NASCAR announced today that Ozzie Juarez, local multidisciplinary artist from south central Los Angeles, Calif., will design and curate the winner’s trophy for the inaugural NASCAR Mexico Series Race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 4.
“We’re honored to have someone as well recognized and admired as Ozzie Juarez create the winner’s trophy for the NASCAR Mexico Series Race at the Coliseum,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President, Racing Development and Strategy. “Ozzie’s high standing among the Los Angeles art community and emphasis on Mexican imagery throughout his work makes him the ideal artist to bring the trophy to life.”
Juarez is known for using the realms of painting and sculpture to honor and revitalize ancient and recent cultural artifacts, languages, and histories. Inspired by the techniques, collaborations, ambitions, and ephemeral qualities of unsanctioned public art, Juarez incorporates excerpts of paintings he observes across the LA landscape into his own work.
This trophy design is rich in symbolism, paying homage to the Mexican ancestors in Mexico City. It incorporates six Aztec symbols, including the Tlaltecuhtli, Ehecatl, Tlaloc, Xochitli, the Aztec glyph for flame, and Olin. These are placed alongside a mix of other modern and vintage symbols to honor both the past and present. Taking the form of a four-sided pyramid transformed into a cup, the symbols are affixed to a single gear that symbolizes the speed, torque, and power of the source. The lower hands of Tlaltecuhtli cradle vintage logos representing NASCAR, while the upper hands invoke and channel energy and power.
His other work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, San Francisco, England, Paris, Miami, and Mexico City and has been featured in publications including Los Angeles Times, Hyperallergic, Juxtapoz magazine, Artillery Magazine, Purple magazine, Yahoo News , LAist, BBC News and El Economista. Juarez is a pillar of the local arts community and in 2020 he founded TLALOC Studios, an artist-run community gallery and studio building in the South-Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. TLALOC evolves with its members, providing a space that encourages and promotes the possibility of a sustainable life as an artist, or as Juarez says, “a lifestyle worth living.”
For more on Ozzie Juarez along with his previous and upcoming projects, visit his Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/ozziejuarez/.
Watch as the drivers of the NASCAR Mexico Series battle for Juarez’s acclaimed trophy in their first race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which jumpstarts a power-packed doubleheader of NASCAR racing on Sunday, Feb. 4. Racing begins on the Coliseum’s temporary, quarter-mile asphalt track at 2 p.m. with the NASCAR Mexico Series Race followed by the NASCAR Cup Series’ Busch Light Clash at 5 p.m.
The third-annual Busch Light Clash is the NASCAR Cup Series’ season-opening exhibition featuring the sport’s top stars battling for supremacy. NASCAR on FOX will once again carry the broadcast for the Busch Light Clash while the NASCAR Mexico Series Race will be on Fox Deportes, Fox Sports 3 in Mexico, and available pan regionally on Claro Sports and the D Motors channel on DirecTV.
A single ticket purchased is good for both races, and fans are encouraged to get their tickets now while supplies last by visiting www.nascarclash.com.
NASCAR PR
