Stock cars are heading to the Caribbean coast, and the venue might surprise you: an active international airport. The Tulum airport, to be exact.
Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum, Quintana Roo, will be transformed into a temporary oval track on April 25 and 26 for rounds of the 2026 NASCAR México Series and Challenge Series. The races are part of the Tulum Air Show (Airshow Tulum 2026), a four-day event organized by the Mexican Air Force and the Mexico Aerospace Fair, known as Famex. Organizers are projecting more than 30,000 attendees across the full April 23–26 program.
The combination of motorsport and military aviation is unusual by any standard. Along with the stock-car races, the air show will feature aerobatic displays by F-5 jets, helicopters, drones, and other aircraft. Aerospace exhibitions and safety workshops are also planned at Military Air Base No. 20, which adjoins the airport facilities.
NASCAR México president Jimmy Morales said the invitation to race at Tulum came from Famex, not from his organization. “The project has accumulated over six months of joint work with the Air Force,” Morales said at a February news conference, “and the intention is to turn this participation into a recurring relationship with Famex.” He added that the event would position the Mexican Caribbean as “an international benchmark for motorsport.”
The races in Tulum will be the third weekend of NASCAR México’s 12-race 2026 season. The series opener is scheduled for March 14–15 in San Luis Potosí, with the season finale set for November 14–15 in Puebla. Tickets for the Tulum races will be sold separately from the largely free air show programming.
NASCAR México has long served as a proving ground for Mexican drivers. The series produced Daniel Suárez, who went on to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series in the United States — a path that has raised the profile of the Mexican series with fans on both sides of the border.
This event is a different animal from last year’s high-profile NASCAR Cup race in Mexico City. That June 2025 race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was a points-scoring event featuring all of the top Cup Series talent. The Tulum races involve the domestic Mexican series rather than the premier Cup circuit, which dropped Mexico City from its 2026 schedule, citing scheduling conflicts around the FIFA World Cup and travel logistics.
The airport itself has had a complicated few years since opening in December 2023. Airlines have scaled back service at the facility, which sits nearly 30 miles from the resort town of Tulum and has struggled to match initial demand projections. Whether a NASCAR weekend will give the airport some promotional momentum remains to be seen. For now, at least, the runways are getting a very different kind of use.
Security, logistics, and hotel coordination are already being worked out, according to officials at the February announcement. Representatives from the federal tourism secretariat, the state government of Quintana Roo, and the Tulum tourism secretariat were all present, signaling broad government backing for the event.
For more on NASCAR in Mexico, The Athletic has followed the series’ efforts to expand its footprint south of the border.
Factbox: NASCAR at Tulum Airport 2026
- Event: Airshow Tulum 2026 / Tulum Air Show
- Dates: April 23–26, 2026 (NASCAR races: April 25–26)
- Venue: Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport, Tulum, Quintana Roo
- Organizers: Mexican Air Force and Famex (Mexico Aerospace Fair)
- Racing: NASCAR México Series and NASCAR Challenge Series
- Projected attendance: More than 30,000 across all four days
- Admission: Air show is largely free; NASCAR race tickets are sold separately
- NASCAR México 2026 season opener: March 14–15, San Luis Potosí
- Season finale: November 14–15, Puebla