Many members of the NASCAR industry are already in Mexico City for the race weekend. Others, however, are trying to make their way south after a small boom disrupted their attempted takeoff.
A plane carrying members of Haas Factory Team, Trackhouse Racing, DGM Racing, and Sam Hunt Racing was unable to depart Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Thursday afternoon.
According to DGM Racing's Ryan Ellis, the plane made its way back from the attempted takeoff after a small boom. Ellis then posted photos showing firefighters outside of the airplane.
Andddddd we are back in Charlotte pic.twitter.com/KFIsBraBVl
— Ryan Ellis (@ryanellisracing) June 12, 2025
Fellow NASCAR driver Austin Green, who competes part-time for Jordan Anderson Racing, added that the engine "blew up" going down the runway.
According to media member Matt Weaver, two different planes were grounded on Thursday afternoon for two different reasons. The captain of the plane carrying Ellis said that they didn't know if they "took a bird" but that the No. 2 engine blew.
Not all of the drivers from these teams were on the grounded planes. For example, the Trackhouse Racing drivers were already in Mexico City. They had traveled down earlier in the week for media obligations/Go Kart opportunities.
Sam Mayer, a driver for Haas Factory Team, posted a photo of himself and Cole Custer on his Instagram Stories with the caption "Mexico ready." He followed that with a photo of several people in a passenger van with the caption "JK."
According to reports, the three Haas Factory Team drivers, multiple crew chiefs, and multiple car chiefs had to head to the Atlanta airport after the aborted takeoff. This way, they could pick up a commercial flight heading to Mexico City, which would get them there by 7:40 a.m. local time on Friday.
Driving to ATL to fly to Mexico 🚀 pic.twitter.com/1rxM6j9RcP
— Sam Mayer (@sam_mayer_) June 12, 2025
Mayer confirmed these reports on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
While Haas Factory Team drove to Atlanta, NASCAR continued working on alternate options for the other teams that were on the grounded planes. As of Thursday afternoon, NASCAR did not have a definitive plan.