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Kevin Harvick Predicts Winner Of NASCAR's Mexico City Race

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 6:10 PM ET

For the first time in over 60 years a NASCAR race with serious points on the line will be contested outside of U.S. soil.

With no drivers having any major racing experience at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, there's not much data to go on as far as picking a winner goes. That hasn't stopped former NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick from making his prediction though.

On the latest episode of his Harvick's Happy Hour podcast, Harvick and his crew had some fun envisioning who would win. It started with Kaitlyn Vincie predicting AJ Allmendinger notching his first win since 2023.

"This is going to be interesting, because we don’t really know who could win this weekend,” Vincie said. “I’m going to go with AJ Allmendinger.”

Harvick was impressed but went in a different direction.

Canada? Australia? Brazil? As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Mexico City, where else around the world should we go racing?@KevinHarvick | @MambaSmith34 | @KaitlynVincie pic.twitter.com/ZLlOVDY0qu
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) June 11, 2025

Harvick believes that the track favors 36-year-old Shane van Gisbergen, who has just one top-10 finish as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver this year, will take the checkered flag. However, Gisbergen is considered one of the best road course drivers in the series and is the betting favorite.

“That’s a big surprise,” Harvick replied to Vincie. “I thought you’d take the favorite. SVG.”

As for Mamba Smith, he believes that Mexico-born Daniel Suarez will play the role of "hometown boy" and win it all.

"I was going to take AJ. You know what? Because I just feel like there’s some magic in the air, and he needs it anyway. I’m going with the hometown boy. Just give me Daniel Suarez,” Smith said. “Why not? Home cooking!”

Given that the three drivers have just two top-five finishes and no wins between them this season, it's fair to say that predictions are looking more like a vibes check than anything else.

You never know what you'll get when you drop a few dozen NASCAR drivers in a brand new venue. If nothing else, the 2025 Viva México 250 will be a memorable one.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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