EVENT: Viva Mexico 250
DATE: June 15, 2025
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series 16 of 36
TRACK: Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico | 14-turn, 2.417-mile Road Course
CLUB MINUTES:
VIVA MEXICO: Holding its first ever NASCAR Cup Series race, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is set for its debut this Sunday for the Viva Mexico 250. Built in the Magdelena Mixhuca public park in 1959, the circuit hosted its first Formula One (F1) race in 1962 for a non-championship race before becoming a full World Championship event the following year. While it’s been juggled around the F1 circuit, its consistently been a part of the schedule over the past couple of years. Over the years, the circuit has changed its layout several times to switch up the full 2.674-mile, 19-turn road course.
NASCAR’S HISTORY AT MEXICO: While the NASCAR Cup Series may be making history this weekend in its inaugural race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, the sport has held a position in Mexico over the years. From 2005-2008, the Hermanos Rodríguez circuit hosted four Xfinity Series races – Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch were among the winners there. In addition, NASCAR has also sanctioned the NASCAR Mexico Series since its formation in 2004 and the series held their season finale there last November.
NASCAR GOES INTERNATIONAL: While NASCAR has rarely branched outside of the United States in its history, it has tested the water over the years. In addition to the four Xfinity Series races held in Mexico, NASCAR also held two Cup Series races in Canada during its early years – 1952 and 1958. The Craftsman Truck Series also held annual races at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario from 2013-2019. The NASCAR Cup Series made its farthest trip international when it held exhibition races in Japan from 1996-1998.
NEVER SETTLE: Join ESPN’s Marty Smith and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s co-owner Johnson for their weekly podcast, “Never Settle”. The podcast airs live on SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90 at 2 p.m. ET every Wednesday and can be downloaded wherever fans source their podcasts.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
BIRTHDAY BOY: Before heading to Mexico City this week, John Hunter will celebrate his 28th birthday on June 11.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE: Unfortunate circumstances relegated Nemechek to his first DNF of the season last week at Michigan, but year over year he is showing vast improvement. Last season his average starting position was 27.3 and finish was 25.42. This year he has an average start of 24.071 and finish of 19.429.
NEMECHEK ROAD COURSES STATS: Nemechek’s average finish at a road course in the NASCAR Cup Series is 28.3. In the Xfinity Series Nemechek has one top five and six top 10 finishes on road courses.
TMACK ON THE ROAD: Crew chief Travis Mack has a bunch of experience on road and street course tracks. In the 25 total starts, he has one victory with Daniel Suarez in 2022. Additionally, Mack has five top-five and seven top 10 finishes on road courses on his racing resume.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“I’m really excited for Mexico. It’s a new racetrack for a lot of the drivers in the garage. Hopefully, a lot of the prep that we’ve been able to do helps us out going into [Mexico] but it’s going to be an interesting event. I am excited to go out of the country again and see what NASCAR has been able to put together, overall, I’m really excited about it.”
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“We’ll have a good amount of practice, but we’ve been running a lot of laps in the simulator – John Hunter is doing his training – we’ll get there and see how the track is and the lap times, and we’ll work the strategy that weekend after Saturday.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 FAMILY DOLLAR TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
FAST IN MICHIGAN: Erik Jones found speed last Sunday as the NASCAR Cup Series returned to his home track of Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400. Despite a slow start to the weekend in practice and qualifying, he rolled off 22nd for the race. He was fast at the drop of the green flag on Sunday though, consistently finding long run speed throughout the race and running in the top-10. He finished 10th in Stage 2 and went on to finish just outside the top-10 at the end of the race in 11th.
NEW TERRITORY FOR JONES: Jones goes international with his No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE in the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the Viva Mexico 250. Despite this being his first race outside of the United States in the Cup Series, he has two races under his belt internationally in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – both coming at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario. In his first start at the Canadian road course, Jones started third and finished in the same spot in August 2014 when he ran a limited schedule with Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). He returned the following year in his only full-time season in the Truck Series with KBM to start second, lead 19 laps, and score his second win of the season in August 2015. He went on to win the 2015 NASCAR Truck Series Championship.
JONES HISTORY ON ROAD COURSES: In the NASCAR Cup Series, Jones has a total of 35 starts on road courses. These have amounted in three top-fives and nine top-10s. His best finish of third came on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval in October 2020. Jones owns an additional five starts on road courses in the Xfinity Series where he has a best finish of sixth earned in August 2016 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. He has two more starts in the Craftsman Truck Series where he won in 2015 at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and finished third the year prior.
BESHORE ON ROAD COURSES: Crew chief Ben Beshore has been on top of the pit box for a total of 20 NASCAR Cup Series races at road courses. Overall, his teams have scored six top-fives and seven top-10s turning left and right in NASCAR’s elite series. He has an additional 16 road course starts in the Xfinity Series that amounted in one top-five and five top-10s.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Mexico is going to be interesting. I mean, it’s going to definitely be a lot of work to just get down there. We’ve raced out of the country before in Canada years ago in the Truck Series, and it was okay. It wasn’t a bad experience in any way, and it was honestly pretty easy. It’s a little bit different now here with the travel, but the track I think is good. It’s pretty unique. There’s some really high speed stuff, and then the really slow stuff in that stadium section is like 30 mph. So, there’s going to probably be some chaos down there. Overall, it’s hard to put judgment on it because I haven’t raced it before, so I don’t want to say good or bad. We’re racing at a new venue, out of the country. I think the crowd is going to be huge from talking to a handful of people. I don’t know, it’s a little bit hard. Just get there, do it once and see how it goes. To be honest, the travel’s a little overwhelming. I’m not a guy that is super excited about that part of it, but the race itself, I’m really looking forward to.”
BEN BESHORE QUOTE:
“With it being a new track, everyone is sort of on the same page as far as not too many guys have run there outside of some of the older guys who ran in the Xfinity Series there back in the day. We’re trying to do the most we can to prepare from a simulator standpoint to get Erik reps so he’s familiar with the track. With it being a practice event, we’ll have the opportunity to work on the cars there and hopefully work on our road course program to get it better than it was earlier in the season.”
TUNE IN:
The inaugural Viva Mexico 250 race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City will take place on Sunday, June 15. The race is set to broadcast on Amazon Prime, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90) at 3 p.m. EDT.
ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: (LEGACY MC) is a premier auto racing organization co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, “The King”, serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.
