Despite all the fears about drug cartels and illegal immigrants, the NASCAR Cup Series seemed to have a fun weekend competing in Mexico for the first time.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, best known for hosting the Mexico City Grand Prix and ePrix, welcomed the Cup Series on Sunday for the Viva México 250. Somehow, it seemed only fitting that the first international Cup points race since 1958 was also won by a non-American. Shane Van Gisbergen dominated from the pole, winning a stage and leading 60 of 100 laps to score his first victory of 2025.
The Xfinity Series previously raced at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez from 2005 to 2008 while the NASCAR México Series currently does so. The highest level of stock car racing, however, had been limited to the United States for nearly seven decades; its last points race beyond American borders was the 1958 Jim Mideon 500 in Toronto, where future legend Richard Petty made his NASCAR début.
Various non-championship races have been overseas since then in Australia and Japan, the last in 1998 at Twin Ring Motegi. Mexico City was added for 2025 to bring the sport to another country, while still close enough to home that it’s not a travel nightmare.
Given NASCAR’s conservative roots and Mexico’s reputation, there were bound to be some sceptics. Tab Boyd, the spotter for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., tweeted “screw this place” on Saturday after being annoyed by hustlers. Carson Hocevar was more blunt and profane during a Twitch stream on Friday, calling it a “shithole” and saying he was “nervous to fucking shower here” due to the city’s water infrastructure. Teams even beefed up on armed security going to the track for fear of being targeted by criminals.
While such claims have a kernel of truth like Mexico’s war with drug cartels and the ongoing protests against deportation, they’re often embellished to the point of paranoia. The Baja 500 in neighbouring Baja California was held the week prior wherein the only non-racing incident was a fatal accident caused by an American team, while F1 has raced here for decades with little drama. In fact, the biggest gripe industry members had seemed to be logistics in having to bring everything from Michigan down south whilst dealing with the language barrier.
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Many otherwise enjoyed themselves without any issue. Bubba Wallace arrived on Wednesday, then was riding on a trajineras boat and eating spicy food by Thursday morning. Many drivers and journalists spent the nights at Arena México watching lucha libre wrestling. Van Gisbergen, Ryan Blaney, and Noah Gragson woke up Sunday feeling ill, which Gragson jokingly attributed to Mexico City’s tap water before issuing a clarification when others fell for it; Van Gisbergen also ruled out the tap and stressed he exclusively used bottled water to drink and brush his teeth.
After the race, ironically one where he and Boyd’s driver clashed multiple times, Hocevar apologised for his comments, admitting that “a kid that had never been out of the country until Thursday should [n]ever give an opinion about what any place is like other than Portage, Michigan.
“I was skeptical about the trip so far and believed everything I read or heard about Mexico City from people who more than likely also had never been here. Now that I’ve actually left my hotel a couple times and raced here in front of some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen, my opinion has changed. I am embarrassed by my comments, by the race I ran, and I may have to move here to hide out from Ricky anyway.
“Count this as another lesson for me in a season I’ve learned so much. Don’t believe everything you hear without seeing it yourself. If anyone should give anyone or any place the benefit of the doubt it’s me. I’m sorry Mexico City. Consider me an ally going forward and an example of getting off Twitch and seeing things with my own two eyes.”
Daniel Suárez, despite finishing 19th on Sunday, was arguably the biggest winner of the weekend. The Mexico native and Van Gisbergen’s team-mate won the Xfinity race on Saturday, to raucous celebration by the home crowd. Perhaps making his drive all the more impressive, he had to start last after crashing his primary car and only qualifying via a provisional for international drivers.
“Every single thing about this weekend exceeded my expectations: the people, the fans, the sponsors, the excitement, the energy,” Suárez proclaimed. “I had expectations for this weekend, not the results but the event, and I can tell you that I personally exceeded those expectations. Very happy for that, very blessed. I hope that we can do it many more times.”
Van Gisbergen also vouched for Suárez.
“Even today when he was on wets and he’s got no chance, I got to the lead and you just see the crowd erupt,” he recalled. “It’s amazing the support that he had and how much this race meant to everyone, and you see people so stoked to meet you for the first time, like they’ve been NASCAR fans for years but never been able to see the race in person.
“I thought it was a really cool weekend, and I’d love to come back here.”
33rd in points making the playoffs?
Van Gisbergen is undisputably one of the best road course drivers today, which is not a surprise as a three-time Supercars Champion back home in Oceania. Thus, it was not a surprise he’s a contender whenever NASCAR heads to such tracks.
With his win on Sunday, he is guaranteed a spot in the NASCAR playoffs. While winning in the Cup Series is obviously a difficult task that deserves praise and reward, it’s also easy to be perturbed that he’ll be fighting for a championship with how poor his rookie season is going.
He entered Mexico 33rd in points, the fourth worst among full-time Cup Series drivers and 126 points below the cut line. Circuit of the Americas in March, the first road race of the season, was his only top-ten finish in sixth. Despite the stereotypes of oval racing being just turning left, the New Zealander has struggled to find his footing on them; during his lone Xfinity season in 2024, he won thrice on road courses but still finished outside the top ten in points because of his bad oval performances.
“SVG” is not oblivious to this, and neither is his team. 2025 was always intended to be more of a developmental year for him with growing pains expected on ovals. Once right turns are involved, he can finally be in his element.
Despite the struggles, he feels things are trending upwards on the oval side too. After only a single top-20 finish on ovals across the first ten races, he’s scored three in the last four.
“That’s why I’m here: to win road races. But I’m not here to run last on the ovals either,” said Van Gisbergen. “I need to keep getting better to justify being a Cup Series driver. I need to be performing on the ovals too.
“I feel like we’re really making strides. This is what I’m here to do: make the playoffs, put another Trackhouse car in the playoffs.”
Critics of the playoff system will certainly point to his standing as proof of the format’s flaws, especially since it’s unlikely he’ll advance far into the playoffs. The Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (a road course combined with an oval, hence the term) is the only road race in the postseason, and is not until the Round of 12.
Last year, Harrison Burton qualified for the playoffs by winning the final race of the regular season despite sitting an even lower 34th in points.
Truex beaten around in relief duty
For the first time in 4,102 days, Denny Hamlin did not take the start for a Cup Series race. Due to the birth of his newborn son, Hamlin was unable to make the flight to Mexico—where he won the Xfinity race in 2006—and consequently missed his first Cup start since the 2014 Auto Club 400 at Fontana, which he sat out due to an eye injury.
Ryan Truex, who races part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series and serves as a Toyota test driver, was called up in his place. The younger brother of 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr., Ryan had not competed in the Cup Series since he failed to qualify for the 2019 Daytona 500 while his last start was the 2014 MyAFibStory.com 400 at Chicagoland.
“I’ve been at the track every weekend since Charlotte; Charlotte, Nashville, Michigan were more precautionary than anything,” Truex noted. “Michigan was when it started to get close; I felt like there was a pretty good chance I was going to be in the car at some point.
“Their due date was during the Michigan race and that week leading into Mexico—I don’t have kids, I don’t know how any of it works, I don’t what happens, when it is supposed to happen,—I’m just hanging on waiting for the call, yes or no.
“Every time (crew chief Chris) Gayle would text me, my heart would stop and be like, ‘Is it a yes or no?,’ and every time, it was a maybe. That definitely fuels the anxiety a little bit when you don’t know what is going on and what is going to happen. I’ve been prepping every week. Preparing like I’m going to be in the car. Found out on Wednesday night and flew out on Thursday.”
Unlike Truex’s failed rookie season in 2014, which came in a backmarker Toyota, Hamlin’s #11 Camry is one of the top cars in the Cup Series and was coming off winning last week’s race in Michigan. The swap made Hamlin the seventh driver to win a Cup race then not race the following event; incidentally, Van Gisbergen was the last instance before him when he won his stock car début at Chicago in a one-off.
Others include Jamie McMurray in 2002, Brad Keselowski in 2009, Brian Vickers in 2013, Justin Haley in 2019, and A.J. Allmendinger in 2021; with the exception of McMurray, who was an injury substitute, all these instances were part-time drivers.
Although Truex is no slouch on road courses, they are not his forté. In fact, his last road race, the 2024 Xfinity event at Portland, saw him finish a paltry 27th. Still, JGR’s mission for him were just to keep the car clean and avoid too much trouble.
The race seemed to start according to plan when he finished Stage 1 in 16th, beating his three JGR team-mates. Unfortunately, things spiralled for him from there. On Lap 32, Truex went over a sausage kerb off Turn 11 and spun, parked in the middle of the track to bring out a caution. As a silver lining, the yellow flag benefitted his colleague Chase Briscoe as he got back on the lead lap. Truex managed to recover for a 19th in Stage 2.
The final stage, however, was a disaster. He spun again on Lap 54 whilst battling Brad Keselowski for 24th, dropping him to 33rd. While he kept going, he wound up in the wall for good after contact with Ross Chastain.
By the end, Truex settled for 23rd. While worst among JGR drivers, it wasn’t the worst outing for a last-minute substitution on a course he’s unfamiliar with.
“My last time in Cup was not a fun experience. It didn’t go well for me. I didn’t enjoy it. That was probably not the right move for me career-wise, and I’ve kind of been fighting back since then,” Truex continued. “I enjoy everything I do at JGR. I’ve been able to race part time the last couple of years, and do all of this stuff away from the track. It has been nice. It has been fun to race part-time and have some Saturdays at home, but it is also fun to be at the track. I feel like I’ve had a good balance the last few years.”
NASCAR 2025 Viva México 250 – Results
| Pos. | Start | Num. | Driver | Team | Laps | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 88 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing | 100 | Running |
| 2 | 31 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | 100 | Running |
| 3 | 12 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | 100 | Running |
| 4 | 29 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | 100 | Running |
| 5 | 5 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | 100 | Running |
| 6 | 32 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | 100 | Running |
| 7 | 19 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | 100 | Running |
| 8 | 26 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team | 100 | Running |
| 9 | 27 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | 100 | Running |
| 10 | 16 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | 100 | Running |
| 11 | 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | 100 | Running |
| 12 | 25 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | 100 | Running |
| 13 | 8 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | 100 | Running |
| 14 | 18 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | 100 | Running |
| 15 | 2 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | 100 | Running |
| 16 | 3 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | 100 | Running |
| 17 | 14 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | 100 | Running |
| 18 | 20 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | 100 | Running |
| 19 | 10 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | 100 | Running |
| 20 | 22 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | 100 | Running |
| 21 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 100 | Running |
| 22 | 7 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | 100 | Running |
| 23 | 36 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Joe Gibbs Racing | 100 | Running |
| 24 | 17 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | 100 | Running |
| 25 | 30 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | 100 | Running |
| 26 | 13 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing | 100 | Running |
| 27 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports | 100 | Running |
| 28 | 21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | 100 | Running |
| 29 | 15 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing | 100 | Running |
| 30 | 35 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports | 100 | Running |
| 31 | 34 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | 100 | Running |
| 32 | 37 | 78 | Katherine Legge | Live Fast Motorsports | 99 | Running |
| 33 | 28 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing | 99 | Running |
| 34 | 23 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports | 99 | Running |
| 35 | 24 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | 76 | Drivetrain |
| 36 | 6 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | 58 | Running |
| 37 | 11 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | 6 | Accident |
