For the first time since 2008, the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads south of the border to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City for the 15th race of their 2025 season. This marks the second road race of the 2025 season, meaning that all eyes were on pole sitter Connor Zilisch. Zilisch is undisputedly the best road race in the Xfinity Series and he was looking to get his second win of the season. He got it done at COTA. He was looking to repeat south of the border.
Another key storyline to watch today was Daniel Suarez. Suarez doesn’t race the Xfinity Series very often, but he felt the need to dip down as he returns to his home country to take on the legendary course. He was certainly the hometown hero of sorts–a very popular driver amongst fans in the stands. Meanwhile, some of the drivers who aren’t the strongest road racers, like Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones, were just hoping for a quiet, uneventful day. So, let’s get to it. Here are three key takeaways from the Xfinity Series race in Mexico City!
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Undeniably, the class of the field today were Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs. Gibbs dominated the first stage while Zilisch took the lead and never looked back to start the second. They had the best two cars, hands down. However, a chaotic restart to begin the final stage saw Zilisch around and Gibbs with heavy damage. Mexican-born Daniel Saurez inherited the lead. But their race wasn’t over. Angry, Zilisch and Gibbs started plowing through the field. He was able to make his way back up to 8th with 7 laps to go. Then, the 2 car of Jesse Love spun, triggering an ill-timed caution for that 9 crew.
The race restarted and Suarez got another great restart. However, he was unable to shake Taylor Gray. At the end of the day, though Gray’s car was a little too loose and Daniel Suarez was a little too good! The driver of the number 9 JRM Chevrolet held off the 54 of Taylor Gray to win in his home country! He started the race last but ended it in first!
2025 has been a tough year for the driver of the 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevy, Daniel Suarez. He did manage a runner-up finish at Las Vegas and a pair of top 10s at Talladega and Texas, respectively. But other than those brief flashes, Daniel Suarez has consistently run in the middle of the pack. Going into tomorrow’s Cup Series race, he’s sitting 28th in points. Needless to say, on the Cup side of things, he’s in a must-win situation to make the Playoffs. To make things even more stressful, he only signed a one-year deal with Trackhouse and that deal is up at the end of this year. With Connor Zilisch waiting in the wings, Suarez needs to start performing in order to keep his ride. He even admitted that the contract negotiations have been a distraction for him this year.
With all of that in mind, the races in Mexico City were certainly circled on his calendar. In fact, he was so looking forward to this weekend that he struck a deal with JR Motorsports so that he could perform double duty, driving their number 9 entry in today’s Xfinity Series race. And despite having to start today’s race in the back, Suarez had a lot of confidence heading into the weekend. And why wouldn’t he? It’s his home track. The fanbase is behind him. He’s beaming with pride. And that number 9 car has been fast in the past for his Trackhouse teammate, Ross Chastain. Things were looking up.
At the drop of the green flag, Suarez started to carve his way through the field. By the time he decided to short pit in an attempt to flip the stage, he had worked his way up to the 16th position. Pitting, he had some issues. Dean Thompson got into his pit stall at an angle, blocking Suarez on exit. Suarez needed to back up in order to get around the number 26 of Thompson. He finished the first stage in 30th. But to restart the race, he was back up to 7th to begin the second stage.
After a fantastic restart, Daniel Suarez launched himself from 7th all the way around Ty Gibbs and into the 3rd position. The crowd went crazy! In position to contend, Suarez set his sights on Christopher Bell and leader, Connor Zilisch.
Daniel Suarez found himself in the top 5 on the restart to start the final stage. Another great restart put Suarez in position to battle three-wide heading into the first turn. He got to the inside of Ty Gibbs. On the other side of the 19 car was Connor Zilisch, who wheel hopped the corner. Out of control, Zilisch spun in front of the field, taking out his JRM teammates Sammy Smith and Carson Kvapil. Ty Gibbs didn’t escape either, having made contact with several cars as a part of a chain reaction. The caution came out and Daniel Suarez was through to the lead in Mexico City!
Despite having a few road course victories, the defending Xfinity Series Champion is rarely in contention to win these kinds of races. Still, he qualified in the top 10 and was running 7th when things went awry. Justin Allgaier brought his number 7 Brandt Chevy down pit road, claiming that he had lost first and second gears. In the pits, his team checked his transmission and discovered that the left rear axle was broken. After the diagnosis, the JRM team took the car into the garage for repairs. He returned to the track to run the final two stages. He was in 38th and running 15 laps down.
This disappointing outing comes just two weeks after Allgaier dominated and won the Xfinity Series race at Nashville. All in all, this has been a great season for the defending champions of the sport. So far, the number 7 team has 3 wins and 10 top 5s over 14 races run. He’s also leading the points, 92 to the good over Austin Hill. So, in the grand scheme of things, this was a minor hiccup as Allgaier sets out to make like his boss and become a back-to-back Champion of the Xfinity Series.
From the drop of the green flag, it was a dog fight out front between Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch. Going into the first corner, Zilisch briefly cleared Gibbs. But then Gibbs came back and punted the 88 out of the way. Zilisch fell back to fourth before working his way back up to second and breathing down Gibbs’ neck. Gibbs led the rest of the stage with the 88 nipping at his heels. That was until green flag pit stops.
Rejoining the track to end the first stage, Connor Zilisch clipped the nose of the 19 of Gibbs, retaking the lead. After the race restarted, Zilisch cycled back to the lead with Gibbs right behind him. They ran the stage out, choosing to shot pit again. The dog fight continued.
It was a slobber knocker of a drag race off pit road between Gibbs and Zilisch. Door-to-door, the two dominating cars hashed it out for the race lead. Zilisch ultimately prevailed and cycled back to the lead to start the final stage.
Chaos erupted out front as Connor Zilisch clipped the corner. He spun around, collecting many cars in the process. Ty Gibbs, meanwhile, battled hometown hero, Daniel Suarez for the race lead. Suarez cleared Gibbs and Carson Kvapil and he got together. The 19 car received significant damage in a massive crash. Seemingly, their day was over. But was it really?
How about that, race fans! Daniel Suarez did it! He started last and ended the race in first, capturing his 4th Xfinity Series race, in his home country. The crowd was awesome, Suarez was beaming with pride, and it was just an all-around feel-good story. What did you think of that race, Daily Downforce readers? Do you think he can sweep the weekend? Who are your favorites for tomorrow’s Cup race? Let us know what you’re thinking! And be sure to tune back in here at DailyDownforce.com tomorrow at 3 for our coverage of the Cup race in Mexico City!
