Shane Van Gisbergen dominates first-ever race at historic Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez: An overcast ski and early afternoon drizzle could not dampen the enthusiasm or energy of the huge crowd at Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez Sunday for the first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race outside the United States in half a century. And they were not disappointed.[Read More]
#88-Shane Van Gisbergen won the Viva Mexico 250 NASCAR Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The win is his first win of the year and second career win.
#20-Christopher Bell finished 2nd followed by #9-Chase Elliott, #48-Alex Bowman, #71-Michael McDowell, #42-John Hunter Nemechek, #19-Chase Briscoe, #41-Cole Custer, #24-William Byron, and #17-Chris Buescher.
Van Gisbergen dominated the day, starting from the pole, leading 60 of the 100 laps, and had margin of victory of more than 16 seconds.
#11-Ryan Truex, subbing for Denny Hamlin, finished 23rd.
The fastest lap bonus a earned by #5-Kyle Larson
Stage 1 was won by #60-Ryan Preece. Stage 2 was won by #88-Shane Van Gisbergen.
There were 14 lead changes among 8 drivers and 6 cautions for 16 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 74.820mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.
Race Fast Facts – Mexico City:
Shane Van Gisbergen # won the Viva Mexico 250, his second victory in 30 Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2025.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in one race at Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez.
Christopher Bell (second) posted his first top-10 finish in one race at Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2025.
Chase Elliott (third) posted his first top-10 finish in one races at Aut?dromo Hermanos Rodr?guez.
Shane Van Gisbergen (first) was the highest finishing rookie.
William Byron leads the point standings by 67 points over Kyle Larson.
(NASCAR)
Cup Series Playoff Standings after Mexico City:
Race 16 of 26 in the regular season
1) #5-Kyle Larson, 3 wins, 537 [23 playoff points]
2) #11-Denny Hamlin, 3 wins, 494 [18 playoff points]
3) #20-Christopher Bell, 3 wins, 524 [16 playoff points]
4) #24-William Byron, 1 win, 604 [regular season points leader], [12 playoff points]
5) #12-Ryan Blaney, 1 win, 466 [8 playoff points]
6) #1-Ross Chastain, 1 win, 443 [5 playoff points]
7) #22-Joey Logano, 1 win, 411 [7 playoff points]
8) #2-Austin Cindric, 1 win, 337 [7 playoff points]
9) #21-Josh Berry, 1 win, 320 [6 playoff points]
10) #88-Shane Van Gisbergen, 1 win, 242 [6 playoff points]
11) #9-Chase Elliott, 500, +146 ahead of 17th
12) #45-Tyler Reddick, 477, +123 ahead of 17th
13) #23-Bubba Wallace, 411, [2 playoff points], +57 ahead of 17th
14) #19-Chase Briscoe, 393, +39 ahead of 17th
15) #48-Alex Bowman, 376, +22 ahead of 17th
16) #16-Chris Buescher, 373, +19 ahead of 17th
Outside the top 16:
17) #60-Ryan Preece, 354, [2 playoff points], -19 behind 16th
18) #71-Micahel McDowell, 330, -43 behind 16th
19) #16-A.J. Allmendinger, 328, -45 behind 16th
20) #8-Kyle Busch, 323, -50 behind 16th
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race updates:
Checkered flag for SVG. He wins in dominating fashion at Mexico City over Bell, Elliott, Bowman, McDowell, Nemechek, Briscoe, Custer, Byron, Buescher.
White flag – For SVG.
Lap 97 – With four laps remaining, SVG’s lead is up to 13.3 seconds.
Lap 95 – Six laps remaining. SVG with an 11 second lead over Bell.
Lap 91 – Down to ten laps remaining. SVG still in control. His lead is 7 seconds. The rest of the top 10: Bell, Bowman, Elliott, Nemechek, Custer, Buescher, Chastain, McDowell, and Briscoe.
Lap 87 – SVG’s lead now up to 5 seconds over second-place Bell. Bowman back to third, then Elliott and Nemechek.
Lap 84 – With seventeen laps remaining, SVG’s lead over Bowman is two seconds.
Lap 79 – Some rain drops being reported around the track. SVG leads Bowman, Bell, Nemechek, Elliott, Custer, Buescher, Chastain, Gibbs, McDowell.
Lap 75 – SVG leads Bowman by 1.6 second. Third place Bell is 2 seconds back.
Lap 74 – Herbt got spun by Byron then pulled out in front of a pack of cars and was nearly hit by Stenhouse. Everyone continues.
Lap 73 – Berry and ADillon get together in turn 12 but are able to continue.
Lap 70 – SVG the leader with Bowman up ti second. Then Bell, Nemechek and Custer.
Lap 69 – Back to green: Bell, SVG, Bowman, Custer, Briscoe, Buescher, Nemechek, Herbst, Chastain, Truex. SVG takes the lead on the restart.
Lap 68 – Pit road is open. Nine drivers stay out. Off pit road: Gibbs, Elliott, McDowell, Byron, Blaney, Cindric, Jones, and Suarez. SVG says the team does not track right after the team told him the lug nut is tight on the car. He stays on track.
Lap 66 – SVG reports he has a loose wheel and will have to pit. Only 10 drivers had pitted before the caution. Everyone else will come in when pit road opens.
Lap 65 – Gibbs leads McDowell, Cindric, Elliott, and Byron. CAUTION comes out after Hocevar stops in turn 14 after a spin.
Lap 64 – SVG pits from the lead. Gibbs takes the lead.
Lap 62 – Bell comes to pit road.
Lap 61 – The fuel window is open. Drivers can be expected to start coming in over the next few laps.
Lap 59 – SVG leads bell by 2.8 second. Then McDowell, Gibbs, and Cindric. Everyone needs to pit before the end of the race.
Lap 53 – SVG back to the lead over Bell, McDowell, Bowman, and Buescher.
Lap 51 – Stenhouse spins but continues.
Lap 50 – Back to green for the start of the final stage. Some light rain beginning. SVG leads Bell, Bowman, McDowell, Buescher, Herbst, Hocevar, Suarez, Chastain, and Preece. 51 laps remaining. Bell takes the lead through the esses. Chastain spins near the stadium turns.
Lap 48 – Pit road is open. SVG, Bell and Bowman stay out. A few others behind them come down. Most of the field remains on track.
Lap 46 – CAUTION out for the end of stage 2. SVG wins it over Bell, Bowman, Blaney, McDowell, ADillon, Buescher, Herbst, Hocevar, and Suarez.
Lap 44 – Gibbs pits and SVG takes the lead. Pit road now closed. SVG is staying out because the team thinks rain is coming and they will stay out and get rain tires when it begins.
Lap 43 – More pit stops this time by and the end of the stage nears.
Lap 42 – Cindric pits for the first time today. TDillon and Keselowski also pit.
Lap 40 – Gibbs’ lead over SVG is .76 second. Then Bell, Cindric, and Bowman. Six laps left in stage 2.
Lap 39 – Jones pits with a left front tire down.
Lap 35 – Green flag back out. Gibbs, SVG, Bell, Cindric, Bowman, Byron, TDillon, Keselowski, Elliott, Logano.
Lap 34 – Pit road is open. Most drivers stay out. Custer and Preece among those that pit.
Lap 32 – CAUTION is out for Ryan Truex spinning in turn 10. Briscoe is the free pass.
Lap 31 – Gibbs leads SVG by 2 seconds. Cindric, Bell and Custer follow.
Lap 29 – Suarez and McDowell pit to put on slick tires. Busch is done for the day.
Lap 27 – Gilliland spins but continues.
Lap 26 – At the line, Gibbs leads Suarez, SVG, McDowell and Cindric.
Lap 25 – Green flag for the start of the second stage: McDowell, Hocevar, Suarez, Stenhouse, SVG, Gibbs, Cindric, Bell, TDillon and Custer the top 10. Suarez takes the lead off turn 1.
Lap 23- Pit road is open. McDowell is the first of 17 drivers to stay out. A mix of strategies throughout the field. Some teams change to slick tires as the track continues to dry out. Preece is the first driver off pit road.
Lap 21 – CAUTION out for the end of stage 1. Preece wins it. He’s followed by Blaney, Chastain, McDowell, Gilliland, Jones, Hocevar, Wallace, Elliott, and Suarez.
Lap 19 – SVG pits from the lead just before pits close. Preece stays out and becomes the leader.
Lap 18 – Gibbs pits from second. A handful of drivers further back in the pack join him.
Lap 17 – A few drivers pit before the pits are closed at the end of the stage.
Lap 16 – Preece has moved to third, but he’s 11 seconds behind SVG. Five laps left in stage 1.
Lap 13 – SVG has pulled out to a 3.5 second lead over Gibbs. Third place Chastain is more than 7 seconds back. Rain is letting up a bit around the track.
Lap 12 – Gragson spins but continues on. No caution.
Lap 10 – Back to green with Gibbs, SVG, Chastain, Preece and Suarez the top five. SVG takes the lead in turn 4.
Lap 9 – A few drivers pit.
Lap 8 – Busch and Larson go to the garage for repairs.
Lap 7 – CAUTION for an accident involving: Haley, Busch, Larson, Smith, Briscoe, Allmendinger.
Lap 6 – Cindric and Buescher have fallen to sixth and seventh, but stay on track. Gibbs leads, SVG moves around Chastain to take second.
Lap 5 – Back to green: Buescher, Cindric, Chastain, SVG, Preece, Gibbs, McDowell, Larson, Allmendinger, Gilliland. Gibbs takes the lead in turn one as Cindric and Buescher struggle to slow on slick tires.
Lap 4 – NASCAR reports heavy rain all around the track.
Lap 3 – Most drivers come to pit road for service. Rain has picked up so teams are putting on wets. Chastain is off pit road first. Buescher and Cindric stayed out.
Lap 2 – NASCAR declares damp conditions on track. The rear light must be turned on. Teams can determine if they want to use rain tires or keep slicks on.
Lap 1 – CAUTION is out for rain in the stadium section.
• 3:27pm/et – Green flag in Mexico City. Van Gisbergen and Preece on the front row. There are some light sprinkles at the track.
• 3:19pm/et – Prime reports that Van Gisbergen is not feeling well today.
• 3:13pm/et – Engines are fired.
• 3;01pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
• 2:00pm/et – Amazon Prime Video live coverage has begun.
• Rain seems likely today at the track, but teams have wet weather tires to use. The Weather Channel forecast is: Rain showers in the morning with thunderstorms developing for the afternoon. Hazy. High 69F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
• As of Sunday morning, Gragson is the only driver known to be going to the rear for the start of the race.
Race details:
Broadcast: NASCAR on Prime, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 100 laps / 242 miles
Stages: 20 / 45 / 100
Estimated time of race: 2:58
Pit road speed: 40 mph
Caution car speed: 45 mph
Timing (all times local & subject to change)
Invocation: 1:01:30 p.m.
American National Anthem: 1:03:20 p.m.
Mexican National Anthem: 1:04:45 p.m.
Command: 1:13:00 p.m.
Green Flag: 1:24:00 p.m.
Paint Schemes
Pre-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage is complete.
Cars to the rear: #4-Noah Gragson (backup car)
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Viva Mexico 250 NASCAR Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez have been made.
Pole winner #88-Shane Van Gisbergen chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #60-Ryan Preece took the 5th stall, with an opening in front of it.
See all pit choices on the Mexico City Pit Stall page.
#88-Shane Van Gisbergen won the Busch pole for the Viva Mexico 250 NASCAR Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with a speed of 93.904mph for his first pole of the year and second of his career.
#60-Ryan Preece will start second followed by #1-Ross Chastain, #54-Ty Gibbs, #71-Michael McDowell, #5-Kyle Larson, #34-Todd Gilliland, #16-A.J. Allmendinger, #22-Joey Logano, and #99-Daniel Suarez.
Due to the threat of rain, NASCAR switched qualifying to a single 45 minute session. However rain hit about 30 minutes in and the remainder of qualifying was cancelled.
See the complete qualifying results and the Via Mexico 250 Starting Lineup.
Mexico City – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Shane Van Gisbergen # won the Pole Award for the Viva Mexico 250 with a lap of 92.776 seconds, 93.904 mph.
This is his second pole in 30 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2025.
This is his first pole in one races at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Ryan Preece (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2025 and his first in one race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Ross Chastain (third) posted his first top-10 start at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. It is his fourth in 16 races this season.
Shane Van Gisbergen (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie
(NASCAR)
Qualifying Order
Final Practice for the Viva Mexico 250 NASCAR Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is over. The results:
#34-Todd Gilliland 93.180
#1-Ross Chastain 93.041
#54-Ty Gibbs 92.864
#12-Ryan Blaney 92.836
#17-Chris Buescher 92.726
Slowest: #78-Katherine Legge, 90.558 mph
Most laps run: 15 laps: #17-Chris Buescher, #2-Austin Cindric, #5-Kyle Larson.
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 15 drivers): #20-Christopher Bell, 91.900mph.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Via Mexico 250 Practice speeds page.
First Practice for the Viva Mexico 250 NASCAR Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is over. The results:
#71-Michael McDowell 92.567
#19-Chase Briscoe 92.546
#54-Ty Gibbs 92.542
#2-Austin Cindric 92.528
#5-Kyle Larson 92.438
Slowest: #78-Katherine Legge, 88.975
Most laps run: #45-Tyler Reddick , 24 laps.
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 6 drivers): #54-Ty Gibbs, 91.809mph.
Notes: There were no serious issues during the session. A number of drivers spun and/or got off track but there was minimal damage throughout.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Via Mexico 250 Practice speeds page.
Crew Rosters
The entry list for the Viva Mexico 250 NASCAR Cup Series race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is posted, 37 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
See the full entry list on the Viva Mexico 250 Entry List page.
Goodyear Fast Facts —Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez – Cup teams will run the same Goodyear tire code on all four corners of the car . . . this tire debuted at COTA in March . . . Cup teams are scheduled to run it again at Sonoma, Chicago street course and Watkins Glen later in the season.
Race rules and information:
