SportsCenter Posted March 4, 2007 Report Posted March 4, 2007 Busch Series expects return engagement in '08MEXICO CITY -- The Busch Series is expected to return to Mexico City for a fourth straight year in 2008, although possibly on another weekend. "We're expecting to be back," Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's vice president for racing operations, said before Sunday's race. "I don't see any reason why we wouldn't." O'Donnell wasn't so adamant on the date of the race that has been scheduled on an open Nextel Cup weekend the first three years. He didn't rule out the possibility that the event could be run on the same weekend as a Cup race. For example, the race could be scheduled around a Cup race in Texas to help on the logistics of transporting cars and personnel to Mexico City. "We're looking at the whole schedule," O'Donnell said. "We want to see where the date makes the most sense. From a format standpoint, we want to keep it consistent with what we do with other races. "I'll leave it open on that one." Frederico Alaman, the director of sports events for OCESA that promotes the Busch race and has a 10-year deal to promote the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series, said there already is an agreement to return to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course. He and O'Donnell discounted speculation that this event could be moved to the street course in Monterrey, where the population is 3 million compared to 25 million in Mexico City. "We've had no discussions with OCESA regarding Monterrey," O'Donnell said. "We feel this is the premier venue in Mexico. From a pure marketing standpoint, the 25 million people in this place is where we want to be." Alaman called Monterrey a "definite possibility for the future." Team owner Felix Sabates, who has worked closely with OCESA and NASCAR in building this event, said NASCAR never would go to a street course from a liability standpoint. "NASCAR will never expose itself to that," he said. "They're never going to a track where you can go off [the course] and kill a hundred people. No way." David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at [email protected].
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