Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City marks the first points race in the modern era to take place outside of the United States. In our current political landscape, former NASCAR driver and Amazon Prime Video analyst Carl Edwards believes that the event holds far more significance than just a typical race.
Edwards, who joined the Amazon studio team in March, discussed the significance behind NASCAR traveling to Mexico, which he believes was best encapsulated before Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez when Mexican children sang the American national anthem.
“I’m gonna go a little something different here,” said Edwards. “We’ve talked about the racing. We’ve talked about the trip down here. But what stood out to me more than anything was yesterday. As we listened to the national anthem being sung by just this wonderful group of kids. And I thought, when we sit in the United States, and we think about Mexico, we think of all sorts of things. We’ve got border and all sorts of issues and concerns. But to know that those children are here practicing our national anthem. And to deliver it in such a beautiful way and to welcome us… It just the biggest thing.”
When considering the public outrage in the United States in response to recent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Edwards’ point certainly resonates.
The issues between the Mexican and United States governments also extend far beyond the recent raids when considering Donald Trump’s tariffs imposed on Mexico back in February.
But when you put these issues on the governmental level aside, as Edwards alluded to, this national anthem performance shows that there is still plenty of love between the Mexican and American people.