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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFox Corp.’s deal with Penske Entertainment for IndyCar, IMS<\/p>\n
Fox Corp. has bought a 33% stake in Penske Entertainment, which owns IMS, IndyCar series. IndyStar motorsports reporter Nathan Brown on the news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/story-highlights> Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles<\/a> was steadfast in his assertion that it was the complications of next summer\u2019s men’s FIFA World Cup \u2014 and that alone \u2014 that prevented IndyCar<\/a> from racing at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the permanent road course in Mexico City that has been a target of the series<\/a> for a decade or more.<\/p>\n American open-wheel racing last ran at the venue, which will continue to host annual stops for Formula 1<\/a> and Formula E and that in 2025 hosted the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series, back in 2007 as Champ Car\u2019s season finale.<\/p>\n \u201cWe worked hard at it, and we really regret that we aren\u2019t there in 2026,\u201d Miles, the longtime series executive who has been behind IndyCar<\/a>\u2019s push over the past decade to get back to Mexico. \u201cWe were quite close on getting it done (for 2026). The World Cup and its effect on the economy and the business environment there for the summer next year really caused us to be more cautious.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to stay on it. I\u2019ll be in Mexico in the next month, and we\u2019ll be dealing with the folks at OCESA and CIE (the track promoters) to look for the opportunity. We want to be back there as soon as we can.”<\/p>\n As Miles hinted at multiple times Tuesday, Penske Entertainment has not yet decided the way in which it will continue to pursue a future race in Mexico City \u2014 meaning either with or without a promoter on the ground serving as a middleman between Penske Entertainment and the track operators of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. For more than a year, Penske Entertainment has leaned on Ricardo Escotto, the Mexican businessman whose billboard business is one of the largest in the country, positioning Escotto as the race promoter for an IndyCar race that might’ve taken place next year \u2014 meaning he had been charged with renting the track, securing sponsorship and selling tickets, among other responsibilities. Moving forward, Penske Entertainment will first regroup with OCESA and CIE and then ultimately explore the dynamic that best suits everyone’s interests \u2014 whether that might mean keeping Escotto as the promoter, or either Penske Entertainment or the track group itself serving in that role in the way in which it has for NASCAR and F1.<\/p>\n Returning to Mexico City has long been a target of Miles, with quotes of his resurfacing recently from September 2015 when Miles, then the Hulman & Co. CEO, stated that the city and track were \u201cstill looking good\u201d to host a 2016 IndyCar race \u2014 plans which never came to fruition.<\/p>\n Though he said he\u2019s continued to have annual dialogue with the track\u2019s promoters and operators since then, the topic became a battleground just over a year ago, as NASCAR announced it had jumped IndyCar in the virtual line to land a race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and would race via a track-promoted race weekend in 2025. At the time, numerous IndyCar drivers were emphatic in their belief that Penske Entertainment\u2019s lack of urgency in landing a race there at a time when the popularity of Mexican driver Pato O\u2019Ward<\/a> had skyrocketed in recent years was sorely underwhelming.<\/p>\n Miles responded that he continued to be told by those on the ground there that the brands of IndyCar and O\u2019Ward were not yet large enough for the track to be willing to stick its neck out there and put on the race itself. Because of that, Penske Entertainment had named Escotto its representative in the area to pursue a date for a race as soon as 2026.<\/p>\n\n
Why the FIFA World Cup kept IndyCar from Mexico City in 2026<\/h2>\n