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Jesse Love to Make Two Additional NASCAR Cup Series Starts in the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing – Speedway Digest

Richard Childress Racing announced today that NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contender Jesse Love will make two additional NASCAR Cup Series starts in the No. 33 Chevrolet during the 2025 season. Love will pilot the C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet this Sunday, May 11 at Kansas Speedway and August 16 at Richmond Raceway. Less than a month […]

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Richard Childress Racing announced today that NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contender Jesse Love will make two additional NASCAR Cup Series starts in the No. 33 Chevrolet during the 2025 season. Love will pilot the C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet this Sunday, May 11 at Kansas Speedway and August 16 at Richmond Raceway.

Less than a month removed from his Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway, Love posted an impressive top-20 qualifying effort and completed all laps in his inaugural start. The 20-year-old continued to gain experience behind the wheel of a premier series vehicle, when Love piloted the No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway.

“I’m looking forward to being back behind the wheel of the No. 33 C4 Ultimate Energy Chevrolet this weekend at Kansas,” said Love. “Kansas has been a great track for me throughout my career and to have the opportunity to run the Cup car consecutive weeks on a mile-and-a-half track is going to be valuable experience. The focus for these races is to continue learning and understanding how this car feels compared to other cars that I’ve raced in the past.”

Love currently holds the fourth position in the Xfinity Series driver championship point standings. Through 12 races in his full-time campaign, the Menlo Park, California native has earned one win, two poles, three top-five, and eight top-10 finishes, while leading a total of 156 laps.

Nutrabolt, owner of C4®, is the No. 1 selling global pre-workout brand and one of the fastest growing energy drink companies in the country. Making its C4 Ultimate Energy (300mg) product line-up more delicious and even cooler, Nutrabolt recently introduced the Frost collection – a product extension available in three flavors that will also unveil a unique can technology that transitions from silver to blue when the can is cold and ready to drink.

The green flag for the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway will wave at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 11. Watch live television coverage on FS1 and listen to flag-to-flag coverage on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. For more information, please visit rcrracing.com.

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Shane van Gisbergen stuns in record 16+ second NASCAR Cup win in Mexico

Sunday in Mexico City, Shane van Gisbergen (SVG) was nearly unstoppable, driving off with the victory by almost 17 seconds. It ended up being the biggest margin of victory in any Cup race since the 2009 season. Christopher Bell finished a distant second with Chase Elliott third, but neither could even see the Trackhouse Racing Team driver […]

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Sunday in Mexico City, Shane van Gisbergen (SVG) was nearly unstoppable, driving off with the victory by almost 17 seconds. It ended up being the biggest margin of victory in any Cup race since the 2009 season. Christopher Bell finished a distant second with Chase Elliott third, but neither could even see the Trackhouse Racing Team driver at the checkered flag.

The weekend started with aircraft issues that delayed his arrival to Mexico City and on Sunday morning, he had to cancel an appearance with NASCAR on Prime as he battled an illness. But none of that would deny him the victory on Sunday in a race that even featured a stint in the rain.

“What a week,” said Van Gisbergen “I’ve really enjoyed myself here. I felt pretty rubbish today leaking out both holes. That wasn’t fun. Thank you to SafetyCulture, Trackhouse, Chevy, and ECR engines. Our car was amazing. I think the #54 [Gibbs] was close, but that last stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap and watching them get smaller in the mirror. Unreal.”

Watch: ‘That was epic’: SVG describes how his race-winning car felt all day

On the radio communication to slow down, which SVG refused to do, he explained that “when I go slow, I just lose concentration, so I was trying to stay in a rhythm and a routine, and Josh [Williams, spotter] and Stephen [Doran, crew chief] are doing such a great job keeping me calm and focused. Man, that was epic.

The final run of the race lasted over 30 laps, but SVG managed it to perfection, ensuring no one could challenge him. The New Zealand driver now has two victories in the Cup Series with the first coming in the inaugural running of another event — the 2023 Chicago Street Course. This win vaults him from 33rd in the standings to the playoffs, joining teammate Ross Chastain, who won the Coca-Cola 600.

Behind the podium finishers,  Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell filled out the top five. John-Hunter Nemechek, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, William Byron, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top ten.

Stage 1

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

The initial start was clean as the Trackhouse teammates worked together with SVG leading the way over Chastain. However, the caution flag flew for rain falling down on the track.

While most of the field pitted for wet-weather tires, Cindric and Buescher boldly chose to stay out on slicks. In the chaotic restart that followed, Gibbs managed to take the lead while Cindric and Buescher dropped through the pack. 

Kyle Busch lost control under braking on the approach into Turn 1, spinning wildly out of control. He slammed into Kyle Larson, Justin Haley, and A.J. Allmendinger. Both Chase Briscoe and Zane Smith were also collected.

Busch was unable to continue while Larson spent a third of the race in the garage making repairs. On the restart, it became a battle between SVG and Gibbs for the top spot with SVG prevailing, but he ultimately gave up the stage win in favor of short-pitting. 

Gibbs followed suit, allowing Ryan Preece to claim the stage win.

Stage 2

Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: Chris Graythen – Getty Images

SVG was fifth for the start of the second stage, leading those who switched back to slick drivers. The front four were all on used wets and they were not able to hang on for long. But it was all part of the plan as they planned to pit a few laps later anyway.

Halfway through the stage, Ryan Truex (filling in for Denny Hamlin) went for a spin, causing a caution. Van Gisbergen went on to win the stage as Gibbs chose to pit just before the stage break. 

Stage 3

General view

General view

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

The beginning of the final stage was hectic, with lots of contact and several cars spinning. Chastain, Stenhouse, Hocevar, Preece, and Truex all lost ground due to spins or notable incidents. 

On Lap 62, the final round of green-flag pit stops began with Bell ducking to the pits. Van Gisbergen followed suit two laps later, but before Gibbs could pit as well, everything changed.

Hocevar went for a spin in the final corner and stalled, forcing a yellow flag that proved costly for Gibbs. SVG cycled back to the race lead and avoided the restart chaos behind him, quickly pulling away from the field. 

And while drivers fought over the lesser positions and there were some minor incidents, the caution flag never flew again. Of note, Hocevar and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had another run-in, despite recent comments from the Spire Motorsport driver promising to back down the aggression. After the race, Stenhouse stuck his head into the window of Hocevar’s car and appeared to shout at him.

In this article

Nick DeGroot

NASCAR Cup

Shane van Gisbergen

Trackhouse Racing Team

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Van Gisbergen battles illness and delays to win NASCAR’s first international Cup Series

Van Gisbergen overcomes illness, travel woes to win historic NASCAR race in Mexico City Nothing seemed to go right for Shane Van Gisbergen in the lead-up to NASCAR’s first-ever international Cup Series points race — until it mattered most. A mechanical issue grounded his team’s charter flight, delaying his arrival to Mexico City until Friday. […]

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Van Gisbergen overcomes illness, travel woes to win historic NASCAR race in Mexico City

Nothing seemed to go right for Shane Van Gisbergen in the lead-up to NASCAR’s first-ever international Cup Series points race — until it mattered most.

A mechanical issue grounded his team’s charter flight, delaying his arrival to Mexico City until Friday. Then, after earning pole position on Saturday, the New Zealander fell seriously ill. By Sunday morning, he was lying on the floor of his hauler, unsure if he could physically make it through the 100-lap race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

But Van Gisbergen has a knack for shining in unfamiliar territory. In a gritty performance on the rain-slicked road course, he led 60 laps and pulled away late to win by over 16 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell — earning his second career Cup Series victory and clinching a spot in the NASCAR playoffs.

“I did everything right — bottled water, careful with the food — but I just went downhill fast,” Van Gisbergen said. “Couldn’t hold anything in. My body was wrecked, but my mind stayed focused. Everyone on the team just pushed through.”

The win adds to Van Gisbergen’s growing legacy in NASCAR. He burst onto the scene with a win in his debut during the 2023 Chicago street race and later left Australia’s V8 Supercars — where he was a multi-time champion — to pursue a full-time NASCAR career.

Sunday’s victory wasn’t just a comeback — it was another milestone for the Kiwi driver carving out his place in NASCAR history.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.     



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What drivers said at Mexico City after Cup race won by Shane van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen — winner: “What a week. I’ve really enjoyed myself. I felt pretty rubbish today. Our car was amazing. I think the 54 was close. That list stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap. Watching them get smaller in the mirror. Unreal. I’ve been privileged to have some great (cars) […]

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Shane van Gisbergen — winner: “What a week. I’ve really enjoyed myself. I felt pretty rubbish today. Our car was amazing. I think the 54 was close. That list stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap. Watching them get smaller in the mirror. Unreal. I’ve been privileged to have some great (cars) in my time, but when I go slow, I just lose concentration, so I was trying to stay in a rhythm and a routine, and Josh and Stephen are doing such a great job keeping me calm and focused, and man, that was epic.”

Christopher Bell — second: “He was really good. Ultimately it was just a third-lpace day. I thought Ty was really good, the yellow flag bit him, and we walked away with second. More than anything, it was just me. I need to do a little bit more homework to figure out where I can be better to keep up with these guys. The Joe Gibbs Racing team brought an amazing Camry, and I can’t really say it was my car that was lacking. It was on me this weekend. Happy for Shane. There’s a lot of pressure for him to come out and do well in these road-course races, and he sets the bar for us.Happy for Shane. There’s a lot of pressure for him to come out and do well in these road-course races, and he sets the bar for us.”

Mexico NASCARMedia.com NASCAR photo (5).jpg

The Trackhouse Racing driver qualifies for the 2025 playoffs with his second career victory.

Chase Elliott — third: “The restart was (chaotic) for sure. I felt we were in a really good spot. I was super excited about having tires, and we got in front of (Ty Gibbs), and I thought that was going to be the race for the win, initially. I got clear of (Ross Chastain) and (John Hunter Nemechek). I started settling in, and I didn’t have anything left. I was kind of cooked after that. I think we pressed so hard to get through traffic, when it got singled out, I didn’t have a lot of pace left. I felt I gained on them a little while, but it was pretty tough sledding to get to that point, but we pressed on. I’m proud of our group for just sticking with it. We were up and down all day. Finally got going there a few runs from the end, and Alan made a good call to get us on tires. Finally had a restart go halfway decent and got a decent top three out of it.”

Alex Bowman — fourth: “Running well probably made it easier than it could have been. Just proud of the whole team. I put us behind this week. In full transparency, I couldn’t walk on Wednesday, so I missed all my sim stuff, all my meetings. Just trying to get back going. I had a lot of help from a lot of people to fix whatever the hell was going on, and thankfully enough, I was able to run all the laps this weekend. Honestly, my goal this weekend was just to come here and run all the laps and end up with a top five. I definitely will take it. Proud of Blake and all the guys. I wish I wouldn’t’ have burned the tires off so bad at the end, but we were pretty decent. It’s been neat. I’ve never been out of the country before. Certainly, this week has been a lot. Travel for this week has been a lot with what I had going on. I wish I could have walked around the city and enjoyed it a lot more than I did because I just laid in a hotel bed all weekend. It’s a neat spot. Have to thank my girlfriend, Chloe, for picking me up off the floor and getting me some help. Yeah, it’s been a heck of a week.”

Michael McDowell — fifth: “We know we need a win to get in the playoffs. Proud of everybody at Spire Motorsports. We had an alternate strategy. Without that caution, it would have worked out pretty well. Passed a lot of cars at the end. Top five, proud of that. Not what we came here to do. We’ll build on it. We’ve got a lot of good road courses coming up, but this was an opportunity I think we let slip away.”

NASCAR: Wurth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s comments were caught by Carson Hocevar’s in-car camera after the race.

John Hunter Nemechek — sixth: ““Hats off to this whole team. PI’m super stoked on a sixth-place finish. Our road course program has not been good here, so solid run for us after the last three weeks we’ve had – two wrecks, and not so good run in Nashville – we needed this as a team to get back on track. Had a lot of text messages from my wife (Taylor) and had a lot of text messages from Jimmie (Johnson) yesterday. I was pretty down after qualifying, and beating myself up pretty bad, but we executed during the race. I got spun out a couple of times and still came home sixth. Hats off to Travis (Mack, crew chief) on the strategy. He called a really good race, and we were able to execute and come home sixth. Proud of the day.”

Chase Briscoe — seventh: “We just had a really good Toyota. It is sickening getting torn up that early, and all the aversity we had to go through because our car was really, really good. I don’t know if I would have been good enough to beat Shane (van Gisbergen) – but certainly, probably would have run better than seventh. It is a testament to my guys. They could have given up in many points during the race, and they continued to just fight. I want to say Happy Father’s Day to my dad, and congrats to Shane too. That whole team is almost the 14 group from last year.”

William Byron — ninth: “Today was hard fought for sure. We started behind where we would want to be but we were able to use strategy and make adjustments that got us good track position. I’m really proud of our team’s effort to turn things around today. We’ll take the top 10 and head to Pocono.”

Ty Gibbs — 11th: “I don’t know what they do on restarts where they check everybody up and then everyone just rails each other. That is where I got a little nose damage, unfortunately. Sometimes life just doesn’t work out for you. You just have to keep digging.”

Mexico NASCARMedia.com NASCAR photo (3).jpg

The Trackhouse Racing driver will race for a championship despite being currently ranked outside the top 30 in the points standings.

AJ Allmendinger — 13th: “Honestly, I felt like we were going to have a really good car, even the way it felt in the rain. It’s easy to say that, but I really thought the car had a lot of speed. For as destroyed as it was, we still had decent speed and it drove well on wet and dry tires. I definitely think we could have ran top five all day, but unfortunately, we’ll never know. Just proud of the guys; from the way we started this weekend, we kept fighting and making it better. We had something there to be competitive and have a really good run. Our 16 group did everything they could to keep me out there and I’m never going to quit on them. just absolutely frustrating day, but proud of the effort for days like this, just keep fighting.”

Ryan Blaney — 14th: “Good points day for our 12 group and proud of the effort all weekend. I felt like we had a shot at a top-10 during that final run but came up a little short at the end. It was a great experience here in Mexico City and it was cool to see it all come together the way it did.”

Erik Jones — 17th: “Today was honestly a roller coaster. We had so much speed that first stage and even got bonus points. I think we could’ve worked our way back into the top-10 for the second stage if it weren’t for that flat tire. I’m still proud of my No. 43 Toyota team for giving us a fast car this weekend. We’re working on improving our road course package, and I think you’re seeing that overall.”

Austin Cindric — 18th: “All in all, it was a great experience getting to race in Mexico City for the first time, and everything about the weekend was unique. The conditions and strategy definitely made for an interesting race, but I’m proud of the effort from our No. 2 team.”

Daniel Suarez — 19th: “Our race was up and down. In the rain, we were decent, and then once the racetrack started drying out, I don’t feel like we were great, but we were still in the hunt. Unfortunately, the gamble didn’t work out. Honestly, I felt like today I gave my best, and it just wasn’t good enough. I wish I was in the mix a little bit more, fighting up front. It just wasn’t in the cards today. I’m happy with our performance, because I felt I left everything on the table. But it just wasn’t meant to be. The car was good. Not great but good, and the strategy didn’t work out. Nobody’s fault, the strategy just didn’t work out today. “It’s definitely a weekend I will remember for a very long time. I feel like everyone in NASCAR, we have a made huge impact this weekend racing in Mexico.”

Joey Logano — 21st: “Just a couple unfortunate moments early on that set back our team and forced us to flip our strategy. We never really had a chance to recover from that but still proud of the effort from the 22 team this weekend.”

Austin Dillon — 28th: “I’m proud of everyone in NASCAR for coming together to bring our sport to Mexico City. I just wish our Chevrolet team could have had a better end to the race weekend. We had some positives, such as finishing sixth in Stage 2 to earn stage points. We were just too tight for the majority of the race. Our RCR team kept fighting and put us in position to salvage a solid finish. Unfortunately, I got spun with less than 25 to go and we couldn’t make up any ground in the final stretch. That’s how these races go sometimes. We’ll take it and move on to Pocono.”

Kyle Busch — 37th: “”Just in the rain, and I went down into 11 and got on the brakes pretty hard. Everything was fine, everything was comfortable, stopped really good. And I’m like, ‘OK, I can be a little more aggressive getting into 1,” and I figured it was going to be fine, and as soon as I went to the brakes, it was like being on ice, and I was just sliding. About a second and a half or so, I was trying to figure out which direction to go, and I was like, ‘I’ve got to turn this thing around backward, because I’m going to nail some people.’ Hate it for all those involved in my mishap. Hate it for RCR, ECR. The car in qualifying was really good, and I felt we were going to be really sporty in the dry. I hate that the rain came, and now it’s nice and dry. Just have to go fight for more points in another week.”





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Cup results, points after Mexico City as Shane van Gisbergen shakes up playoff picture

Shane van Gisbergen qualified for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with his second career victory on the circuit, dominating the inaugural race at Mexico City. The Trackhouse Racing driver became the 10th driver to win in 2025 with his first top five this season (his previous best was a sixth at Circuit of the […]

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Shane van Gisbergen qualified for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with his second career victory on the circuit, dominating the inaugural race at Mexico City.

The Trackhouse Racing driver became the 10th driver to win in 2025 with his first top five this season (his previous best was a sixth at Circuit of the Americas).

After winning in his Cup debut on the streets of downtown Chicago in 2023, van Gisbergen earned his second victory in his 30th start. He led a race-high 60 of 100 laps to become the 33rd driver to win multiple Cup races on road courses (and the eighth to win their first two races on road courses). He also joined Fireball Roberts and Chase Elliott as the third driver with two inaugural road or street course wins.

NASCAR Media.com Mexico (4).jpg

The Trackhouse Racing driver turned in a dominant performance for his second career Cup victory.

The margin of victory was 16.567 seconds, the largest in Cup since Texas in November 2009 (25.686 seconds) and the largest on a road course since Riverside in 1979 (32.9 seconds).

Christopher Bell finished second, followed by Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell, who earned his first top-five finish since joining Spire Motorsports this season.

The win by van Gisbergen will shake up the regular-season points standings. He had entered the Mexico City race in 33rd place and 130 points below the cutline — the second-deepest deficit for a playoff driver to overcome with a win (Harrison Burton was ranked 34th before his Daytona win in 2024.

With van Gisbergen now locked into the playoffs, Chris Buescher holds the final provisional spot on points in the 16-driver field. Buescher is 19 points ahead of Roush Fenway Keselowski teammate Ryan Preece.

NASCAR: Wurth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s comments were caught by Carson Hocevar’s in-car camera after the race.


MEXICO CITY RESULTS

1. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
2. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
3. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
4. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
5. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
6. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
7. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
8. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
9. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
10. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
11. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
12. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
13. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
14. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
15. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
16. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
17. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
18. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
19. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
20. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
21. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
22. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
23. Ryan Truex, No. 11 Toyota
24. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
25. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
26. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
28. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
29. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
30. Noah Gragson. No. 4 Ford
31. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
32. Katherine Legge, No. 78 Chevrolet
33. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
34. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
35. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
36. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
37. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet





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Lochie Hughes Comes Alive Late To Win at WWTR

INDYCAR In a blistering race with no yellow flags, Lochie Hughes tossed caution in the breeze when it mattered most and ended up in victory lane. Hughes used a late charge to win the INDY NXT by Firestone race Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, his second win in his rookie season in the INDYCAR […]

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INDYCAR

In a blistering race with no yellow flags, Lochie Hughes tossed caution in the breeze when it mattered most and ended up in victory lane.

Hughes used a late charge to win the INDY NXT by Firestone race Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, his second win in his rookie season in the INDYCAR development series. Hughes, from Australia, drove his No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car to a 4.3521-second victory over Myles Rowe, who earned a career-best second place in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy machine.

SEE: Race Results

“I was starting fifth, and I was pretty angry with yesterday (after qualifying),” Hughes said. “So, I honestly didn’t really care. I just thought I’d send it and try something with the setup and send it and see what happens.”

Caio Collet finished third in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car after leading 58 of the first 61 laps in the 75-lap race, the first oval event this season. Salvador de Alba finished fourth in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car fielded by Andretti Global, just .0676 of a second behind Collet and the final podium position.

Pole sitter and championship leader Dennis Hauger rounded out the top five in the No. 28 Nammo machine, the third Andretti Global car to finish in the top five. Hauger’s lead over Hughes in the standings slimmed to 19 points after he carried a 38-point lead into this race weekend.

Hughes made a stunning charge toward the front after deciding to try to use his higher-downforce setup to find speed on the higher line on the 1.25-mile oval. The risky ploy, as pieces of worn tire rubber can accumulate in the upper groove and reduce grip, began to pay off when Hughes passed the No. 14 HMD Motorsports car of Josh Pierson to climb from sixth to fifth on Lap 46.

The boldest, most decisive moves by Hughes came in a four-lap span from Laps 59-62, when he blazed a trail on the high line to jump from fourth to first.

Hughes was in second at the start of Lap 62 when he approached the leading car of Collet, who was running behind the No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot car of Ricardo Escotto, who was on the tail end of the lead lap. Hughes swept past both cars on the outside of Turn 2 and powered away, never trailing thereafter.

“It was mega,” Hughes said of his car. “I still can’t really believe it, to be honest. I was so, so disappointed after yesterday. I thought we had thrown away a good result. We did it somehow.

“I just thought I’d try the high line one lap, and it worked. I was like, ‘Oh, found something,’ and then just kept running it and ended up with a win. It’s awesome. I’m so happy.”

Said Collet, who used a low-downforce setup for speed: “I thought I had it with 50 to go, but once I caught traffic, I really lost the tires, and it was really hard to hang on. And they just came flying by.”

Hughes averaged 157.199 mph in the caution-free race, the first without a yellow flag this season and the first oval race without a caution in the series since this event in 2022. There also were 165 on-track passes in this feverish race, an INDY NXT record at WWTR.

The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Sunday, June 22, the Grand Prix at Road America (11 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).




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NASCAR in Mexico City results: Shane van Gisbergen uses road course mastery to earn international win

After a rough start to his weekend in Mexico City, Shane van Gisbergen found race day to be smooth sailing by leading 60 of 100 laps to win the inaugural Viva Mexico 250 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Van Gisbergen, a New Zealander in his rookie year as a full-time Cup driver after winning championships in […]

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After a rough start to his weekend in Mexico City, Shane van Gisbergen found race day to be smooth sailing by leading 60 of 100 laps to win the inaugural Viva Mexico 250 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Van Gisbergen, a New Zealander in his rookie year as a full-time Cup driver after winning championships in Australia’s V8 Supercars tour, earned his second career victory in the first NASCAR Cup Series race on foreign soil since 1958 and first of the sport’s modern era.

Getting to Mexico City to begin with proved quite the challenge for Van Gisbergen, as he was among the NASCAR drivers and industry personnel whose trip south of the border was delayed Thursday after their plane suffered a mechanical failure as it was preparing to take off from Charlotte, N.C. It took an early morning flight for Van Gisbergen to finally get to the racetrack for practice Friday, but the complications of international travel didn’t end there despite him winning the pole. Prior to the start of Sunday’s race, Van Gisbergen reportedly began to feel unwell before strapping in to his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

NASCAR 2025 race schedule, results: Complete list of Cup Series race dates, winners, tracks, locations

Steven Taranto

NASCAR 2025 race schedule, results: Complete list of Cup Series race dates, winners, tracks, locations

If Van Gisbergen was struggling behind the wheel, it certainly didn’t look like it. The road racing ace was in command of the field throughout Sunday’s race, easily handling a transition from wet to dry conditions before taking complete control after a caution in the middle of green flag stops fell in a way that played into Van Gisbergen’s strategy while going against that of his nearest competitor, Ty Gibbs.

“I felt pretty rubbish today — leaking out both holes, that wasn’t fun,” Van Gisbergen joked to Prime. “Our car, it was amazing. I think the 54 was close, but that last stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap and watching them get smaller in the mirror. Unreal.”

Van Gisbergen’s domination of Sunday’s race came thanks in part to some advice from four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen, who Van Gisbergen texted before the race looking for advice on how to drive Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in wet conditions with rain in the forecast. “A little bit in the wet, and just what lines to take and how to approach it. What a guy,” Van Gisbergen said of what Verstappen told him.

Van Gisbergen won by a prohibitive 16.5 seconds over runner up Christopher Bell, with Chase Elliott third, Alex Bowman fourth and Michael McDowell fifth. John Hunter Nemechek ran sixth, followed by Chase Briscoe in seventh, Cole Custer — who earned his first top 10 of the year — in eighth, William Byron ninth and Chris Buescher 10th.

While the driver known as SVG put on a clinic out front, most of the other drivers in the Cup field partook in the sort of slam-bang affair befitting of a lucha libre. A multi-car crash in wet conditions took both Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson out of contention, and after the checkered flag, two particular luchadores ended up in una guerra de palabras that escalated an existing feud.

After Carson Hocevar locked up his brakes in the stadium section of the course and spun out Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the second time in the last three races, Stenhouse angrily confronted Hocevar in his car after the race, making it clear to him that the foreign soil they were on was the only thing keeping him from taking further action. “I will beat your ass,” Stenhouse could be heard saying from Hocevar’s in-car camera. “I will when we get back to the States!”

“I just got left and in the marbles and slid a lot longer than I expected,” Hocevar told reporters of the incident, which came after Hocevar was already running a lap down due to earlier problems. “Obviously, number one, not somebody that I would ever want to hit again. But number two, I wasn’t racing anybody. I was just logging laps and just trying to wait on a yellow and maybe see if we could put our day back together. I just hit a curb wrong and got in the marbles and slid all the way through the corner.

“I tried to turn left to avoid him, but just a really, really sloppy day by me.”

Mexico native Daniel Suarez, who won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race in front of his home country, finished in the top 10 in both stages and briefly took the lead after a restart, but faded to 19th at the finish. Suarez finished just ahead of Ryan Truex in 23rd, who spent the day filling in for Denny Hamlin behind the wheel of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin did not make the trip to Mexico City due to the birth of his son, giving the younger brother of former Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. the opportunity to make his first Cup start since 2014.

In winning the inaugural Cup race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez after winning the inaugural Chicago Street Race in his 2023 Cup debut, Shane van Gisbergen becomes the first driver to earn both of his first two Cup wins in inaugural races at a track since Marvin Porter won at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds in 1957 and Marchbanks Speedway in 1960. Van Gisbergen’s 16.567 second margin of victory is also the largest in any Cup race since Kurt Busch won at Texas by 25.686 seconds in the fall of 2009.

Viva Mexico 250 results

  1. #88 – Shane van Gisbergen (R)
  2. #20 – Christopher Bell
  3. #9 – Chase Elliott
  4. #48 – Alex Bowman
  5. #71 – Michael McDowell
  6. #42 – John Hunter Nemechek
  7. #19 – Chase Briscoe
  8. #41 – Cole Custer
  9. #24 – William Byron
  10. #17 – Chris Buescher
  11. #54 – Ty Gibbs
  12. #23 – Bubba Wallace
  13. #16 – A.J. Allmendinger
  14. #12 – Ryan Blaney
  15. #60 – Ryan Preece
  16. #1 – Ross Chastain
  17. #43 – Erik Jones
  18. #2 – Austin Cindric
  19. #99 – Daniel Suarez
  20. #45 – Tyler Reddick
  21. #22 – Joey Logano
  22. #34 – Todd Gilliland
  23. #11 – Ryan Truex
  24. #7 – Justin Haley
  25. #6 – Brad Keselowski
  26. #21 – Josh Berry
  27. #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  28. #3 – Austin Dillon
  29. #35 – Riley Herbst (R)
  30. #4 – Noah Gragson
  31. #51 – Cody Ware
  32. #78 – Katherine Legge
  33. #10 – Ty Dillon
  34. #77 – Carson Hocevar
  35. #38 – Zane Smith
  36. #5 – Kyle Larson
  37. #8 – Kyle Busch





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