Team owner Felix Sabates, a Cuban native, and his brother, Jose, first proposed the idea of racing in Mexico City. At first, NASCAR officials weren’t too interested. But the brothers stuck with it, convincing CEO Brian France and chairman Mike Helton to visit the track.

“After they saw what was down there, they got excited about it. It’s a terrific facility,” Sabates said.

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez opened in 1963 as a stop on the globe-hopping Formula One series. After a decade of inactivity, it underwent a $30 million renovation to host a CART (now Champ Car) race in 2002.

The following year, CART drew more than 400,000 for its three-day weekend, including an astonishing turnout of 221,000 on race day. NASCAR isn’t likely to attract those sort of crowds, with its Web site predicting a turnout of 60,000 for the 200-mile race.

Sabates is expecting much larger crowds. He said at least 125,000 tickets have been sold and predicted up to 300,000 for the entire weekend.

Eight other Mexican drivers also will attempt to qualify, providing some local flare to the American-dominated sport. Still, Fernandez conceded that it’s going to take some time for his countrymen to learn the nuances of NASCAR.

“This is a little bit of a new chapter for Mexico,” he said. “But I think that having me and other Mexican racers there is going to make this transition a lot faster.”

Gordon is eager to see how the Mexican drivers will fare against their American counterparts.

“I’m not 100 percent aware of their experience,” he said. “I know Adrian Fernandez and Michel Jourdain Jr., and hopefully they are competitive. It would be good for the show if one of those guys could challenge for the win.”

NASCAR has its roots in the American South, a once-regional sport that allowed ex-moonshiners a chance to show off their driving skills on dusty short tracks.

Clearly, that image no longer applies in the multibillion dollar phenomenon that is today’s Cup series. Races are held from California to New Hampshire. Television ratings are second only to the NFL.

Petty still sees plenty of room for growth in this country, which is why he doesn’t expect an international Cup race in the foreseeable future. But he can see some of the same factors at work in Mexico that helped make new tracks such as Chicago and Kansas City an instant success.

“We’re not just a Southeastern sport with Southeastern sponsors,” Petty said. “That’s what pre-sold us when we went to Chicago and Kansas City. They already knew something about us when we got there.”

Now, with the huge influx of Hispanics into the United States — they have surpassed blacks as the largest minority — NASCAR has some of the same built-in advantages south of the border.

“There’s so many Mexicans going back and forth between the two countries,” Petty said. “That’s not a bad public-relations deals for NASCAR.”

Lowe’s, the home-improvement chain which is sponsoring Fernandez’s car in Sunday’s race, is clearly interested in the enormous buying power of the Hispanic population.

“Texas — that part of the United States — is a big market, not only in terms of American citizens but a lot of the across-the-border activity that happens with consumers,” said Bob Gfeller, the senior vice of marketing and advertising. “We’re always looking for opportunity, and the question is just when.”

Who knows? Maybe “Pilotos, enciendan sus motores” will someday be as commonplace as “Drivers, start your engines.”