La Carrera Panamericana (1950-1954) -- "The Mexican Road Race," was one of the most famous events in auto racing history, attracting the world's greatest drivers.  It was canceled in 1955 by the Mexican government because of its cost and concerns about safety.  In 1988 the event was revived by rally enthusiasts in Mexico and the U.S.A. as a special-stage or “velocity” rally for vintage cars on closed public highways, and for thirty-five years has offered both professional and amateur drivers an opportunity to experience the thrills and challenges of the original Pan-Am.  Today it is unique in the world—racing against the clock at high speed on closed public highways, mostly through the mountains of Mexico for a week or longer. Also there is a tour for classic and sports cars. This year it ended in Morelia.

The next Carrera Panamericana will scheduled for October 2026. In 2025 the event started in Tuxtla Gutierrez down south in the state of Chiapas. It was eight days long and ended in the northern city of Zacatecas. The event stopped for the night in Oaxaca, Puebla, Mexico City, Queretaro, Morelia, Guanajuato, and San Luis Potosi and .This was the first time in several years that the event has started in Chiapas and ended in Zacatecas.

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Is Mexico safe to visit and to participate in an event like the Pan-Am? Yes, if certain rules are followed, such as not driving out in the countryside at night and staying on the toll roads during the day.

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Sadly, the CHIHUAHUA EXPRESS rally may be finished. It was a unlimited speed or stage rally for modern and vintage cars. The last event in April 2025 was canceled before it started by the state police in Chihuahua because of drug cartel violence, a very unusual threat.

The Chihuahua Express traces its origins back to 2004 as the The Border Challenge, a special-stage or velocity rally for modern and vintage Pan-Am cars from Matamoros, MX/Brownsville, Texas to Tijuana, MX/San Diego, California.  Because of problems crossing the U.S. border multiple times the Border Challenge morphed into The Chihuahua Express, a four-day event based in the modern Mexican city of Chihuahua.  The Express has classes for modern rally cars and vintage rally cars based on Pan-Am classes.  It covers  nearly 1000 miles in three days, which included about 260 miles of unlimited-speed competition. Each night the competitors return to the same luxury hotel, the Sheraton Chihuahua, located on a hill overlooking the city, with ample parking for rally cars and support trucks. On the second day of the race, the competitors stop for lunch on the very rim of the famous Copper Canyon, the Grand Canyon of Mexico.  On the final day, the destination is the border town Ojinaga,  just across the Rio Grande/Bravo from Presidio, Texas. Most racing is on mountain roads. 

In addition to the unlimited speed competition of the stage-rally, there is also the Express Tour, a time-to-distance rally at normal highway speeds along the same beautiful mountainous route run by the stage-rally cars.  Any safe car, even airport rentals, may participate in the Tour.  A driver and navigator, plus helmets and cell phones, are required in all Tour cars. The Chix Tour is an excellent, safe introduction to rallying in Mexico, as long as the diver is careful. Spectators are invited and may also join convoys departing from El Paso and Presidio before the event.