SVG wins Mexico NASCAR Cup Series race, secures playoff spot

With his win in the Viva Mexico 250 Sunday, Shane Van Gisbergen earned his first NASCAR Cup Series of 2025, securing his first-ever Cup Series playoff berth.

SVG started from the pole at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, leading 55 of the 100 laps en route to his second career Cup Series win.

“What a week. I have really enjoyed myself here. I felt pretty rubbish today,” SVG said. “Thank you to Safety Culture, Trackhouse, Chevy and these guys right here.  

“I think the 54 was close, but that last stint, what a pleasure to just be ripping lap after lap and to watch them all get smaller in the mirror. Unreal.”

Entering the Mexico City race, SVG entered the race 33rd in driver’s points. Before his win, SVG’s lone Top-10 finish came at the Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin in March where he finished sixth.

The Austin road course winner, Christopher Bell, finished second, leading twice for four laps.

“I was good; just not good enough,” Bell said. “I was kind of — I lacked a little bit.

“The fact that I was a little bit off in both (Mexico City races), I think I just need to work on myself a little bit, figure out what Shane was doing through a couple sections of the racetrack, and my guys have been bringing really good road course cars for a long time now.”

Chase Elliott, the seven-time road course winner who has not won in the Next Gen racecar, finished third.

“We were kind of up and down all day and finally got going there a few runs from the end and (Alan Gustafson, crew chief) made us a good call to get us on tires,” Elliott said.

“Finally had a restart go halfway decent and got a decent Top-3 out of it.”

Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell finished off the Top-5 positions.

Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.

From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book “All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story” with racer Geoff Bodine.

Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.

You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.