in the cup series. I thought it was awesome to see him win, because his qualifying scores kept him out of the main show in the cup series. There were a lot of cheers for him, since he’s a driver who is seen as an underdog and who has zero hate. 

Other than the racing, there were shops that sold merchandise related to the race. The designs looked great because they represented the Mexican culture, tying to the Mexico Series. The colors popped out nicely. I wanted to buy a shirt, but they didn’t have my size. The event was overall amazing. I got to view a Nascar Mexico Series race for the first time and may consider following the Mexico Series schedule.