MEXICO CITY, March 6 -- Up in the stands overlooking pit road, Argenis Bastida was close to euphoric as he watched Sunday's Telcel-Motorola 200 Busch Series race in Mexico City, which was won by veteran racer Martin Truex Jr.
"It's fantastic, it's incredible, it's the first time this has come here and it is so intense," Bastida said.
Martin Truex Jr celebrates after edging Kevin Harvick to win the first Busch Series race in Mexico.
(Henry Romero - Reuters)
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The 22-year-old bank clerk didn't seem to really care that things were not going so well for the Mexican drivers he was rooting for. What was important was to see, hear and smell it happening.
"Fantastic," he screamed as the pack zoomed past, drowning out all conversation and filling the stands with a great cloud of dust.
The first Busch Series points race outside the United States took place in the 2.52-mile Rodriguez Brothers circuit, a Formula One fixture until 1992.
The event was designed to help NASCAR build up its relatively meager following in Mexico. On the ground, at least, it appeared to have had notable success attracting Mexicans with little knowledge of NASCAR but a deep enthusiasm for auto racing.
According to race promoter Ocesa, more than 94,000 people came to see the race. They paid between 180 and 2,000 pesos ($16 to $180), a hefty sum given that the Mexican minimum wage is $4 a day.
Low-level government worker Javier Saldanos brought his son Alain, named after French Formula One driver Alain Prost, and admitted a growing attraction to NASCAR because of the increasing predictability of Formula One.
"Formula One is not exciting any more. [Michael] Schumacher is just too good," Saldanos said. "I like the emotion more than the speed."
For the American NASCAR veterans, the challenge of being in Mexico was the eight-turn road course. The 10 Mexican drivers, meantime, had little or no experience in the cars but knew the circuit well.
In the end, Truex ran a consistent race from the start, completing the 80 laps more than six seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick. The Mexicans, meantime, savored moments of glory, but faded fast in the second half.
Jorge Goeters had won pole position Saturday and led the race for 25 laps before a bad pit stop sent him back to 25th.
Local open-wheel star Adrian Fernandez started at the back of the grid but provided the most nationalistically emotional moment when he took the lead briefly in Lap 33. He finished 10th, the top Mexican.
But beyond the circuit, the crowd and the drivers, there was an added Mexican flavor to the race. The silhouette of the majestic snow-capped Iztaccihuatl volcano framed the approach to the finish line, and the scent of tacos hung in the air, easily out-wafting the international fare that dominated the stands.
