Viva Mexico 250 at Mexico City

Welcome to the Racing America On SI Live Race Updates page for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

Be sure to refresh this post throughout Sunday’s event as the Live Race Updates story will be updated regularly with the biggest moments from the 242-mile race around the 2.42-mile road course, including lead changes, crash replays, the winner of the race, finishing results, and more.

Lap 52: SVG Scrubs Past Bell for Lead

Shane van Gisbergen rubbed sides with Christopher Bell in Turn 15, and took the lead from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver heading to the finish line on Lap 52.

Lap 52: Stenhouse Spins

The intensity has certainly ratcheted up as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the latest driver to go for a spin on Lap 52. Stenhouse had help from Brad Keselowski.

Lap 50: Chastain Gets Turned

Ross Chastain got spun while running around seventh or eighth on Lap 50. Chastain now runs 30th.

Lap 50: Back to Green!

The green flag is back out, and Shane van Gisbergen is fighting hard with Christopher Bell for the race lead. Down the frontstretch, Bell had a slight advantage, but SVG locked his brakes up in Turn 1. SVG and Bell are still fighting for the lead, and Bell actually takes the lead.

Lap 45: Shane Van Gisbergen Wins Stage 2

Shane van Gisbergen will pocket 10 Stage Points and a Playoff Point after scoring the Stage 2 win with ease ove Christopher Bell.

Viva Mexico 250 Stage 2 Results

Lap 43: Shane Van Gisbergen All Over Ty Gibbs for Lead

With three laps left in Stage 2, Shane van Gisbergen is applying all sorts of pressure to Ty Gibbs for the race lead. As they come off of Turn 15, Gibbs peels off the track for pit road, while SVG stays on the track.

SVG will likely win the Stage, while Gibbs will gain the advantage of better track position to start the final Stage of the race.

Lap 42: Austin Cindric Makes First Pit Stop

Austin Cindric nearly made it to the halfway point of Sunday’s 100-lap Viva Mexico 250 before pitting, but on Lap 42, he finally made his first stop.

Lap 39: Erik Jones Cuts Tire

Erik Jones makes an unscheduled pit stop for a cut down left front tire. Jones scored points in Stage 1, but will likely have to rely on setting himself up for a good overall finish to have a good points day following the cut tire in Stage 2.

Lap 35: Back to Green!

We’re back to green, and the race for the lead is on between Ty Gibbs and Shane van Gisbergen. Gibbs prevails heading into the esses.

Lap 32: Caution

Ryan Truex, who is filling in for Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, has gone for a spin, which brings the caution out. Truex was running inside the top-25, but has dropped to 31st.

Lap 30: Stenhouse Pits for Slicks

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finally gone to pit road to swap his wet weather tires for slicks.

Lap 29: McDowell, Suarez Pit for Slicks

Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez came to pit road on Lap 29 for slick tires. The only driver on the track still running on wet weather tires is Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Austin Cindric (3rd) has yet to pit and is still using his original set of slick tires, he’ll have to pit soon for fuel.

Ty Gibbs currently leads Shane van Gisbergen by 2.025 seconds.

Lap 28: Gilliland Spins in Turn 15

Todd Gilliland got spun with help from Ryan Preece and Chase Elliott in Turn 15 on Lap 28. Gilliland drops from 16th to 31st due to the spin.

Lap 25/26: Nemechek, Gragson Go For Spins

Noah Gragson spun out on the first lap of green flag racing on Lap 25, and a lap later, John Hunter Nemechek went for a spin after contact from Tyler Reddick.

Gragson runs 30th on Lap 26, while Nemechek now runs 32nd.

Lap 25: Back to Green!

We’re back to green. Michael McDowell led the field to the green flag, but Daniel Suarez worked his way around McDowell for the race lead early in the lap.

Now, Suarez is side-by-side in the stadium portion of the track for the lead. Gibbs prevails for the lead.

Suarez is now fighting Shane van Gisbergen for the second spot.

Lap 22: Preece Wins Race Off Pit Road; 19 Drivers Stay Out

Ryan Preece, the Stage 1 winner, won the race off pit road under this caution, but will restart 20th after the top-19 drivers stayed on the track.

Michael McDowell will restart as the leader, and he’ll be joined by Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Shane van Gisbergen.

Lap 20: Ryan Preece Takes Stage 1 Win

Ryan Blaney caught Ryan Preece, but Preece was able to hold him off for the Stage 1 win in Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250.

Shane van Gisbergen (16th) is the highest-running of the drivers that pitted for slick tires before the end of Stage 1.

Viva Mexico 250 Stage 1 Results

Lap 18: A Slew of Drivers Pit For Slicks

Bell’s pit stop triggered the majority of the field hitting pit road for slick tires. Ryan Preece, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Michael McDowell and a few others have stayed out for Stage Points.

Lap 17: Christopher Bell Pits for Slicks

With the track continuing to dry out, Christopher Bell has hit pit road from the top-10 to grab slick tires. Shane van Gisbergen continues to lead Ty Gibbs, and SVG was told by his crew chief to remain on track as there looks to be more weather on the way.

Lap 14: Rain Has Stopped

The rain has stopped, and the track has begun to dry out some. There is a long way to go, but Austin Cindric remains the only driver still on slick tires, and he could start climbing the rankings if this dries out. Currently, he’s 31st.

Lap 9: Back to Green!

We go back to green, and Ty Gibbs leads the field, but he gets overtaken by Shane van Gisbergen, who is back to the lead of this race after leading the opening two laps.

Here are th etop-10 at Lap 10:

1. Shane van Gisbergen
2. Ty Gibbs
3. Ross Chastain
4. Ryan Preece
5. Daniel Suarez
6. Ty Dillon
7. Michael McDowell
8. Christopher Bell
9. Erik Jones
10. Todd Gilliland

Lap 6: Caution No. 2

Kyle Busch entered Turn 1 too deep and lost control of his No. 8 Chevrolet. Busch spun into the rear of Justin Haley’s No. 7 Chevrolet, and collected Kyle Larson, Zane Smith, and AJ Allmendinger as well. Wild incident in the wet.

Lap 4: Back to Green!

Austin Cindric blasts to the lead on the slick tires on this restart as Chris Buescher fades. However, once they reach some turns, Cindric slides off line, and Ty Gibbs heads to the lead. Ryan Preece, Ross Chastain, all get around Cindric.

Lap 2: Ross Chastain Wins Race Off Pit Road

Ross Chastain defeated Shane van Gisbergen off of pit road as the majority of the field changed to the wet weather tires. However, Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric stayed on track and will likely restart 1-2 on slick tires.

Lap 1: Caution for Rain

Heavier rain started falling in the stadium portion of the track as the field was approaching it on Lap 1, and we are under caution for the first time in this race. NASCAR may elect to have the teams switch to wet-weather tires.

3:27 PM ET: GREEN FLAG!

It has begun sprinkling around the 2.42-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but pole winner Shane van Gisbergen told NASCAR the track is safe to run on dry tires, and we have gone green.

SVG leads the field into Turn 1, and Ross Chastain has settled into the runner-up spot.

Jeff Gordon Delivers Command to Start Engines!

After an excellent bilingual edition of the command to start engines, Jeff Gordon has commanded the engines to fire prior to the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250. The 37 cars that will compete on Sunday have all come to life.

Before Gordon belted out the most famous words in racing, the American and Mexican National Anthems were performed.

Weather Could Play A Factor

While the weather forecast for Sunday’s Viva Mexico 250 is much better than anticipated heading into the race weekend, the chances for rain increase throughout the afternoon at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

At 3 PM ET, there is a 49% chance, and the probability of rain increases to 61% by 5 PM ET.

Goodyear does have the wet weather tires on hand, and teams will be able to utilize them in damp track conditions, but will not be allowed to use them if it is heavily raining. Whoever is able to handle the 2.42-mile course best in damp conditions could be the one that ends up winning Sunday’s race.

Another unique aspect to Sunday’s race will be the altitude of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which sits at 7,315 feet above sea level. The second-highest altitude event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which is at 1,957 feet above sea level.

Higher elevation will equal a drop in engine performance due to thinner air at higher altitude.

Over the course of the 242 miles on Sunday, engines could find themselves overheating, and it could become a test of machine. However, it’ll also be a test of the drivers competing on Sunday as well as human body performance also drops in higher altitude.

Who will be able to handle the physical side of things the best? We’ll find out on Sunday.

NASCAR Reveals Official Timeline of Viva Mexico 250 Pre-Race Festivities

Viva Mexico 250 Pre-Race Info

The Viva Mexico 250 will be televised on Prime Video, the fourth of five NASCAR Cup Series races to be covered by the streaming service this season. The Prime Video pre-race show will begin at 2:00 PM ET, and the official race broadcast will kick off on Prime Video at 3:00 PM ET.

The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of Sunday’s race. For subscribers of the Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today’s race.

The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday’s race is a total of $12,561,250.

The race distance is 100 laps around the 2.42-mile road course, which equates to a 242-mile race distance.

The Viva Mexico 250 will be broken up into three Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 20. Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 45. And the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 100, barring an Overtime finish.

The winner of Stages 1 and 2 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the overall race winner will be awarded five Playoff Points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals if the drivers make it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and will be carried through each round of the Playoffs.

This is the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Shane Van Gisbergen Takes Second Career NASCAR Cup Pole as Rain Shortens Qualifying Session

Shane van Gisbergen will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 after the Rookie of the Year contender secured the pole in Saturday’s qualifying session with a 92.776-second (93.904 mph) lap around the 2.42-mile road course.

Rain came with about 17 minutes remaining in the session, which forced an early end to qualifying.

“That’s awesome,” Van Gisbergen said after learning he had secured the pole position. “What a really cool achievement for us. Great starting spot for tomorrow. Yeah, I’m excited, that’s really cool.”

SVG was able to top Ryan Preece by a thin margin of 0.064 seconds for the pole position.

Viva Mexico 250 Starting Lineup

Click here for the full official Viva Mexico 250 starting lineup.

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