Shane van Gisbergen motors to dominant Cup victory at Mexico City

Rookie Shane van Gisbergen withstood a challenging start to his first full-time NASCAR Cup Series campaign and the series’ inaugural race event at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. He captured a dominant victory from pole position in the Viva Mexico 250 on Sunday, June 15.

The three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, led five times for a race-high 60 of 100-scheduled lap. He led the field to the green flag from pole position for the first time in his Cup career. Despite battling illness and wet, slippery conditions at the start of the event, van Gisbergen dominated.

He led 11 of the first 18 scheduled laps before opting to pit for slick tires before the first stage’s conclusion. He then rallied to assume the lead with two laps remaining in the second stage period, capturing the stage victory.

Restarting with the lead in the final stage with 51 laps remaining, van Gisbergen continued to dominate at the front. He then strategically pitted under green flag conditions with 37 laps remaining. Following a late caution period two laps after he pitted, van Gisbergen cycled back into the lead. Then,the majority of the field led by Ty Gibbs pitted their respective entries.

Van Gisbergen outdueled Christopher Bell during the next (and final) restart with 32 laps remaining. He never looked back as he proceeded to extend his advantage to as high as 16 seconds. Van Gisbergen cruised to his first elusive Cup Series victory of the season and into Playoff eligibility.

On-track qualifying determined the starting lineup on Saturday, June 14. Rookie Shane van Gisbergen notched his first Cup career pole position with a lap at 93.904 mph in 92.776 seconds. Joining van Gisbergen on the front row was Ryan Preece, with a qualifying lap at 93.839 mph in 92.840 seconds.

Before the event, Noah Gragson dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during practice.

Green Flag

When the green flag waved, Shane van Gisbergen dueled with Ryan Preece and teammate Ross Chastain for the lead. The field fanned out through the frontstretch. Van Gisbergen gained the upper hand, muscling his No. 88 Safety Culture Chevrolet entry ahead through the first three braking turns.

Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar, who was racing in the mid-pack region, went off the course entering Turn 3. Amid the on-track bumps within the field and Hocevar’s off-track excursion, the event remained under green flag conditions. Van Gisbergen led from a straightaway in between Turns 3 and 4 and through the Esses (a series of right- and left-hand turns) from Turns 5 to 10.

As the field approached the stadium section turns in Turn 11, the event’s first caution flew for precipitation. The field returned to the frontstretch under a cautious pace. Van Gisbergen, who was battling illness, led the first lap.

He was followed by teammate Ross Chastain, Preece, Michael McDowell and Ty Gibbs, respectively. During the caution period and with the on-track precipitations increasing, nearly the entire field led by van Gisbergen pitted for wet-weathered tires. Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric remained on the track on their slick tires.

The beginning of the next restart on the fourth lap featured both Buescher and Cindric struggling to launch on their slick tires. Chastain attempted to make a bold right-hand move to gain the lead. In the process, Ty Gibbs drove alongside Chastain and overtook him. He then challenged Cindric for the lead through the frontstretch.

Buescher began to struggle with maintaining pace with the leaders and dropped out of the top-five mark. Gibbs emerged with the lead through the first three turns. The field behind fanned out, bumped and jostled through the wet, slippery conditions. The field continued to muscle through the damp conditions through every turn and straightaway. Gibbs, however, retained the lead for a full cycle before leading the following lap.

On the sixth lap, the event’s second caution flew. Kyle Busch, racing within the top-15 mark, veered sideways while trying to brake his No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet entry amid the slick conditions entering the first turn. In the process of his spin, Busch collided with the rear of Justin Hale, proceeded to spin and collided into both Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger.

Zane Smith and Chase Briscoe would also veer sideways off the course’s first turn. Smith slipped sideways on the slick course and collided with Briscoe, while the rest of the field managed to remain on the course and dodge the carnage. At the moment of caution, Gibbs retained the lead while van Gisbergen, Chastain, Ryan Preece and Daniel Suarez were scored in the top five, respectively.

During the caution period, some including William Byron, Buescher and Joey Logano pitted their respective entries. The rest led by Ty Gibbs, including Cindric, who was still racing on slick tires, remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Busch and Larson nursed their damaged entries to the garage for repairs.

As the event restarted under green on the eighth lap, Gibbs and van Gisbergen dueled for the lead in front of a stacked field that had fanned out through the frontstretch. Like the previous restart, Gibbs gained the upper hand by muscling his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE entry ahead through the first three braking turns.

Van Gisbergen, however, would get beneath Gibbs through the straightaway in between Turns 3 and 4. He then muscled ahead with the lead through the latter turn and the Esses. Despite nearly getting sideways through the Esses, van Gisbergen maintained the lead through the stadium turns and fended off Gibbs entering the frontstretch to lead the following lap.

Through the first 15 scheduled laps, van Gisbergen was leading by five seconds over runner-up Gibbs. Preece, Chastain and Ryan Blaney occupied top five spots ahead of Ty Dillon, Suarez, Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland and Christopher Bell, respectively.

Behind, Erik Jones, Cole Custer, Chase Elliott, Carson Hocevar and Bubba Wallace were racing in the top 15 ahead of Tyler Reddick, rookie Riley Herbst, Joey Logano, Josh Berry and AJ Allmendinger. Ryan Truex, Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, William Byron and Austin Dillon trailed in the top 25 ahead of Cody Ware, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Noah Gragson and John Hunter Nemechek.

Then on Lap 17 and with the track conditions slowly transitioning to dry conditions, select names that included Gibbs, Custer, Logano, Bowman, Byron, Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Cody Ware, Buescher, Gragson and Nemechek pitted their respective entries for slick tires. On the following lap, the leader van Gisbergen and Ty Dillon pitted before pit road was closed, signifying the upcoming conclusion of a stage period. Van Gisbergen’s move allowed Preece to cycle the No. 60 Kroger Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry into the lead.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Preece muscled to his second Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Ryan Blaney followed suit in second. Chastain, McDowell, Gilliland, Erik Jones, Hocevar, Bubba Wallace, Elliott and Suarez were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, van Gisbergen and Gibbs were mired in 17th and 18th, respectively.

Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Preece pitted their respective entries, primarily for slick tires. The rest led by McDowell remained on the track. Among those who also remained on the track with McDowell included Carson Hocevar, Suarez, Stenhouse, van Gisbergen, Gibbs, Cindric, Bell, Ty Dillon, Custer, Logano, Bowman and Byron.

Stage 2

The second stage period started on Lap 24 as Spire Motorsports’ McDowell and Hocevar occupied the front row. At the start, McDowell retained the lead through the frontstretch and in front of the field that had fanned out. With Gragson spinning in the first turn, Suarez made his move beneath McDowell through the first three turns. He then muscled into the lead to the delight of his home crowd.

Gibbs and van Gisbergen both overtook McDowell on the track to complete the top three spots. Suarez retained the lead through the Esses before Gibbs drew alongside Suarez exiting Turn 10. They remained even entering Turn 11 before Gibbs reassumed the lead through the stadium turns. Gibbs would proceed to lead the next lap while Suarez fended off teammate van Gisbergen for the runner-up spot.

Over the next five laps (Laps 25 to 29), a handful of on-track incidents and various pit strategies ensued. For the on-track incidents, Nemechek spun in Turn 3 on Lap 26 while racing within the top-20 mark. Gilliland, who was also racing in the top-20 mark, spun in Turn 14 a lap later.

As for the pit strategies, Hocevar, Suarez, McDowell and Stenhouse pitted under green for slick tires. Meanwhile, Gibbs was leading by less than two seconds over van Gisbergen at the Lap 30 mark. Bell, Cindric, Custer, Bowman, Byron, Ty Dillon, Keselowski and Logano all pursued in the top 10, respectively.

On Lap 31, the caution flew when Ryan Truex, subbing for Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE entry, slipped sideways. He spun from off the course in Turn 9 while racing outside the top-20 mark. During the caution period, select names that included Custer and Preece pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

When the event restarted under green on Lap 34, the field fanned out through the frontstretch. Gibbs, van Gisbergen and Cindric all dueled against one another in a three-wide formation for the lead. Through the first three turns, van Gisbergen battled alongside Gibbs for the lead as Keselowski went off the course.

With the rest of the field managing to navigate through the first three turns without igniting another wreck, Gibbs maintained the lead from Turn 4 to the Esses, Turn 10 and the stadium turns. He cycled back to the frontstretch and led the following lap. As Gibbs led, van Gisbergen retained second place over Cindric, Bell and Byron. Alex Bowman, Ty Dillon, Blaney, Elliott and Austin Dillon pursued in the top 10, respectively.

At the Lap 40 mark, Gibbs stabilized his lead to nine-tenths of a second over van Gisbergen. Bell, Cindric and Bowman were racing in the top-five mark ahead of Byron, Blaney, Elliott, Ty Dillon and Wallace, respectively. Meanwhile, Logano, who raced off the course in Turn 4 on Lap 35, was mired back in 24th place. Erik Jones, who pitted to have a flat left-front tire changed, had dropped to 33rd place on the leaderboard.

Another lap later, pit strategies ensued as Cindric, Ty Dillon and Keselowski pitted their respective entries under green. More names including Byron, Elliott, Wallace, Bery, Logano, Reddick, Gragson and the leader Gibbs pitted during the next two laps before pit road became inaccessible due to the conclusion of the second stage. With Gibbs pitting, van Gisbergen, who had been slowly reeling in on Gibbs for the lead, assumed the top spot.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 45 and with potential threats of rain looming, van Gisbergen claimed his first Cup stage victory of the 2025 season. Bell trailed in second place by within two seconds. Bowman, Blaney, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Buescher, Herbst, Hocevar and Suarez were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Gibbs was mired in 21st place ahead of Cindric, Elliott, Byron and Wallace.

During the stage break, some led by Blaney and including Austin Dillon, Stenhouse, Allmendinger, Gilliland, Katherine Legge, Reddick and Cody Ware pitted their respective entries. The rest led by van Gisbergen remained on the track.

Final Stage

With 51 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as van Gisbergen and Bell occupied the front row. At the start, van Gisbergen and Bell fiercely dueled for the lead through the frontstretch as the field behind fanned out. Entering the first braking turn, van Gisbergen appeared to have the edge, but he slightly over-drove the first turn.

As van Gisbergen was drawn in a side-by-side battle with Bell, McDowell drove off the course through the first three turns while the field behind bumped and scattered. More names that included Briscoe and Logano would also drive off the course. Amid the on-track chaos through the first three turns, Bell managed to outduel van Gisbergen for the lead in Turn 4 as the former proceeded to lead through the Esses.

Despite having van Gisbergen trying to reel in from behind, Bell retained the lead through the stadium turns and back to the frontstretch as he led the following lap. By then, Bowman, McDowell and Buescher trailed in the top five while Chastain proceeded after he spun in the stadium turns.

With 49 laps remaining, more on-track issues ensued as Stenhouse, who was racing in the top-24 spot received a bump from Keselowski in Turn 15 that sent him spinning. However he managed to continue without drawing a caution. Not long after, van Gisbergen drew alongside Bell exiting the stadium turns before he rocketed past the latter prior to the following lap.

With Bell in pursuit, van Gisbergen proceeded to lead by nine-tenths of a second with 45 laps remaining while McDowell, Bowman and Gibbs trailed in the top five, respectively.

Down to the final 40 laps of the event, van Gisbergen extended his advantage to more than four seconds over Bell. Third-place McDowell and fourth-place Gibbs both trailed by five seconds. Meanwhile, fifth-place Cindric trailed by 11 seconds while Bowman, Elliott, Buescher, Suarez and Custer were racing in the top 10, respectively.

Then a lap later, Bell surrendered the runner-up spot to pit his No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE entry under green. During the next lap, more drivers, including Bowman, Buescher, Preece pitted their respective entries. Leader van Gisbergen pitted with 37 laps remaining. By the time van Gisbergen returned to the track, he managed to blend ahead of Bell while Gibbs, who had yet to pit, and cycled into the lead.

Then with 35 laps remaining, the caution flew due to Hocevar spinning and stalling his entry in Turn 14. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted their respective entries. The rest led by van Gisbergen and including Bell, Bowman, Custer, Buescher, Briscoe, Nemechek, Chastain, Herbst and Ryan Truex remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, van Gisbergen reported potential concerns of having a loose wheel on his entry, but he opted to remain on the track with the lead.

The start of the following restart with 32 laps remaining featured van Gisbergen and Bell dueling for the lead through the frontstretch. But van Gisbergen muscled ahead and retained the lead through the first three turns. Behind van Gisbergen, Bowman overtook Bell for the runner-up spot while Truex got sideways as the field bumped and jostled for spots.

With every competitor proceeding without drawing a caution through the first three turns, van Gisbergen led entering Turn 4, the Esses and the stadium turns before he cycled back to the frontstretch and led the next lap. As Bowman, Bell, Nemechek and Custer trailed in the top five, Gibbs was mired back in ninth place behind Elliott while van Gisbergen continued to lead with 30 laps remaining.

Over the next five laps (Laps 71 to 75), a handful of on-track incidents occurred. Notably, Logano sent Austin Dillon for a spin in the stadium section turns with 28 laps remaining. During the following lap, Byron sent Herbst for a spin just past Turn 11 while both were battling for 13th place. As Herbst attempted to spin his car and continue straight, he nearly collided into Stenhouse. But they both managed to continue without drawing a caution.

Amid the incidents, Keselowski was penalized for cutting the course. Meanwhile, van Gisbergen continued to lead by one-and-a-half seconds over Bowman. Bell, Nemechek and Custer retained the remaining top-five spots. Behind, Elliott, Buescher, Chastain, Gibbs and McDowell occupied the remaining top-10 spots.

With 20 laps remaining and reports of rain being reported around the course, van Gisbergen maintained the lead that stood to more than a second over Bowman. Bell, Elliott and Nemechek were scored in the top five. Behind, Gibbs, who was trying to carve his way back to the front, was mired back in ninth place behind Custer, Buescher and Chastain. Briscoe occupied 10th place. Throughout the next five laps, Bell battled and overtook Bowman for the runner-up spot while van Gisbergen extended his lead to nearly five seconds with 15 laps remaining.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, van Gisbergen retained the lead by more than six seconds over Bell. Bowman, Elliott and Nemechek trailed in the top five, with Nemechek trailing by as far back as 14 seconds. By then, Custer, Buescher, McDowell, Chastain and Briscoe followed suit in the top 10. Both Stenhouse and Hocevar were trying to rally from a run-in in the stadium section turns, where Hocevar ran into the rear of Stenhouse and sent the latter getting sideways while the former went off the course.

With five laps remaining, van Gisbergen’s advantage grew to 12 seconds over Bell while Elliott, Bowman and Nemechek trailed by 12, 14 and 16 seconds, respectively. Van Gisbergen, who was on cruise control at the front, would proceed to stretch his advantage to as high as 14 seconds over Bell during the next three laps while fifth-place Nemechek pursued by as far back as 26 seconds.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, van Gisbergen remained in the lead by nearly 17 seconds over Bell. With Bell too far behind to cut the deficit, van Gisbergen was able to smoothly navigate his way through Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez’s series of turns from the first three sections to the Esses and the stadium section turns. Ultimately, he cycled back to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line to claim the checkered flag by 16 seconds over Bell.

With the victory, van Gisbergen achieved his second career win in the Cup Series division. He also became the 144th competitor overall to achieve multiple wins in NASCAR’s premier series and the fifth competitor overall to notch his first two Cup career victories on new venues. The victory, van Gisbergen’s first since the Chicago Street Course in July 2023, was the sixth of the 2025 season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the second for Trackhouse Racing.

As an added bonus, van Gisbergen, who came into the event mired in 33rd place in the driver’s standings, automatically earned a guaranteed spot to the 2025 Playoffs. It will mark his first-ever appearance in the Cup Series’ post-season field as a title contender. Before van Gisbergen’s Mexico City victory, he had only finished in the top 10 once, which was a sixth-place run at Circuit of the Americas in early March.

Van Gisbergen’s Mexico City victory also capped off an eventful weekend for the New Zealander. In addition to managing his illness and on-track slick conditions, he and several Trackhouse Racing crew personnel faced dilemmas in traveling from North Carolina to Mexico. This was due to their chartered plane encountering engine issues before the race weekend. Eventually, all personnel, including van Gisbergen, were able to travel to Mexico between Friday and Saturday of the race weekend.

“What a week,” van Gisbergen, who kicked a rugby ball in the low stadium section, said on Prime Video. “I’ve really enjoyed myself here. I felt pretty rubbish today. Leaking out both holes, that wasn’t fun, but thank you to Safety Culture, Trackhouse, Chevy and ECR Engines. Our car was amazing.

“I think [Ty Gibbs] was close, but that last stint man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap and watching them get smaller in the mirror. Unreal. I’ve been privileged to have some great [cars] in my time, but when I go slow, I just lose concentration. I was just trying to stay in a rhythm and a routine. Man, that was epic.”

Christopher Bell, who led four laps, settled in second place for a third time in 2025. Chase Elliott, who was pursuing an eighth career road course victory, finished in third place. It was his fourth top-five result of the year. Bell and Elliott celebrated with Suarez on the podium. It was part of NASCAR’s first inception of featuring podium celebrations following a race.