Kevin Harvick suggested a destination for NASCAR to venture beyond the United States.
The Cup Series left the country for the first time since 1958 when Mexico City hosted a race last year. While the 2026 schedule contains no international events, NASCAR could look to expand its global audience in future years.
Advertisement
On his Speed podcast, a fan asked Harvick and co-host Will Buxton to choose a course outside the U.S. for NASCAR to go next. Harvick enthusiastically encouraged the Cup Series to travel north of the border.
“It’s a really quick, easy answer for me. It’s Montreal,” Harvick said. “The Cup Series has never been to Montreal. We used to take the O’Reilly Series up to Montreal. I love the fan base, I love the track, and we have so many NASCAR fans in Canada.”
Could NASCAR head to Canada?
Aug 4, 2007; Montreal, QC, Canada; Nascar Busch Series drivers race in the first ever NASCAR event in Canada during the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, QC. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY SportsTom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images
(Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images)
Montreal would be new for the Cup Series, but NASCAR has held shop in Canada before. Harvick won the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007, and the Xfinity Series race stayed in Montreal through 2012.
Advertisement
NASCAR.com’s Neil Paine also pitched Montreal for a Cup Series event, writing last year that Circuit Gilles Villeneuve “probably makes the most sense from a logistics standpoint.”
“The track’s long straights would set up high-speed braking duels, and its many chicanes are prime places for bumping and banging,” Paine said. “Surely the so-called ‘Wall of Champions’ would see its share of crashed Cup cars as well.”
It’s not a far-fetched scenario. Last summer, NASCAR executive vice president Ben Kennedy said they’d “love” to go to Canada in the near future.
Advertisement
“We’ve had a handful of conversations with a few groups north of the border interested in a national series race,” Kennedy said in August 2025, via Motorsport’s Nick DeGroot. “We haven’t been able to deliver that yet. But I would say that is something that we’re taking a look at as we think about 2027 and beyond. We have some good relationships up there. I think the good news is we have experience bringing both our O’Reilly Series and our Craftsman Truck Series north of the border with a handful of promoters.
“Nothing to report today, obviously, but something that is high on our consideration set for ’27.”
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the NASCAR section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
