NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman has shared an emotional tribute on X after the passing of his team owner, Charlie Henderson. The official announcement from Henderson Motorsports was made on Saturday in Mexico.

Kligerman has raced for Henderson Motorsports since 2017 and admitted that Charlie and his family came to his rescue during challenging phases of his career. Kligerman’s most recent Truck Series win with the team was at Daytona. Unfortunately, his truck was disqualified in the post-race inspection.

One point Kligerman mentioned about Charlie was that he prioritized team interest to win, even if the decision was not financially viable. Kligerman stated on X:

“Very sad day for this sport and the Henderson family. Charlie, his whole family & this race team have meant so much to me over the last decade.

“When I first got to Henderson motorsports I’ll never forget looking at a banner in their race shop full of the amazing drivers who had driven for them since the 70s. True hero’s of the sport

“I wasn’t sure if my name would make it up on that banner but by the time we got our first win, I knew I had a home.

“Charlie and his family in some of my tougher moments in my racing career, have always been there to give me a shot and truly believed in me when many others didn’t. And together we have done some incredible things!

“And It was all led by Charlie, who would always push us to make the cars faster, he’d ask us incessantly, ‘what do you need to win?’ He was so dedicated even when it wasn’t in his best financial interest!

“But no matter what he would always text me ahead of races including this year starting about 3 months before Daytona, he would send me morning text that said ‘We will Daytona!’

“A couple months later we did. Unfortunately he wasn’t there but seeing him afterwards, that meant the world to him.

“Of all his racing he wanted to win Talladega, Daytona and Bristol. He got those.

“Thank you Charlie for being the incredible, supportive, passionate racer that myself and many other racers owe a debt of gratitude for your support and love of racing.”

Henderson Motorsports released a statement after Charlie’s passing.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our team owner, Charlie Henderson. Charlie was not only the driving force behind Henderson Motorsports, but also a beloved member of the NASCAR community and a dear friend to us all.

“Charlie was the second longest active team owner in NASCAR, behind only the Wood Brothers. He began his racing career at Kingsport Speedway in 1975 and had been a part of NASCAR since 1982. His passion for racing, commitment to his team, and love for the sport left a lasting impact on everyone who had the privilege of working alongside him.

“He built this team on hard work, family values, and a love for competition that will continue to inspire us moving forward.

“We are grateful for the many years of leadership, friendship, and memories that Charlie gave to Henderson Motorsports and the entire NASCAR community. We ask that you keep the Henderson family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

Our thoughts are with the Henderson family.

The best in NASCAR head south of the border for the first time ever on Sunday, as the Cup Series gets set to host the Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

• Stream NASCAR on Prime Video (30-day free trial)

This is shaping up to be a very intriguing event. Not only is it the second road course race of the 2025 season, but the NCS is really heading into a great unknown with racing in Mexico City. The track has been famous for running Formula 1 events in the past, but hardly ever seeing stock cars take to sharp corners.

For a few years, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, formerly known as the Busch Series, used to run at the Autodromo, with names like Martin Truex Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch having won races at the track.

However, that circuit was specifically designed for NASCAR. The circuit today’s drivers will be turning on is the similar circuit that F1 and other motorsport series compete on.

After last weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway, where Denny Hamlin beat out William Byron, Hamlin moves up to third in driver’s points with three wins on the year, trailing Byron and Kyle Larson in the standings.

NASCAR CUP SERIES

Viva Mexico 250

When: Sunday, June 15

Time: 3 p.m. ET

Where: Autodromo Hermanso Rodriguez (Mexico City, Mexico)

Stream: Prime Video (30-day free trial)

Check out the NASCAR schedule and results here

The NASCAR Mexico Series has been around for over 20 years, but the NASCAR Cup Series visiting the country for a points race has never been seen before. That will change with the 2025 Viva México 250, which takes place on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET from Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. NASCAR at Mexico City has been years in the making, and not only is it the first Cup Series race in the nation, but the Viva México 250 2025 is also the first race outside the U.S. since 1958. With a novel race like this one, a unique name appears at the top of the 2025 NASCAR at Mexico City odds board. Shane van Gisbergen, who has no top-fives this season, is the +330 favorite due to his past road race success.

Christopher Bell, who has three wins in 2025, follows at +700, with other 2025 NASCAR Mexico City contenders including William Byron (+800) and Kyle Larson (+800). Before entering any 2025 Viva Mexico 250 picks, NASCAR DFS lineups on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, or locking in NASCAR props on sites like PrizePicks, Sleeper Fantasy, and Underdog Fantasy, be sure to see the latest 2025 NASCAR at Mexico predictions from SportsLine’s proven projection model.

Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary NASCAR prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results.

The model began its 2025 season by calling Chase Elliott to win for a +300 payout at the Clash at Bowman Gray and was also high on Byron as a +2000 longshot at Daytona. Then it predicted Kyle Larson’s win in Miami for a +350 payout, Christopher Bell’s +600 triumph in the NASCAR All-Star Race and Denny Hamlin’s +650 victory in Michigan. In 2024, it nailed Larson to win in Las Vegas for a 21-5 sports betting payout and predicted Denny Hamlin’s wins in Bristol at 5-1 and Richmond at 17-4.

It also impressively nailed five of Larson’s wins during his historic season in 2021. All told, the model has nailed a whopping 22 winners since 2021. Anyone who followed its lead on betting apps and sportsbooks on those NASCAR picks could have seen huge returns. New users also have the opportunity to take advantage of the latest Bet365 promo code, Caesars Sportsbook promo code and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code.

Now, the model simulated the 2025 Viva Mexico 250 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected NASCAR at Mexico City leaderboard.

Top 2025 Viva Mexico 250 predictions

For the 2025 Viva Mexico 250, the model is high on Michael McDowell, even though he’s a +2200 longshot in the latest 2025 NASCAR at Mexico odds. He’s a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. After starting his racing career as an open-wheeler, McDowell didn’t transition to stock car racing until 2006 as a 21-year-old. However, he had raced his way into the NASCAR Cup Series by 2008 and he’s been a fixture ever since.

The 40-year-old has 45 career top-10 finishes in NASCAR’s top level and 11 of those runs were on road courses while two more came in the Chicago Street Race. McDowell won the 2023 Verizon 200 on the grand prix circuit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and he also ran extremely well in the only other road race so far this season. McDowell led three laps and collected stage points with a third-place finish in Stage 2 and then finished 11th despite suffering a pass-through penalty when his pit crew went over the wall early. BetMGM is offering the best odds here for McDowell and you can also build in first-bet insurance with the latest BetMGM promo code:

The only Mexican driver to win on the Cup Series, Suarez was a regular on the NASCAR Mexico Series early in his career. He not only has experience at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, with 13 starts at the track, but he has success there as well. He’s a three-time winner at the track, with another pair of top-5 finishes. Additionally, Suarez’ last start on the NASCAR Mexico Series was a victory in Feb. 2024, which came just weeks before his last win on the Cup Series.

After finishing 20th or worse in each of his first five Cup Series seasons, Suarez has placed inside the top 20 each of the last three years. He’s been up and down in 2025 but is coming off a pair of top-20 finishes, and as long as he avoids vehicle issues, he’s usually always in contention. Suarez enters Sunday’s race with five straight top 20s overall — including three top 10s — in races in which his car didn’t suffer an accident. Suarez described racing in Mexico City on the Cup Series “a dream come true”, so the motivation factor shouldn’t be discounted as the model has him notching his second top 5 of the season. The model sees +200 odds at FanDuel as plenty of value, and new users can also get the latest FanDuel promo code. See which other drivers to avoid and the rest of the projected NASCAR leaderboard at SportsLine.

How to make 2025 NASCAR at Mexico picks

The model is also targeting three other drivers with Mexico NASCAR odds of 12-1 or longer to make a serious run at the checkered flag. Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it big. You can see all of the model’s NASCAR picks, props, and projected leaderboard over at SportsLine.

So who wins the 2025 Viva Mexico 250, and which longshots are must-backs? Check out the latest 2025 NASCAR at Mexico odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full NASCAR Mexico projected leaderboard, all from the model that has nailed 22 winners, and find out.

2025 NASCAR Mexico odds, drivers, lineup

See the full NASCAR at Mexico picks at SportsLine

Shane Van Gisbergen +330
Christopher Bell +700
William Byron +800
Tyler Reddick +800
Kyle Larson +800
Chase Elliott +1000
AJ Allmendinger +1200
Kyle Busch +1400
Daniel Suarez +1400
Chris Buescher +1600
Ross Chastain +1800
Michael McDowell +1800
Alex Bowman +2500
Carson Hocevar +2800
Chase Briscoe +3000
Ty Gibbs +3000
Austin Cindric +3500
Denny Hamlin +4000
Ryan Blaney +4000
Joey Logano +5500
Todd Gilliland +15000
Bubba Wallace +15000
Brad Keselowski +15000
Noah Gragson +20000
Ryan Preece +20000
Justin Haley +20000
Austin Dillon +20000
Zane Smith +25000
Cole Custer +25000
Josh Berry +30000
Riley Herbst +30000
Erik Jones +30000
Ricky Stenhouse +40000
John Hunter Nemechek +40000
Ty Dillon +100000
Katherine Legge +100000
Cody Ware +100000

MEXICO CITY — For years, Oscar Sanchez has jogged around Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and imagined what it would be like to see NASCAR Cup Series cars on his home track.

The circuit is open during weekdays to runners and cyclists, and Sanchez, a 38-year-old auditor and nearby resident, often takes advantage of its public access. So when he stood in the grandstands on Friday for the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series practice session and watched the Cup cars zoom around the same track, it was an emotional moment.

“The roar of the engines for the practice was … Oh!” Sanchez said Saturday amid the hum of the bustling fan midway. “I closed my eyes and just smelled it.”

He imitated the experience, shutting his eyelids and waving a savory scent toward his nose like a chef hovering over a freshly prepared dish. Then Sanchez’s eyes flashed open again.

“It’s really a dream come true,” he said.

Much of the focus for NASCAR’s inaugural Cup Series race in Mexico City (airing Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime) — its first points race outside the United States since 1958 — has been the search for new fans. International expansion has long been coveted by NASCAR executives, who believe they have an opportunity to grow their non-American audience as other major sports leagues have.

But a smaller group of longtime Mexican NASCAR fans, who had never seen Cup Series cars in person until this weekend, didn’t need to be convinced. As diehards getting their first real-life taste of NASCAR’s top series, it’s been sensory overload.

“It was so loud,” said Mauricio Sanchez, a 25-year-old photographer from the Cancún area (and no relation to Oscar). “Our local races are not that loud, even in a pack. Kyle Larson was the first car to go out (in practice), and he just flies by, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ …

“The first impression, I will never forget it for the rest of my life. I will never be able to repeat that moment, the first time you hear the Next Gen driving full throttle.”

Mauricio first watched a NASCAR race at age four, according to his parents, and gravitated toward Kyle Busch, who was a teenager at the time. More than two decades later, Busch is now a 40-year-old veteran who still races in NASCAR.

Mauricio was wowed to see Busch’s No. 8 car go around the track (Busch qualified 11th for Sunday’s race) in person and proudly wore the gear of a driver he praised for having “a personality with no filter.”

“Watching him driving is just awesome,” Mauricio said. “We have a lot of fans who are new to the sport, but having this opportunity to watch something I’ve loved only on TV is just impressive.”

“Having this opportunity to watch something I’ve loved only on TV is just impressive,” fan Mauricio Sanchez said of NASCAR’s return to Mexico City. (Jeff Gluck / The Athletic)

Americans get 35 points races plus two exhibition races in their country this year, and the oversaturation can lead to some malaise among the fan base. But for those seeing Cup cars for the first time, the freshness and enthusiasm are high.

For example, while some traditional fans have criticized NASCAR’s Next Gen car, Mauricio said it “looks incredible” and is “better in person.”

Oscar Sanchez was drawn to NASCAR for its thrilling oval racing — not road courses like Mexico City (which is the track Formula One uses on its annual visits here). But he’ll take what he can get for a first Cup experience, he said.

“I would prefer Daytona or Talladega, but this is amazing,” he said.

Oscar first learned about NASCAR through games on the original PlayStation in 2000. He felt connected to the sponsor brands at the time and liked that stock cars looked like real cars on the street.

In 2002, when he got cable TV, he came across NASCAR races and realized he recognized real-life tracks like Daytona and Charlotte from the games he played. He’s been a fan ever since, changing his rooting interests from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Chase Elliott (the son of Bill Elliott, whom Oscar associates with his early days as a fan).

“You can see drama, you can see many cars, you can see crashes,” Oscar said of NASCAR’s appeal. “It’s more connected to the people than Formula One, I think.”

Indeed, most Mexican race fans are more drawn to open-wheel racing (Formula One and IndyCar) instead of stock cars. But some find NASCAR more appealing.

Mexico City resident Andres Lambreton, 27, became a NASCAR fan by accident. He watched NFL games on Sundays with his father (a huge Dallas Cowboys fan), and the channel would often get turned to golf when the football game was over. But Lambreton was bored by golf, so he once changed the channel to a same-day replay of a NASCAR race at Texas.

Now-retired Martin Truex Jr. was leading that mid-2010s race at the time, Lambreton recalled, so the youngster decided Truex was his new favorite driver. Watching NASCAR suddenly became a regular tradition for father and son.

“NASCAR is an awesome product and an awesome race series, but it’s hard to give it a chance if you haven’t consumed it or been close to it,” Lambreton said. “So this is a massive opportunity for NASCAR and for motorsports fans from both countries to become closer.”

On Saturday, Daniel Suárez won NASCAR’s Xfinity Series race in his home country. “I cried as hard as a situation like this permits,” one fan said. (James Gilbert / Getty Images)

But Lambreton’s passion went to another level when Mexico native Daniel Suárez began his stock car career.

Lambreton can rattle off the key moments from 2016, when Suárez won his first three Xfinity Series races and the series championship. He remembers crying when Suárez won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to clinch the title, and his interest in racing led to a job doing social media for a sports website. And the emotion returned later Saturday when Suárez won the first Xfinity Series race in Mexico City in 17 years.

“I cried as hard as a situation like this permits,” he said via text message.

Each of the longtime fans said they hoped Sunday’s race would be enjoyable or that their favorite driver would do well. But Mauricio then caught himself, not wanting to sound too greedy.

“I’m living a dream,” he said, “and that’s all that matters today.”

(Top photo of fans reacting to Daniel Suárez’s win in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

NASCAR is heading south of the border this weekend for the inaugural running of the Viva México 250.

In addition to being the Cup Series’ first race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, it’s also the first time a points-paying race in the series will take place outside of the United States since 1958 when NASCAR raced in Toronto, Canada.

The course is a road course, also used for the annual Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix. Set at the highest elevation of any course on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, the track is 2.429 mi with 15 turns and 100 laps total.

Here’s everything you need to know about today’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Mexico City.

Viva México 250 start time: What time is today’s NASCAR race on?

Today’s (June 14) NASCAR race, the Viva México 250, begins at 2 p.m. ET.

What channel is today’s NASCAR race on?

Today’s NASCAR race won’t be on traditional television; it will air exclusively on Prime Video.

How to watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Mexico City for free:

If you aren’t a Prime Video subscriber yet, you can get started with a 30-day Amazon Prime free trial, including Prime perks like the Prime Video streaming service, free two-day shipping, exclusive deals, and more. After the free trial, Amazon Prime costs $14.99/month or $139/year.

All 18- to 24-year-olds, regardless of student status, are eligible for a discounted Prime for Young Adults membership as well, with age verification. After a six-month free trial, you’ll pay 50% off the standard Prime monthly price of $14.99/month — just $7.49/month — for up to six years and get all the perks.

With Prime Video, you can also take advantage of the streamer’s Shop the Race storefront, exclusively on the Amazon mobile app, to shop gear, flags, and more for your favorite driver.

NASCAR Mexico City starting lineup:

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

NASCAR on Prime Video 2025 schedule:

Prime Video will broadcast two more NASCAR races this season, including today’s.

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