MEXICO CITY — (AP) — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.

At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.

But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.

The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.

NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.

“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.

NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.

The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

The Viva Mexico 250 marks a historic moment as the NASCAR Cup Series races internationally for the first time in 25 years — and for the first time in a points race since the 1950s. Set at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, a legendary track built in 1959 and home to the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, this event promises high-stakes action in a landmark setting. Here’s what you need to know about the race, how to watch and more.

When is the Viva Mexico 250?

The Viva Mexico 250 is scheduled for Sunday, June 15th at 3 p.m. ET.

Where is the race?

The Viva Mexico 250 will take place at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico.

How long is the race?

The Viva Mexico 250 is a total of 100 laps and 241 miles.

Where can I watch the Viva Mexico 250? What channel will it be on?

The race will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video.

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How can I stream or watch the race without cable?

The Viva Mexico 250 can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

What is the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Schedule?

Friday, June 13th

• NASCAR Mexico Series – Practice & Qualifying – 11 a.m. ET
• NASCAR Cup Series – Practice 1 – 1:05 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime)
• NASCAR Xfinity Series – Practice 1 – 2:05 p.m. ET (CW App)
• NASCAR Cup Series – Practice 2 – 3 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime)
• NASCAR Xfinity Series – Practice 2 – 3:30 p.m. ET (CW App)
• NASCAR Mexico Series – Ricardo Rodriguez 120 (NASCAR Mexico Series)

Saturday, June 14th

• NASCAR Xfinity Series – Qualifying – 10:30 a.m. ET (CW App)
• NASCAR Cup Series – Qualifying – 12 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime)
• NASCAR Mexico Series – Pedro Rodriguez 100 (NASCAR Mexico Series)
• NASCAR Xfinity Series – The Chilango 150 – 10:30 a.m. ET (CW App)

Sunday, June 15th

• NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 – 3 p.m. ET (Amazon Prime / MAX)

Who is driving in the race?

There are 37 drivers entered into the Viva Mexico 250. Qualifying starts on Saturday, 6/14. 

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MEXICO CITY — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.

At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.

But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.

The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.

NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.

“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.

NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.

The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.

June 13, 2025, Press Release from the University of Northwestern Ohio:

LIMA, Ohio – The University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) is proud to announce a new partnership with the American Rally Association (ARA). Beginning in 2025, UNOH will become an Official Educational Partner of the ARA. This collaboration opens a new lane of opportunities for students, offering immersive, real-world experiences in one of the fastest-growing motorsports in the country.

“We’re incredibly excited to partner with the American Rally Association,” said Dr. Jeffrey A. Jarvis, UNOH President. “Our students are passionate about motorsports, and this partnership provides them with unprecedented opportunities to engage in every facet of rally—from the service park to the podium, and everything in between.”

As part of the partnership, UNOH will gain access to digital and visual assets, including video, photography, and behind-the-scenes content, for use in student recruitment and marketing efforts. The university will also be prominently featured on the ARA website and across its social media platforms, further showcasing UNOH’s nationally recognized programs in High Performance Motorsports, Automotive, Diesel, and related fields.

The ARA is currently developing a nationwide volunteer recruitment and training platform designed to support its growing schedule of events. UNOH will play a key role in the platform’s launch, with student involvement anticipated at the 2025 Southern Ohio Forest Rally in mid-June. Students will collaborate with ARA officials, teams, and drivers, gaining hands-on experience in technical operations, logistics, business management, and IT systems used in competitive rallying.

“UNOH students have already shown incredible initiative and enthusiasm for the sport,” said ARA Series Manager, Preston Osborn. “This partnership allows us to build a stronger, more skilled rally workforce and gives students the tools to turn their passion into a profession. It’s a partnership that fully aligns with our mission to grow the sport of stage rally in America.”

The partnership is a direct result of student-driven interest. In 2024, UNOH formally launched the UNOH Rally Club after students expressed a desire to connect more deeply with the rally racing community. Throughout the 2024 ARA season, club members volunteered as crew members for a variety of teams, and their ranks have only increased during the first half of the 2025 season. The new agreement formalizes and expands those efforts, laying the foundation for long-term collaboration.

With rally events taking place in diverse and challenging environments across the country, UNOH students will have the opportunity to travel, train, and contribute at both grassroots and professional levels.

“This is more than just motorsports—it’s an educational experience that touches engineering, event production, digital media, marketing, business management, and more,” said Osborn. “UNOH is the perfect partner to help us shape the future of American Rally.”

For more information about the partnership and how students can get involved, visit www.unoh.edu or www.americanrallyassociation.org. 

About ARA: The American Rally Association (ARA) is the largest rally organization in the United States and promotes the country’s only cohesive, nationwide competition for the sport of stage rally: The ARA National Championship Presented by Kubota. Synonymous with extreme-sports-stars-turned-rally-champions—such as Ken Block, Travis Pastrana and Brandon Semenuk—ARA rally, sanctioned by USAC, provides a direct link to pure automotive adventure: a top-speed race against the clock on real roads specifically chosen to challenge production-based cars and world-class drivers on diverse surfaces that include snow, sand, gravel, dirt and tarmac. To learn more about the ARA and its partners, go to www.AmericanRallyAssociation.org

About UNOH:  Founded in 1920, the University of Northwestern Ohio is an entrepreneurial, not-for-profit, university located in Lima, Ohio. The university is comprised of five colleges: the College of Applied Technologies, the College of Business, the College of Health Professions, the College of Occupational Professions, and the Graduate College.  The University is recognized worldwide as a leader in Automotive, Diesel, and High Performance Motorsports Technology education.  UNOH also offers world-class degree programs in Business, Health, Marketing, Information Technology, Robotics, and many other fields of study.  UNOH has educated students from all 50 states and 81 countries, and currently has nearly 3,000 students enrolled from 48 states and 40 countries. The University of Northwestern Ohio also offers a variety of athletics, including men’s and women’s basketball, golf, bowling, soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s baseball, women’s softball, and six co-ed motorsports teams.   For more information, visit www.unoh.edu 

MEXICO CITY (AP) — NASCAR’s first Cup Series race outside the United States was off to a bumpy start Friday with several teams yet to arrive in Mexico City because of travel issues in North Carolina.

At least one chartered flight to Mexico City was grounded Thursday with an engine issue, leaving teams scrambling to find alternative routes to get to Mexico. Some drove to Atlanta to catch a commercial flight.

But when the track opened Friday, many were not at Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Trackhouse Racing was among them — Daniel Suarez arrived Tuesday with some support personnel so he was not affected — but the communications director for the Cup team had been summoned to help unload the Trackhouse cars off the truck because no crew members were available.

The trucks came directly from last Sunday’s race in Michigan and arrived at the Mexico City track on Thursday.

NASCAR said only “a select few” teams aren’t on site Friday morning. But, it seems most are Xfinity Series teams based on a revamping of the weekend schedule.

“Due to two aircraft issues that grounded multiple race teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, NASCAR has adjusted the on-track schedule for this weekend’s activities at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez,” NASCAR said in a statement.

NASCAR delayed Friday’s originally planned Cup Series practice to later in the afternoon. NASCAR also pushed all Xfinity Series practice sessions from Friday to Saturday. And, the first of two NASCAR Mexico Series races will run earlier than originally scheduled on Friday.

The Xfinity Series will lose some practice time, with just one 50-minute session on Saturday morning, right before qualifying. There are other slight adjustments as well, but Cup teams will not lose any practice.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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

MEXICO CITY – Amid much anticipation from fans and NASCAR teams alike, the NASCAR Cup Series has arrived in Mexico City for the series’ first points-paying international race in seven decades, Sunday’s aptly-named Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (3 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The industry has long been preparing for this inaugural visit to the renowned 2.42-mile, 15-turn road course in the middle of bustling Mexico City. And perhaps no one is more eager for NASCAR’s Mexican arrival than Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who has made multiple visits to his home country in support of the event, excited to show the world-class facility NASCAR’s brand of Cup racing.

“I’m super excited, regardless of what happens on Sunday,” said the Monterrey, Mexico-native Suarez, who has competed – and won three times – on the track’s oval-configuration while racing in the NASCAR Mexico Series, which will also be competing this weekend.

“I’m super excited for the event. I’m super excited to live in the moment because the first time is going to only happen once. I’m really trying to be as present as possible; enjoy the moment and try to execute the best possible weekend that we can. We know that we are capable of winning the race, but that’s not the goal. The goal is the execution of the entire weekend, and hopefully the win is the result of the execution part.”

Suarez, who scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win on a road course at Sonoma, Calif. in 2022, has been a vital supporter of this initiative. For months, the popular driver has starred in the NASCAR commercials promoting the Mexican race – the script depicting him trying to teach fellow racers how to speak in Spanish.

“At first, I thought man, I don’t know if this is going to work out, like, I don’t think this is going to be funny,” Suarez said smiling. “And honestly, it turned out amazing. I give a lot of credit to NASCAR for trying all these different things. I think people are liking it. Drivers are embracing it. And, obviously, I’m having fun with it. I’m the one teaching the language, so for the first time, I feel like I’m in my zone, so that’s good.”

Suarez is certainly among the group of drivers hoping a new venue may produce different results on the season. The driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet is ranked 28th in the championship with 11 regular season races remaining to set the 16-driver Playoff field.

Others traditionally considered road course aces similarly see this as a big opportunity to punch a Playoff ticket. Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger, Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell and Suarez’ Trackhouse teammate Shane Van Gisbergen are all some of the most talented road racers in the sport and all are still looking to earn a victory this season. Many still well below the 16th place Playoff cutoff line.

Interestingly, six of the 14 regular season races in the Next Gen Era have been won by drivers ranked 16th or worse in the standings at the time of their victory.

“Everyone expects us to perform on road courses,” said the New Zealand-native Van Gisbergen, who made the ultimate NASCAR debut winning at the Chicago street race two years ago in his very first start.

“Not that we have been hanging out for it (road courses), but the ovals have been a big learning process the last couple of months. It will be nice for sure to have a bit of a break and races on the types of courses I’m used to which means turning right.”

Hendrick Motorsports has won at eight different road courses – the most in NASCAR history. And four of the remaining 11 races will be on road courses.

Hendrick’s William Byron continues to lead the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings – up by 41 points on his teammate Kyle Larson heading to south of the border – and both are also considered favorites this weekend. Hendrick drivers – Byron (two), Larson (two) and Bowman (one) – have won five of the last eight road course races. If Elliott wins this weekend he would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer for second most road course wins all-time (eight).

Last week’s race winner, Denny Hamlin claimed his first career Xfinity Series win at the Mexico road course in 2006. He, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (who won the 2008 Xfinity Series race) and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Brad Keselowski are the only drivers to have raced at the circuit – competing in the Xfinity Series there.

RFK’s Chris Buescher, who finished runner-up to Hamlin last week at Michigan, boasts the best road course average finish (8.7) in the Next Gen cars.

Busch Light Pole Qualifying is set for Saturday at noon ET (Amazon Prime, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to return to Mexico

The NASCAR Xfinity Series marks its return to Mexico with Saturday afternoon’s The Chilango 150 (4:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The series has held four previous races at the famed Autodrome Hermanos Rodriquez – the last in 2008 won by Kyle Busch.

This is the second of seven road course races on the schedule. Series rookie, JR Motorsports’ Connor Zilisch won at Circuit of The Americas from pole position.

Reigning series champion, JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier earned his third win of the season in the series’ most recent race, two weeks ago at Nashville. It marks the fifth time in the last eight years, the veteran has scored at least three victories in a season. He holds a 92-point advantage in the championship standings over fellow three-race winner, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill.

The Illinois native has answered his first career title run with another top-shelf season in the No. 7 JRM Chevrolet. He leads all drivers in laps led (638) and top-10 finishes (10). He’s only eight top-10 finishes from 300 in his career – a feat never before accomplished in the series.

With 12 regular season races remaining and six Playoff spots still to be claimed, Mexico City certainly presents all the makings of an ultra-competitive weekend.

Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs have the most road course wins (four) in this weekend’s field. Interestingly, nine of the series’ last 11 road course races have been won by just three drivers (Mayer, Shane Van Gisbergen and Zilisch). And Mayer, who is ranked third in the standings, is still looking for his first win of the year.

Gibbs (No. 19 Toyota) is among three NASCAR Cup Series regulars – also Suarez (No. 9 Chevy) and Christopher Bell (No. 24 Toyota) – racing Saturday. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie, Andres Perez De Lara will be making his Xfinity Series debut.

Kennametal Pole Qualifying is slated for 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday (CW App) and historically has proven very significant on road courses with the polesitter winning 10 of the last 18 road course races.