¡Buenas tardes, aficionados a las carreras! ¡Feliz Día del Padre! Good afternoon, race fans! Happy Father’s Day! NASCAR has had a few starts outside of the United States in the past. They’ve run exhibition races in Japan in the 1990s and both the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series have run races in Mexico and Canada off and on in recent years. But not since 1958 has the NASCAR Cup Series run a points-paying race outside of the good ole US of A. Not until now. After a thrilling showing yesterday, it’s now time for the NASCAR Cup Series to take to the famous Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the second road course race of the 2025 season.
There were a number of things to keep an eye on today. Any time we go to a road course, all eyes immediately fall on Shane van Gisbergen. SVG got it done yesterday in qualifying as he put his number 88 Chevy for Trackhouse Racing on the pole. This was an excellent chance for SVG to punch his ticket to the NASCAR Playoffs. Also looking to make a splash in today’s race was Mexico-native Daniel Suarez. In a very popular showing yesterday, Suarez was able to win the Xfinity race in his home country. He started 10th today and was hoping to capitalize once again.
So, with all those various stories in mind, let’s get into it. Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from the NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City! ¡Aquí están las tres conclusiones más importantes de la carrera de la NASCAR Cup Series en la Ciudad de México!
As stated several times in this article, Shane van Gisbergen was the driver to watch going into the Viva Mexico 250. He started from the pole. Navigated through chaos early on. Won the second stage. And, ultimately, dominated the race. He wasn’t entirely uncontested today. A couple of other drivers showed flashes of speed at times. Ross Chastain led briefly, as did Daniel Suarez. Ty Gibbs led the second-most laps of the race. Bell was strong late. And Alex Bowman proved that he’s a more than competent road racer. But even as good as they were, they were no match for the Trackhouse 88 Chevy.
As he stretched his lead to 17 seconds over Christopher Bell, SVG took the white flag. All he needed to do was nurse it back around and take the checkered flag, the second of his career. He managed to do just that. Shane van Gisbergen won the Viva Mexico 250, leading a total of 61 laps. With this win, SVG clinches a Playoff berth! He is also awarded 6 Playoff Points. Prior to today’s performance, he was 33rd in points, Now, he’s playoff-bound! SVG is the 10th different winner this year, joining his teammate, Ross Chastain.
The clear fan favorite for today’s race was none other than the hometown hero, Daniel Suarez. Suarez was one of the few drivers in today’s race who has raced at the track before. Granted, that race was on the oval configuration, which he ended up winning. He also won yesterday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race in the JR Motorsports number 9 Chevrolet. Suarez started last in that race and worked his way into the top 5 late. An incident involving Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs took out Suarez’s main competitors and the 2016 Xfinity Series Champion suddenly found himself in the catbird seat. He was able to hold on to win the race in thrilling fashion.
No doubt, Daniel Suarez had this date circled on his calendar. It’s his home track and what would be a better story than the only Mexican-born driver triumphing at the first international NASCAR Cup Series points race since 1958? He started today’s race in 10th, navigated through some early chaos, and was able to work his way into the top 5. At the end of the stage, Suarez stayed out and finished the first stage in 10th, earning 1 point.
For Suarez, a lot was riding on this weekend. He’s in the middle of a contract year and he’s admitted that his looming contract negotiations have been a distraction. To add to the pressure, Trackhouse recruit Connor Zilisch is making occasional Cup starts for the organization and is tearing it up in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports. The pressure was on for the driver of that number 99 Chevy to perform.
Suarez restarted the race in third, still on wet-weather tires. After the first corner, he was able to take the lead, to the erupting cheers of the Mexico City crowd. He maintained the lead through the esses before falling to Ty Gibbs and then to his teammate Shane van Gisbergen.
After falling off late, Suarez ended his day in the 20th position.
On the opening pace laps, it was noted by those in the Amazon Prime booth that there was a fine mist in the area. When the stream cut to on-board cameras, droplets of rain were clearly on the camera lenses. NASCAR asked polesitter SVG if he thought the track was good to go. SVG said that it was as the track was mostly dry and the rain was so slight. The race went green as planned. However, after running one lap, the rain picked up. Thinking ahead, NASCAR promptly displayed the caution flag, giving the drivers the opportunity to come down pit road and opt for rain tires. Most drivers did. The pit stops were competitive with Ross Chastain winning the race off pit road over his teammate, SVG.
Two drivers, however, opted to stay out on slicks, feeling that the rain was going to stop and, on the longer run, they’d be faster and better off. Those drivers were Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric, who led the field to the green on the restart. When the race restarted, even the drivers on wet-weather tires said that it was like driving on ice. Cindric and Buescher plummeted through the field with Chastain, Gibbs, and SVG separating themselves from the rest of the pack. They were able to run a few more laps before Kyle Busch locked up his tires and spun around. He ping ponged off a number of other cars, including A. J. Allmendinger, Justin Haley, and Kyle Larson. This sparked the second caution flag of the day.
This was a big blow for Busch who, prior to today’s race, was sitting on the cutline for the NASCAR Playoffs. Chase Briscoe and Justin Haley both went down a lap but were able to continue. Meanwhile, Busch and Larson were sent to the garage for repairs. After this incident, the rain ceased. Track conditions got a little better and we were able to run the rest of the first stage without incident. Shane van Gisbergen retook the lead over Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, and Ross Chastain.
Kyle Larson returned to the race, 37 laps down. He put tires on his HendrickCars.com Chevy that had qualifying air pressures. The goal was to claim the Xfinity Fastest Lap. He did just that and claimed the bonus point.
Shane van Gisbergen is the King of the Road. Need I say more? Any time the NASCAR Cup Series heads to a road course, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that SVG is going to be in contention for the win. Most of these races are his races to lose. Sometimes, he fumbles the ball. But a lot of fans and industry insiders expected the 88 Trackhouse Chevy to be strong today and he very much so was. He started the race on the pole and led the first number of laps. Coming down pit road, he lost the lead to teammate Ross Chastain.
He was, however, able to regain the lead very quickly after things started to settle down and he could get into a rhythm. With three laps to go, he pitted, trying to flip the stage. He finished 17th in the opening stage but was going all-out for the race win.
The second stage was largely a cat-and-mouse game between Ty Gibbs and Shane van Gisbergen. Gibbs fired off really well, leading a bulk of the laps. However, van Gisbergen had the better long-run car. As we got into the final laps of the second stage, SVG started to reel in the leader. On his back bumper, Gibbs pitted while SVG stayed out to win the second stage. The deciding factor for the 88 not to pit was the weather radar. It showed rain in the area.
¿Qué os parece, aficionados a las carreras? ¡Shane van Gisbergen gana la Viva México 250 en la Ciudad de México!
How about that, race fans!? Shane van Gisbergen wins the Viva Mexico 250 in Mexico City! What did you think of the race, Daily Downforce readers? Did you find it exciting? Or did you think it was a snoozefest? Are you surprised by SVG’s performance today? Let us know what you think! Do you want NASCAR to return to Mexico City? Shout out your thoughts!
That does it for us, guys! Eso es todo por nosotros, muchachos. Be sure to keep tuning in throughout the week to DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news and stories as we get ready for Pocono next weekend.
