Crashes are common in NASCAR. But the safety car being wrecked is not something fans see every day. But that’s exactly what happened south of the border, in the Amateur Truck Series finale at the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed. Naturally, the incident sent shockwaves through the stock car racing community, with many fans taking to social media to cast fresh doubts about racing in Mexico in the distant future.
The Puebla circuit, a staple since 1985 with its 2.06 km oval, hosted the amateur truck series finale, where Santiago Tovar’s car slid into a tire wall. Moments later, a safety truck slammed into his car to make things worse. Mexican fans, already rooting hard for NASCAR’s Cup comeback in 2027, now face a stark reminder that high-stakes speed demands highly protective surroundings. These setbacks hit harder when history shows an old pattern.
A wake-up call from Puebla’s oval
The season finale at Autódromo Miguel E. Abed turned chaotic when Santiago Tovar lost control and slid into a tire wall, which was angled sharply toward the racing line. While he was buried deep in the tire barriers, his car took another brutal blow when a safety truck smashed right into it.
Tovar walked away unharmed, but this crash exposed big safety flaws with walls still being blunt and unprotected, barriers not aligned parallel to the track, and the unprofessional skills of response vehicle drivers. These aren’t new problems; this track has a history of incidents that have lingered for over a decade.
Flash back to June 14, 2009, when champion Carlos Pardo met a tragic end on the same oval. Leading on lap 97 of the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series race. In that series, Jorge Goeters jabbed Pardo, and because of that jab, Pardo spun sideways and slammed into a concrete retaining wall at over 200 km/h. His car was shredded on impact despite water drums being strategically placed to cushion the impact. He was subsequently airlifted but passed away 45 minutes later.
A safety vehicle crashed into a crashed @NASCARMex car during today’s race. #NASCAR | #NASCARMexico pic.twitter.com/puPYITCFYg
— Seth Eggert (@SethEggert91) November 10, 2025
That day shook the series, yet little has changed since then, as just a tire stack has been added in the name of safety upgrades. Walls remain untouched, too. This shows the racetrack priorities shifted toward the road course. Another comment by the same viewer nailed it: “*They’re still racing at this track with blunt, unprotected walls. They just had a yellow where a driver hit two Jersey barriers and knocked them over while being flung into the air.”*
With fans rooting for a 2027 Cup return to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez, but without fixes like SAFER barriers and better alignments, that vision feels shaky. This underscores how safety must be the priority if Mexico wants NASCAR to return. Such close calls have fans fired up online, with many sharing their takes on what needs to change before the country hosts stock car racing again.
Fan voices echo the unease
One comment captured the blunt shock. “*Holy shit, that’s entirely unacceptable*,” a fan posted, summing up the disbelief at a response vehicle making things worse for an already flipped car. It’s a gut punch, especially knowing Abed’s oval has seen little upgrade since Pardo’s 2009 wreck, where a simple sideways spin resulted in fatal consequences. This proves that even the most skillful drivers aren’t safe without modern walls.
Talk soon turned to the track’s tough setup. “*I was about to say, I thought this track looked familiar. Sadly, I was right. Unbelievable that those walls are still unchanged since Pardo’s crash (besides more tire barriers). Does nobody even care?*” This comment feels to the point, as the 2009 impact of the Pardo crash exposed concrete risks that the recent addition of tire barriers barely touches, leaving the series vulnerable to risks.
Budget issues came up next, explaining why fixes lag. A commenter put it plainly: “*Amateur Series is amateurish. Not saying it’s a good thing. But there simply isn’t the money in a lot of these tracks/series to do much better.*” True enough; unlike NASCAR’s deep pockets, these small racetracks have limited resources to maintain the tracks. Yet fans are not arguing for any bigger upgrades; they are asking for the basics like parallel barriers, which will increase the drivers’ safety significantly.
“*Flat out embarrassing. I hope Tovar is okay and they need to stop racing there bc it seems like nothing has changed since Carlos’ fatal accident*,” a fan urged. This is a valid point, as Pardo’s fatal incident happened 16 years ago, but still, drivers are facing the same old safety concerns.
One viewer who was watching on his TV captured the raw frustration, “*Santiago Tovar just slid into a tire wall that is acute to the racing line. While he’s buried in tires, a safety truck slammed into his car! This track needs a lot of work to be safe, and NASCAR should insist upon it.”* The recent finale’s chaos demonstrates why racetracks need a minimum safety standard, and no tracks should operate until they meet those criteria. After all, safety is paramount, and compromises can have disastrous consequences.