{"id":52892,"date":"2025-06-16T21:30:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T02:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=52892"},"modified":"2025-06-16T21:30:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T02:30:52","slug":"fiesta-of-speed-van-gisbergen-and-nascar-soar-in-vibrant-mexico-city-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/16\/fiesta-of-speed-van-gisbergen-and-nascar-soar-in-vibrant-mexico-city-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiesta of Speed: Van Gisbergen and NASCAR Soar in Vibrant Mexico City Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

MEXICO CITY \u2013 Shane van Gisbergen stood tall on the highest Victory Podium step, wearing a traditional Mexican sombrero and spraying champagne to celebrate his win in Sunday\u2019s Viva Mexico 250 at the world-renowned Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.<\/p>\n

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Mascot Mario Achi poses for a photo in the garage area prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The entire sport undoubtedly felt equally as triumphant following the first international points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race weekend in half a century.<\/p>\n

Regardless of a couple mid-week logistical issues, the race weekend itself was certainly viewed as a success by those who planned, those who executed, those who raced – and as importantly, those that attended.<\/p>\n

The facility was world-class, the fans were knowledgeable and enthusiastic and the drivers they came to watch were basking in all the Mexican amor shown to them.<\/p>\n

From Front Row Motorsports\u2019 driver Todd Gilliland to Spire Motorsports\u2019 Michael McDowell and 23XI Racing\u2019s Bubba Wallace – the drivers were surrounded by large and loud groups of avid fans wherever they roamed from paddock to fan zone.<\/p>\n

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The full field of the NASCAR Cup Series drivers pose for photos on track prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

And Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez, who worked so hard and passionately for months to help promote NASCAR\u2019s race weekend in his home country? He was like a motorsports\u2019 version of The Beatles coming to America. Huge groups of fans followed him everywhere – chanting his name, wearing his race shirts, holding up home-made signs.<\/p>\n

The only time Suarez wasn\u2019t grinning this weekend came as he stood on the starting grid Sunday morning alongside his family – joining in with a children\u2019s choir as they sang the Mexican National Anthem. The emotion for Suarez was palpable.<\/p>\n

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Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #88 Safety Culture Chevrolet (C) winner, Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Mobil 1 Toyota (L) second place, and Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 LLumar Chevrolet, third place celebrate in victory lane the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

And he rewarded the masses of supporters for sure, winning Saturday\u2019s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at his home road course and running up front early in Sunday\u2019s NASCAR Cup Race too. Even his 19th-place finish was treated more like a victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single thing about this weekend exceeded my expectations, the people, the fans, the sponsors, the excitement, the energy,” said Suarez, Van Gisbergen\u2019s Trackhouse Racing teammate. \u201cI had expectations for this weekend, not the results, but, [for] the event and I can tell you that I personally exceeded those expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo very, very happy for that. Very blessed. I hope that we can do it many more times.”<\/p>\n

It was certainly a prevailing theme.<\/p>\n

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A detail view of the NASCAR Mexico City sombrero in victory lane after the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Gordon spoke with reporters prior to the race and was encouraged and enthusiastic about the sport\u2019s experience in Mexico City.<\/p>\n

Later, he even delivered a hybrid starting command in honor of the Spanish-speaking crowd, telling the grid \u201cPilatos, start your engines.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen to the fans,” he said smiling when asked about the reception NASCAR received. \u201cThere are a large amount of fans that want to see NASCAR in person. Internationally, I think it opens a lot of doors for sponsorships and if we have a crowd that\u2019s as energetic today as it was yesterday \u2013 of course Daniel [winning] played into that too \u2013 but to me, the most exciting thing about coming here is the passion, the excitement, the energy that fans here in Mexico bring.  \u2026 that\u2019s why I think we\u2019re here.”<\/p>\n

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Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Wendy’s Frosty Swirls Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy wouldn\u2019t go so far as to promise a return engagement, but he was also understandably pleased with the weekend overall \u2013 acknowledging there are some learning curves logistically-speaking, but overall heartened by the passion shown to NASCAR. He said, 90 percent of those that attended the race were from Mexico, 44 percent from Mexico City.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday wasn\u2019t just a race,” said Kennedy, NASCAR\u2019s Executive Vice President and Chief Venue and Racing Innovations Officer. \u201cThis was a historic moment for our sport, for Mexico, for the global motorsports community and for a lot of folks that came together to be able to make this happen.”<\/p>\n

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Banda de Guerra perform on track prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The big question Sunday night post-race was whether NASCAR would in fact return to Mexico City next year for an encore. Asked about it by the American NASCAR beat writers and again by members of the large international media contingent, Kennedy smiled and deferred \u2013 noting NASCAR was still working on the 2026 schedule.<\/p>\n

But, he seemed, very pleased with the inaugural Mexico City weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been bold and innovative,” Kennedy said, mentioning recent NASCAR events at the Los Angeles Coliseum and the first ever street race in downtown Chicago as the sport\u2019s willingness to try new venues and travel to new destinations.<\/p>\n

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A young NASCAR fan looks on during the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis was the next milestone moment for us bringing the race internationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you, we\u2019re very bold about continuing to bring the series internationally and Mexico is a great place to do it. This weekend is a great example of that and I would say we\u2019re very hopeful to be back here.”<\/p>\n

And, he added, \u201cI think the beauty of our sport, and we\u2019ve seen this several times over the past few years, is that no matter what\u2019s going on outside of these four walls, outside of this race track, even outside of this country, sports can be great unifiers and NASCAR has proven that time and time again that it builds communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brings people together with shared passion and shared values. And that\u2019s what we saw this weekend. People from all walks of life came together and watched an amazing race with the best drivers in the world, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m most proud of.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service MEXICO CITY \u2013 Shane van Gisbergen stood tall on the highest Victory Podium step, wearing a traditional Mexican sombrero and spraying champagne to celebrate his win in Sunday\u2019s Viva Mexico 250 at the world-renowned Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. The entire sport undoubtedly felt equally as triumphant following the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":52837,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[1105,16,941],"class_list":["post-52892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-autodromo-hermanos-rodriguez","tag-nascar","tag-shane-van-gisbergen"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2220317319-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-dL6","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52892"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52895,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52892\/revisions\/52895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}