NASCAR Mexico T4 Series

NASCAR Mexico T4 Series

File:CarreraT4.jpg The field races into Turn 1 at San Luis Potosí
Sport	Auto racing
Founded	2004
No. of teams	40
Country	Mexico
Most recent champion(s)	Abraham Calderón
Official website	http://www.nascarmexico.com

The NASCAR Mexico T4 Series is a semi-professional 4-cylinder racing series in Mexico, promoted and sanctioned by NASCAR Mexico, the Mexico City-based NASCAR office.

The T4 Series features the largest grid in Mexican motorsports, with more than 30 teams running full-time and a few others doing a limited schedule. It is also notorious for the diversity of its drivers. As the series allows drivers to debut at age 15, several young mexican talents are choosing the T4 Series to start their NASCAR career. In the other hand, there are several 40-something drivers who have been racing in the series since it begun in 1994.

The series runs a 10-race schedule from April to November. Races are shown live on AYM Sports, a Mexican sport-related satellite TV station available in the entire country and in the south of the United States.

Origins (1994-2003)

The series is the oldest of the current touring car racing series in Mexico. It started in 1994, being called Reto Neon (Neon Challenge). It used to be a low-cost racing series that featured modified Dodge Neon cars competing in one-hour timed events. Two drivers (usually an expert and a rookie) would share every car, each one driving one half of the race.

The idea worked well for several years. Having a relatively inexpensive racecar and two drivers sharing the cost every race allowed to have a massive participation, with grids often exceeding 50 cars. It also proved to be a good learning ground for young drivers.

Desafío Corona (2004-2006)

The Reto Neon ceased to exist in 2004, when the Desafío Corona series was founded. OCESA, the promoter of the new series included the Dodge Neon cars as one of their three categories, with the Stock Car series (now NASCAR Mexico Corona Series) being the premier series. The Reto Neon became the T4 Series. In 2005 it was known as Lotto T4 Series, after the Italian sportswear firm decided to sponsor the series for that year.

In 2006, when it was made evident that NASCAR was considering to include the Desafío Corona as one of their international divisions, the T4 Series underwent several changes as it was adapted to the NASCAR format. The most notable changes were the introduction of pit stops, the allowance of only one driver per car, and a schedule that consisted entirely of oval tracks. In addition to this, standard NASCAR rules, such as the Beneficiary rule (commonly known as "Lucky Dog" or "Free Pass"), green-white-checker finishes, and double-file restarts established. Also, it became a multi-manufacturer series, with the inclusion of the Chevrolet Astra in addition to the Neon.

NASCAR Mexico (2007-)

The creation of the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series was announced at the 2006 awards ceremony. The T4 Series was confirmed as the supporting series, racing during 10 of the 14 NMCS weekends.

A period of transition started in 2007, with the release of a new car spec. The new "Mini Stock car", as it is called, is a Rear-wheel drive car (as opposed to the FWD Dodge Neon), and it features most of the elements of the larger stock cars (such as transmission, suspension, brakes, etc.), while keeping the 4 cylinder engine.

In theory, the Mini Stock car is designed to offer a performance very similar to the old T4 chassis. While teams are being encouraged to switch to the new car, those not wanting to do so are being grandfathered in the series.

2007 Schedule

The series kicked off the 2007 season at the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed in Puebla. The schedule consists of 10 races, all of which will serve as the opening for double-feature race weekends along with the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series.

Date	City	Track	Winner
April 1	Puebla	Autódromo Miguel E. Abed (Oval)	Rodrigo Echeverría
May 20	San Luis Potosí	Autódromo Potosino (Oval)	Irwin Vences
June 3	Mexico City	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Oval)	Giovanni Rodrigo
July 15	Querétaro	Autódromo de Querétaro (Road course)	Javier Fernández
July 29	Guadalajara	Trióvalo Bernardo Obregón (Tri-oval)	(Rained out) ‡
August 12	San Luis Potosí	Autódromo Potosino (Oval)
September 23	Puebla	Autódromo Miguel E. Abed (Oval)
October 14	Guadalajara	Trióvalo Bernardo Obregón (Tri-oval)
October 28	Querétaro	Autódromo de Querétaro (Oval)
November 4	Mexico City	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Oval)

‡ The race will be run on Saturday, October 13 when the series visits Guadalajara again.

All races are held in Mexico

Notable Alumni

• Michel Jourdain, Jr., Former Champ Car World Series driver and race winner; current World Touring Car Championship driver.

• Ruben Pardo, 2006 NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series Rookie of the Year.

• Several current NASCAR Mexico Corona Series drivers, including Carlos Pardo, Germán Quiroga, Mike Sánchez, Abraham Calderón, Rubén Rovelo, Patricio Jourdain, Luis Felipe Montaño, among others.

References

Official press release in the NASCAR Mexico website