Date: June 15, 2025 Event: Inaugural Viva Mexico 250 (Round 16 of 36) Series: NASCAR Cup Series Location: Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (2.417-mile, 14-turn road course) Format: 100 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/25 laps/55 laps)
Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Ryan Preece of RFK Racing (Ford) Stage 2 Winner: Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)
RWR Finish:
● Cody Ware (Started 34th, Finished 31st / Running, completed 100 of 100 laps)
RWR Points:
● Cody Ware (36th with 101 points)
Race Notes:
● Shane van Gisbergen won the inaugural Viva Mexico 250 to score his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory and his first of the season. His margin over second-place Christopher Bell was 16.567 seconds.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 16 laps.
● All but six of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● William Byron remains the championship leader after Mexico City with a 67-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.
Sound Bites:
“Just want to thank Arrowhead Brass and all the people that came on board to support a great race down here in Mexico City. That being said, we’ve got a lot of work to do on the road courses. We need to figure some things out.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Arrowhead Brass Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is The Great American Getaway 400 on Sunday, June 22 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by Prime Video and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
MADISON, Ill. (Sunday, June 15, 2025) – In a blistering race with no yellow flags, Lochie Hughes tossed caution in the breeze when it mattered most and ended up in victory lane.
Hughes used a late charge to win the INDY NXT by Firestone race Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, his second win in his rookie season in the INDYCAR development series. Hughes, from Australia, drove his No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car to a 4.3521-second victory over Myles Rowe, who earned a career-best second place in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy machine.
“I was starting fifth, and I was pretty angry with yesterday (after qualifying),” Hughes said. “So, I honestly didn’t really care. I just thought I’d send it and try something with the setup and send it and see what happens.”
Caio Collet finished third in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car after leading 58 of the first 61 laps in the 75-lap race, the first oval event this season. Salvador de Alba finished fourth in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car fielded by Andretti Global, just .0676 of a second behind Collet and the final podium position.
Pole sitter and championship leader Dennis Hauger rounded out the top five in the No. 28 Nammo machine, the third Andretti Global car to finish in the top five. Hauger’s lead over Hughes in the standings slimmed to 19 points after he carried a 38-point lead into this race weekend.
Hughes made a stunning charge toward the front after deciding to try to use his higher-downforce setup to find speed on the higher line on the 1.25-mile oval. The risky ploy, as pieces of worn tire rubber can accumulate in the upper groove and reduce grip, began to pay off when Hughes passed the No. 14 HMD Motorsports car of Josh Pierson to climb from sixth to fifth on Lap 46.
The boldest, most decisive moves by Hughes came in a four-lap span from Laps 59-62, when he blazed a trail on the high line to jump from fourth to first.
Hughes was in second at the start of Lap 62 when he approached the leading car of Collet, who was running behind the No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot car of Ricardo Escotto, who was on the tail end of the lead lap. Hughes swept past both cars on the outside of Turn 2 and powered away, never trailing thereafter.
“It was mega,” Hughes said of his car. “I still can’t really believe it, to be honest. I was so, so disappointed after yesterday. I thought we had thrown away a good result. We did it somehow.
“I just thought I’d try the high line one lap, and it worked. I was like, ‘Oh, found something,’ and then just kept running it and ended up with a win. It’s awesome. I’m so happy.”
Said Collet, who used a low-downforce setup for speed: “I thought I had it with 50 to go, but once I caught traffic, I really lost the tires, and it was really hard to hang on. And they just came flying by.”
Hughes averaged 157.199 mph in the caution-free race, the first without a yellow flag this season and the first oval race without a caution in the series since this event in 2022. There also were 165 on-track passes in this feverish race, an INDY NXT record at WWTR.
The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Sunday, June 22, the Grand Prix at Road America (11 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
NASCAR CUP SERIES AUTÓDROMO HERMANOS RODRÍGUEZ TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT JUNE 15, 2025
Shane van Gisbergen Caps Off Chevrolet Weekend Sweep in Mexico City
In a weekend filled with ‘firsts’, it was Shane van Gisbergen and the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team that took the checkered flag in the Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez. Taking the international stage for the series’ first-ever points-paying race, the 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native took advantage of his mastery on road courses – collecting the pole position, a stage win and a race-high 60 laps led en route to his first victory of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season and his second in just 30 career starts in the division.
Van Gisbergen is the fourth different Team Chevy driver to win his way to an early berth into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, with the Trackhouse Racing driver delivering the Bowtie brand its sixth victory in 16 points-paying races thus far this season.
Setting the pace for the NASCAR Cup Series’ international points-paying debut was Van Gisbergen, who earned his first pole win of the season at the Mexico City circuit. Taking the green flag, impending precipitation moved in prior to completely a lap, giving teams the option to move to wet-weather tires. With only seven circuits complete, a spinning Kyle Busch resulted in a calamity-filled corner, collecting a handful of Team Chevy drivers. Among those collected also included Kyle Larson, who was forced to bring his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the garage for repairs. The damage was too extensive on the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, ultimately ending the team’s day early.
Wet conditions proved no challenge for road course warrior, Van Gisbergen, who quickly took the lead and set sail at the front of the field in the opening laps. Comfortably pacing the field, the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team opted to flip the stage, giving up the lead to hit pit road for a scheduled stop with three laps to go in Stage One.
Running in the second position and closing in on then race leader, Ty Gibbs, in Stage Two, Van Gisbergen inherited the lead when Gibbs came to pit road for a scheduled stop with three laps remaining in Stage Two. Opting for points, crew chief Stephen Doran, kept the No. 88 Chevrolet on track to take the checkered flag and the team’s first stage win of the season.
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st – Shane van Gisbergen
3rd – Chase Elliott
4th – Alex Bowman
5th – Michael McDowell
9th – William Byron
Chevrolet’s season statistics with 16 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:
Wins: 6
Poles: 8
Top-Fives: 34
Top 10s: 69
Stage Wins: 16
UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Pocono Raceway with The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM on Sunday, June 22, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on Amazon Prime Video, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Post-Race Driver Quotes:
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 28th
“I’m proud of everyone in NASCAR for coming together to bring our sport to Mexico City. I just wish our Boot Barn Chevrolet team could have had a better end to the race weekend. We had some positives, such as finishing sixth in Stage 2 to earn stage points. We were just too tight for the majority of the race. Our RCR team kept fighting and put us in position to salvage a solid finish. Unfortunately, I got spun with less than 25 to go and we couldn’t make up any ground in the final stretch. That’s how these races go sometimes. We’ll take it and move on to Pocono.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 37th
The crew tried to make repairs to your car, but this has been a chaotic race, Kyle. What happened when you were spinning?
“Just in the rain, I went down into 11 and got on the brakes pretty hard and everything was fine. Everything was comfortable, it stopped really good, and I thought okay, I can be a little bit more aggressive this time. Getting back into one and went to the 10 marker, if there is a 10 marker, it’s the bridge, and we’ve been going much past the bridge all day on dries and so wet, I figured it’s going to be fine. As soon as I went to the brakes, it was just on ice, and I was sliding, and so about a second and a half or so, I was just trying to figure out which direction to go, and then I was like, I’ve got to turn this thing around backwards because I’m going to nail some people So I hate it for all those that were involved in my mishap there, and hate it for Lucas Oil, and of course, RCR, ECR, the guys, I mean, the car yesterday in qualifying was really good, it felt like we were going to be really sporty in the dry. I hate that the rain came, and now it’s nice and dry, so just have to go fight for more points in another week.”
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 3rd
What a strong final run of the day for Chase Elliott, winds up third. It seemed chaotic from our seat. How was it from behind the wheel?
“The restart was, for sure. And yeah, I felt like we were in a really good spot. I was super excited about having tires and getting ourselves to — we got in front of the No. 54 and I thought, to be honest, that was going to be the race for the win there initially. We got clear of the No. 1 and the No. 42, I think, and started settling in, and I didn’t have anything left. I was kind of cooked after that. I think we just pressed so hard to try to get through traffic that when it got singled out, I didn’t have a lot of pace left. I felt like I gained on him there for a little while, but it was pretty tough to get to that point. We pressed on.
Really proud of our No. 9 LLumar Chevy group for sticking with it. We were kind of up and down all day and finally got going there a few runs from the end. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) made us a good call to get us on tires. Finally had a restart go halfway decent and got a decent top-three finish out of it.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 13th
“Honestly, I felt like we were going to have a really good car, even the way it felt in the rain. It’s easy to say that, but I really thought the car had a lot of speed. For as destroyed as it was, we still had decent speed and it drove well on wet and dry tires. I definitely think we could have ran top five all day, but unfortunately, we’ll never know. Just proud of the guys; from the way we started this weekend, we kept fighting and making it better. We had something there to be competitive and have a really good run. Our 16 group did everything they could to keep me out there and I’m never going to quit on them. just absolutely frustrating day, but proud of the effort for days like this, just keep fighting.”
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 9th
“Today was hard fought for sure. We started behind where we would want to be but we were able to use strategy and make adjustments that got us good track position. I’m really proud of our Valvoline team’s effort to turn things around today. We’ll take the top 10 and head to Pocono.”
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 4th
“It feels good to get this No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team a run that they deserve. We’ve had a lot of fast race cars and just had days that haven’t gone our way. We’ve had issues and there’s been times that I’ve crashed the car, so to get them a good run after everything this week and how hard they’ve had to work is great. Just really appreciate all of their support and glad we could get a top-five finish.”
There’s a lot of road courses coming up. Do you feel like you can contend for a win?
“Yeah, I feel like road course racing has become a strong suit for the No. 48 team. I feel like the strategy that we’ve had has been great. Going to slicks there pretty early and getting back positions that way, we’ve done that a couple of times and it makes my job easy from there. So yeah, I think we have a shot at a win. Really, going to Pocono, we have a shot there too. We ran second or third there last year. Just excited to get things pointed in the right direction.”
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Finished: 5th
“Overall, it was a great day for the No. 71 B’laster Chevrolet team. We’re bummed out. Our Chevrolet was fast. I felt like our strategy was going to work out there. We were just a few laps away from it working out, but unfortunately the caution came out. It happens… you can’t plan for everything. But I feel like we did a great job of coming back up through the field from restarting 15th there in the last stage. Proud of the effort and proud of the speed. We needed a little bit more, but it’s something to build on. If we keep building here at Spire Motorsports, we’ll get a win. It’s good to be bummed with a top-five finish. I felt like we had more today and hopefully we’ll get a chance to prove that when we get to the upcoming road courses. Mexico City was a lot of fun. It was a cool weekend and a cool race track.”
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 1st
You faced so much adversity this entire weekend. Travel issues, not feeling well before the race and then the rain. What was the biggest challenge you face?
“You listed them all man. What a week. I have really enjoyed myself here. I felt pretty rubbish today. Thank you to Safety Culture, Trackhouse, Chevy and these guys right here. I think the 54 was close, but that last stint, what a pleasure to just be ripping lap after lap and to watch them all get smaller in the mirror. Unreal.”
Was this maybe the best race car you have ever sat in?
“It’s certainly up there. I have been privileged to have some great ones in my time, but when I go slower, I just lose my concentration, so I was just trying to stay in a rhythm and a routine. Josh (Williams, spotter) and Stephen (Doran, crew chief) were doing a great job of keeping me calm and focused.”
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 19th
How satisfied are you with NASCAR coming to Mexico and every part that you had in it?
“That was the highlight of my weekend. NASCAR coming here to Mexico, I think we all had an amazing time, not just on-track, but also off-track. I think we were in the fight… we were in the hunt. We had a top-five, top-10 No. 99 Telcel Chevrolet. There were a lot of different strategies out there and, unfortunately, ours just didn’t work out. It’s nobody’s fault, it just wasn’t meant to be today.”
About General Motors
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.
BELL DRIVES THROUGH THE FIELD TO LEAD TOYOTA IN MEXICO John Hunter Nemechek scores career-best road course finish
MEXICO CITY (June 15, 2025) – Christopher Bell drove from 31st starting spot to second to lead Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series race in Mexico City.
John Hunter Nemechek had an impressive drive to finish sixth – his best career road-course finish, while Chase Briscoe came back from an early race incident and twice being a lap down to finish seventh.
Ty Gibbs had a strong run and led multiple laps. He was leading when the final caution came out, when he was forced to pit, and was unable to get back to the lead. Gibbs settled for 11th.
Toyota GAZOO Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Race 16 of 36 – 241 miles, 100 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Shane van Gisbergen*
2nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
3rd, Chase Elliott*
4th, Alex Bowman*
5th, Michael McDowell*
6th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
7th, CHASE BRISCOE
11th, TY GIBBS
12th, BUBBA WALLACE
17th, ERIK JONES
20th, TYLER REDDICK
23rd, RYAN TRUEX
29th, RILEY HERBST
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
31st to second; were there times today where you thought you could keep up with the 88?
“I don’t know. He was really good. Ultimately it was just a third-place day. I felt like Ty (Gibbs) was really good, so the yellow flag bit him and we walked away with second. Both days – in the Xfinity car, I was the third-place car, and today, I felt like I was the third-place car. I think more than anything it was just me. I need to do a little more homework and figure out where I can be better to keep up with these guys. The Joe Gibbs Racing Group brought an amazing Mobil 1 Camry, and I can’t really say that it was my car that was lacking. It was on me this weekend.”
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
Finishing Position: 6th
How was your day out there?
“Hats off to this whole 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team. Pye-Barker colors look really good on our Camry this weekend, and I’m super stoked on a sixth-place finish. Our road course program has not been good here at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, so solid run for us after the last three weeks we’ve had – two wrecks, and not so good run in Nashville – we needed this as a team to get back on track. Had a lot of text messages from my wife (Taylor) and had a lot of text messages from Jimmie (Johnson, co-owner, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB) yesterday – I was pretty down after qualifying, and beating myself up pretty bad, but we executed during the race. I got spun out a couple of times and still came home sixth. Hats off to Travis (Mack, crew chief) on the strategy. He called a really good race, and we were able to execute and come home sixth. Proud of the day.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
How did you battle through everything? “We just had a really good Bass Pro Shops Toyota. It is sickening getting torn up that early, and all the aversity we had to go through because our car was really, really good. I don’t know if I would have been good enough to beat Shane (van Gisbergen) – but certainly, probably would have run better than seventh. It is a testament to my guys. They could have given up in many points during the race, and they continued to just fight. I want to say Happy Father’s Day to my dad, and congrats to Shane too. That whole team is almost the 14 group from last year.”
TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 11th
Do you feel like the timing of the caution ended your day?
“Yeah, and then I don’t know what they do on restarts where they check everybody up and then everyone just rails each other. That is where I got a little nose damage, unfortunately.”
How do you process it?
“Sometimes life just doesn’t work out for you. You just have to keep digging.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 49 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In spring 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 31 electrified options.
Eckes Earns Second Road-Course Top Five After Starting At The Rear
MEXICO CITY – Christian Eckes earned his best-career finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), in a race that tested his resolve in Mexico City. After starting at the tail of the field in the Chilango 150, the rookie fought back to finish fourth at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
This result was exactly what the No. 16 team needed, after a stretch of misfortune fell on the crew. That lack of luck creeped into the start of the team’s day in Mexico City, as early brake woes led to unapproved adjustments following qualifying.
Forced to drop to the tail of the field before the green flag, Eckes fought his way up to 11th during the opening stage and went on to finish the second stage in fifth, earning valuable stage points.
In the third stage, chaos ensued, and Eckes avoided much of it. Before a late-race restart, he sat on the front row alongside the eventual race winner, Daniel Suarez. Eckes was reminded by crew chief Alex Yontz that one of the weekend goals was a clean car and a top-five finish. In the end, Eckes kept most of the field behind the No. 16 Celsius Chevy in a strong display of defensive driving, helping the team achieve its weekend goals.
It couldn’t have come at a more necessary time.
“I don’t know if our No. 16 Celsius Chevy quite had the speed of a fourth [place] today, but everybody did a great job of getting us in position to get a top five out of it,” said Eckes. “Obviously, we’ve struggled with some adversity — it’s been a tough season, so to get a decent finish out of it is definitely a step in the right direction.”
The rookie has shown early promise on the left-and-right turns of road courses in his first NXS campaign. Along with his best finish of the season, Eckes’ fourth-place result marks his second top five on a road course, with his first coming at Circuit of the Americas.
Through the adversity Eckes and the No. 16 team have faced this season, Yontz has helped instill a “never give up” mentality, and it showed in Mexico.
“One thing you can say about this team, the driver, and everyone involved, is that the fight is always there,” said Yontz. “There’s a no-quit attitude with this team, and that’s what paid off today. To come home with the points day we did after starting last shows a lot of grit, and I couldn’t ask for much more.”
After closing the gap to the playoff cutline, Eckes looks to carry that momentum to his home track of Pocono Raceway next Saturday.
About Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 27 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
MADISON, Ill. (Saturday, June 14, 2025) – Will Power wrote another chapter in the storied history of Team Penske on Saturday during NTT P1 Award qualifying for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline, earning the team’s 700th pole across all racing series while leading a front-row lockout by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES powerhouse.
Power drove to his first pole since July 2023 at Iowa Speedway and the series record-extending 71st of his career with a two-lap average speed of 180.329 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway. Scott McLaughlin qualified second at 179.783 in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet.
It was the fifth pole on the 1.25-mile WWTR oval for Power, who won this race in 2018.
“I sent it a lot,” Power said. “I knew you would have to. You’d have to drive it flat in (Turns) 3 and 4. I wasn’t quite flat, but I was very, very close.
“Cool, man. It’s been a while since I’ve had a pole, so really, really excited. Hopefully we can execute in the race. Man, it would be awesome to get a win here.”
The 260-lap race – the second oval event of the season – starts at 8 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
A victory by Power, McLaughlin or teammate Josef Newgarden would provide a boost for Team Penske. The winningest team in INDYCAR SERIES history hasn’t visited victory lane this season, with single third-place finishes by McLaughlin, Newgarden and Power the best results.
Pato O’Ward qualified third at 179.190 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Nearly all the drivers toward the end of the 27-car qualifying line benefited from improved conditions, as the arrival of light cloud cover helped drop the track temperature by nearly 10 degrees from the start of the session.
Team Penske DNA strands were woven through most of the top five qualifiers, as David Malukas qualified fourth at 179.079 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, a team that has a technical alliance with Team Penske. Josef Newgarden, who has won this race a record five times, rounded out the top five at 178.910 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.
Marcus Armstrong will join Newgarden in Row 3 after qualifying sixth at 178.754 in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian. Armstrong was the fastest Honda-powered driver, as Chevy engines propelled the top five qualifiers.
Championship leader Alex Palou, who has won five of seven races this season, qualified ninth at 178.381 in the No. 10 Ridgeline Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Team Penske driver Will Power shows off the NTT P1 sticker after winning the pole position for Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Photo credit: Tyson Gifford / World Wide Technology Raceway.
Will Power earns fifth career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway and 71st of his career.
Scott McLaughlin qualifies second to give Team Penske front-row sweep for Sunday night’s primetime Bommarito Automotive Group 500 race.
INDYCAR Video News Feed qualifying recap available to media for download here.
MADISON, Ill. (June 14, 2025) – Will Power collected his record fifth career pole at World Wide Technology Raceway and Team Penske secured a front-row sweep during Saturday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline.
Power posted a two-lap average speed of 180.329 miles per hour (49.9088 seconds) on the 1.25-mile oval to secure his first pole of the season and record-extending 71st of his career. It also was his first pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway since 2022, with his others coming in 2017, ‘20 and ‘21.
“I sent it a lot,” said Power, who won this event in 2018. “I knew you would have to. You’d have to drive it flat in (Turns) 3 and 4. I wasn’t quite flat, but I was very, very close.
“Cool, man. It’s been a while since I’ve had a pole, so really, really excited. Hopefully we can execute in the race. Man, it would be awesome to get a win here.”
Power will lead the 27-car field to the green flag for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in the first-ever scheduled primetime NTT INDY SERIES race to be held on a Sunday night (7 p.m. CT, TV: FOX, Radio: INDYCAR Radio Network, SiriusXM). It also will be the first scheduled evening race at World Wide Technology Raceway since 2019.
Scott McLaughlin fell just 0.1515 of a second shy of Power but his two-lap qualifying effort of 179.783 mph (50.0603 secs.) gave him his third front-row start of the season.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward (179.190 mph / 50.2261 secs.) qualified third for his third top-three start of the season. AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas (179.079 mph / 50.2572 secs.) earned his third consecutive top-seven start by qualifying fourth.
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, the defending race winner who has won four of the last five at WWTR, qualified a season-best fifth with a two-lap average of 178.910 mph (50.3046 secs.). The group gave Chevrolet a sweep of the top-five qualifying positions.
In INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying, championship points leader Dennis Hauger continued to impress as the rookie won the pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway in his oval debut. Andretti Global’s Hauger had a two-lap average speed of 166.162 mph for his fourth pole of the season. “First time on an oval, and we got the pole,” said Hauger, who has won four of the first five races this season. “Super happy about that. Didn’t really know what to expect, but we got up to speed in practice, and we really made improvements for qualifying. Looking forward to seeing how we get on tomorrow. It’s going to be a bit of a different game.” Joining Hauger on the front row is HMD Motorsports driver Caio Collet, whose two-lap average was 165.735 mph. The 75-lap race begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday (TV: FS1, Radio: INDYCAR Radio Network).
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - JUNE 14: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #9 Quaker State Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series The Chilango 150 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 14, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).
Daniel Suarez notched a monumental, full-circle moment in his NASCAR career after motoring his way to a hard-earned victory in The Chilango 150 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on Saturday, June 14.
The 2016 Xfinity Series champion from Monterrey, Mexico, led 19 of 65 scheduled laps. It was a homecoming event that commenced on a rough note. Suarez wrecked his primary car while qualifying for the main event. As a result, he was forced to start at the rear of the field in a backup car. Suarez, however, methodically carved his way up the leaderboard. He continued, keeping his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet entry intact through the event’s first two stage periods.
Then during the start of the final stage period with 19 laps remaining, Suarez navigated his way into the lead. He did this despite sustaining cosmetic damage while being bumped into by front-runners Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch, with the latter two proceeding to be swept in a multi-car wreck. Amid the damage, Suarez remained on the track and retained the lead during the following restart with 14 laps remaining. Despite enduring another late-race restart with four laps remaining, Suarez had enough horsepower to fend off a hard-charging Taylor Gray. He went on to score his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in nine years. As a bonus, he was able to share the thrills of his victory in front of his home crowd.
On-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurred on Saturday. Rookie Connor Zilisch claimed his fourth Xfinity pole position of the 2025 season with a 94.314 mph lap in 92.372 seconds. Ty Gibbs joined him on the front row after a qualifying lap at 94.209 mph in 92.475 seconds.
Before the event, Daniel Suarez dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car. This was due to wrecking his primary car during qualifying. The following drivers, including rookie Christian Eckes, Anthony Alfredo, Brennan Poole, Thomas Annunziata and newcomer Andres Perez de Lara also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.
Green Flag
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, the field fanned out in a three-wide formation. Pole-sitter Connor Zilisch and Ty Gibbs dueled against one another for the lead through the course’s frontstretch. As both Zilisch and Gibbs navigated through the course’s first three sets of turns, Gibbs muscled ahead. He then led through another straightaway that led to a right-hand braking turn, which was Turn 4.
Through the Esses (a series of right and left-hand turns from Turns 5 to 9), a short straightaway just past Turn 10 and a final set of right and left-hand turns from Turns 11 to 15 that featured a large stadium section with fans in attendance, Gibbs maintained the lead. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Gibbs led the first lap over Zilisch. Rookie Carson Kvapil, Christopher Bell and Sammy Smith followed suit in the top five, respectively.
During the second lap, Zilisch drove to Gibbs’ right side in a bid to reclaim the lead. After dueling with Gibbs through the frontstretch, Zilisch assumes the lead in the first turn before contact from Gibbs. The contact sent Zilisch off the track through the following two turns. Despite blending back on the track without spinning, Zilisch dropped to fifth place as Gibbs maintained the lead. This also allowed Bell to navigate into the runner-up spot while teammates Sammy Smith and Kvapil battled for third place.
On the third lap, the event’s first caution flew. Sam Mayer, who was racing in sixth place, wheel-hopped entering Turn 11, spun and hit the barriers on the driver’s left side. In the process, he barely avoided collecting both Kvapil and Jesse Love while sideways. Amid the incident, Mayer continued despite plummeting below the leaderboard.
The start of the next restart on the fifth lap featured the field fanning out in three-wide formation for a second consecutive time. Gibbs, Bell and Sammy Smith all battled dead-even through the frontstretch. Exiting the frontstretch, Bell appeared to have a slight advantage. However, Gibbs drew alongside the latter through the first three turns. Jeremy Clements dropped off the pace due to a mechanical issue. Gibbs muscled his No. 19 Monster Energy Toyota Supra entry ahead of Bell in Turn 4.
Throughout the following four laps, Harrison Burton spun just past the exit of the stadium section (Turns 13 and 14) while both rookie Nick Sanchez and Andres Perez de Lara missed the first turn. Amid the on-track incidents, the event remained under green flag conditions as Gibbs continued to lead.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Zilisch. Bell, Sammy Smith and Jesse Love raced in the top five. Behind, rookie Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, rookie Taylor Gray, Sanchez and Sheldon Creed pursued in the top 10. Austin Hill, Matt DiBenedetto, Sage Karam, Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones, Daniel Suarez, rookie Christian Eckes, Alex Labbe, Perez de Lara and rookie Dean Thompson were scored in the top 20, respectively.
Two laps later, Bell spun from third place while exiting the stadium section in Turn 14. The incident occurred as Bell was reeling in both Gibbs and Zilisch for the lead before he veered sideways while running over the course’s curbs. Amid the incident, Bell managed to continue while remaining in the top 10.
Shortly after, Justin Allgaier pitted his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro entry under green. By Lap 15, however, Allgaier steered his entry to the garage due to a left-rear axle issue. Seconds after Allgaier’s turn to the garage, on-track trouble occurred for his teammate Sammy Smith. Love bumped and sent Smith for a spin while battling for third place in Turn 2. Amid the pair of issues for JR Motorsports’ entries, Gibbs retained the lead over Zilisch. Kvapil, Love and Gray were scored in the top-five mark by Lap 16.
Within the Lap 17 mark, a series of green flag pit stops ensued as Bell, Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith, Suarez, William Sawalich, Dean Thompson, Ryan Ellis and rookie Daniel Dye all pitted their respective entries. The leaders Gibbs and Zilisch pitted during the next lap just before pit road closed for the conclusion of a stage period. By then, Kvapil, who has not yet pitted, cycled into the lead.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Kvapil notched both his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season and the first of his career. Taylor Gray navigated his way into the runner-up spot over Love. Hill, Sanchez, Brandon Jones, Sage Karam, DiBenedetto, Jeb Burton and Alex Labbe were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Zilisch and Gibbs were mired in 13th and 14th, respectively, while Bell was scored in 21st.
Under the stage break, Ruben Rovelo endured a broken track bar while the field paced on track under caution. It was an issue that would take Rovelo out of contention. When pit road became accessible for the field, some, led by Kvapil, including those who did not pit prior to the first stage’s conclusion, pitted their entries. The rest led by Zilisch remained on the track.
Stage 2
The second stage period started on Lap 25 as Zilisch and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Bell shoved Zilisch ahead of Gibbs through the early portions of the frontstretch . Bell then veered left and tried to challenge Zilisch for the lead entering the first braking turn. Through the first three braking turns, Zilisch managed to fend off Bell to retain the lead. Suarez, Sammy Smith, Gibbs and Creed bumped and jostled from third to sixth on the track. As Suarez boldly muscled his way up to third place, Zilisch proceeded to lead the next set of turns and lead the next lap over Bell.
During the Lap 28 mark, a pair of on-track incidents occurred as Austin Green spun Kris Wright amid contact in Turn 3. Anthony Alfredo would then spin in the Esses, but all continued without drawing a caution. Back at the front, Gibbs assumed third place from Suarez. Zilisch proceeded to lead to the Lap 30 mark by three seconds over Gibbs while Bell, Suarez and Sammy Smith trailed in the top five.
At the halfway mark between Laps 32 and 33, Zilisch was leading. He was ahead of Gibbs while Bell, Suarez, Sammy Smith, Creed, Sawalich, Gray, Dye and Love all pursued in the top 10, respectively. By then, Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, Mayer, Thompson, Sanchez, Thomas Annunziata, Ryan Ellis, DiBenedetto, Austin Green and Jeb Burton were scored in the top 20, respectively. Meanwhile, Kvapil was down in 27th after spinning in the stadium section. Hill, who pitted under green due after sustaining a flat right-front tire a few laps earlier, was mired back in 35th place.
By Lap 37, front-runners Bell and Suarez along with Sawalich, Love, Mayer, Ellis, Austin Green, Perez de Lara, Josh Williams, and Harrison Burton all pitted their respective entries under green. During the pit stops, Bell’s car went up in smoke as the driver was exiting his pit stall. With the smoke continuing, Bell would steer his car into another pit box, and park it. As a result, he was eliminated from further contention.
As the pit stops ensued, the leaders Zilisch and Ty Gibbs pit before the final two laps of the second stage period. Zilisch just managed to fend off Gibbs entering the first turn. Amid a duel with the latter. he exited the frontstretch from the pit road exit, handing the race lead to Sammy Smith.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 40, Sammy Smith claimed his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2025 season. Gray and Creed trailed in second and third by three and four seconds, respectively, while Jones, Eckes, Dye, Thompson, Sanchez, Zilisch and Gibbs were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the stage break, most of the field led by Sammy Smith, including those who did not pit before the second stage’s conclusion, pitted their respective entires. The rest led by Zilisch and Gibbs remained on the track.
Final Stage
With 19 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Zilisch and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, the latter two dueled through the early portions of the frontstretch. Then Suarez, who was pushing Gibbs, steered to the left engaging in a three-wide battle with Zilisch and Gibbs for the lead entering the first braking turn.
Then in the first turn, trouble at the front ensued. Zilisch hopped the curb and bumped into the side of Gibbs who then bumped into the side of Suarez. The contact got Zilisch sideways as he spun in front of Sawalich. But Sawalich then ran into Zilisch allowing the latter to get his car straightened and continue. The incident, however, triggered a stack-up and chain reaction within the field through the first three turns. Creed, Sammy Smith, Sawalich, Brandon Jones, Kyle Sieg, Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Thomas Annunziata and Zilisch all wrecked and sustained damage to their respective entries. Exiting Turn 3, Gibbs and Kvapil both collided with one another as Gibbs got T-boned in the rear by Parker Retzlaff.
Amid the chaos that wiped out multiple competitors, including the top two leaders of Zilisch and Gibbs, Suarez escaped with the lead and he was followed by Eckes, Taylor Gray, Harrison Burton and Sawalich, respectively.
The start of the next restart with 14 laps remaining featured Suarez outdueling Eckes and the field through the frontstretch and the first three turns. Suarez would proceed to lead through Turn 4, the Esses and the final set of turns through the stadium section before he returned to the frontstretch and led the next lap. With Suarez leading, Eckes retained second place while Gray, Harrison Burton and Sanchez pursued in the top five ahead of Sawalich, Austin Hill, Thompson, Jeb Burton and Brandon Jones.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Suarez was leading by one-and-a-half seconds over Gray while Eckes, Hill and Sanchez raced in the top five. While Sawalich, Harrison Burton, Jones, Thompson and Zilisch trailed in the top 10, Kvapil and Gibbs were mired back in 20th and 22nd, respectively.
Then with seven laps remaining, the caution returned due to Love spinning his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro entry in Turn 15. By then, Suarez retained the lead by more than a second over Gray, with Hill, Eckes and Sanchez following suit.
As the event restarted with four laps remaining, Suarez dueled with Gray through the frontstretch before he started to have a slight advantage through the first braking turn. Entering the second turn, Suarez then made contact with Gray. It resulted in the latter going off the course before he blended his No. 9 Quaker State Chevrolet Camaro entry back on the track ahead of Gray just past the third turn.
Amid the contact, NASCAR ruled that Suarez would not be penalized due to his course of action in going off the track being due to on-track contact. With Suarez maintaining the lead, he would proceed to lead through the Esses and the stadium section turns before he cycled back to the frontstretch and led the next lap. As Suarez led, Gray tried to reel in from second place while Eckes, Zilisch and Hill trailed in the top five.
With two laps remaining, Brandon Jones spun his No. 20 Menards Toyota Supra entry from sixth place, but the race remained under green flag conditions as Suarez maintained a steady advantage over a hard-charging Gray through every corner and straightaway.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Suarez remained in the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Gray. Despite Gray’s efforts to reel in Suarez’s rear bumper, Suarez continued to lead from the first three turns through the stadium section turns. As Suarez exited the stadium section turns, Gray mounted a final lap effort to bump Suarez in the rear bumper but briefly lost his momentum.
Victory
With Gray losing track of Suarez approaching the final turn, Suarez was able to cycle back to the frontstretch and claim the checkered flag by half a second to claim the victory to the delight of his home crowd.
With the victory, Suarez notched his fourth career win in the Xfinity Series division, his first driving for JR Motorsports and his first in the series’ since he won both the finale and the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November 2016. The victory was also the 13th of the year for the Chevrolet nameplate and the seventh of the 2025 season for JR Motorsports.
Suarez’s Mexico City victory was an emotional one for the Monterrey, Mexico native as he performed a series of burnouts through every turn before he saluted his home crowd in the stadium section turns and was welcomed with a chorus of cheers from the crowd. Suarez will now bid to sweep the weekend as he competes in the Cup Series’ inaugural Mexico City event at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Sunday, June 15.
“It’s everything about teamwork,” Suarez said on the CW Network. “These [No. 9] guys worked extremely hard to get this car ready. The car wasn’t supposed to be a winner today and look at where we are right now. It’s been a special day. I can’t wait to enjoy [the win] for a little bit and then do it again tomorrow [for the Cup event]. It’s very, very special to be here in front of my people. All these people, they have supported me for many, many years. They have loved me since my NASCAR Mexico [Series] days and now fighting with the big boys. It feels good.”
Taylor Gray tied his career-best result in the Xfinity Series by posting a strong runner-up result while Austin Hill rallied from his early tire issues to finish in third place. Both Gray and Hill would celebrate with Suarez on the podium as part of NASCAR’s first inception of featuring podium celebrations following a race.
Rookie Christian Eckes notched a career-best fourth-place result while pole-sitter Connor Zilisch made a late rally from his multi-car wreck at the start of the final stage period by finishing in fifth place.
Rookie William Sawalich, Austin Green, Jeb Burton, Harrison Burton and Sammy Smith completed the top 10 in the final running order.
There were seven lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 17 laps. In addition, 30 of 39 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the 15th event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 55 points over Austin Hill, 102 over Sam Mayer, 130 over Jesse Love and 157 over Connor Zilisch.
Results:
1. Daniel Suarez, 19 laps led 2. Taylor Gray, one lap led 3. Austin Hill 4. Christian Eckes 5. Connor Zilisch, 17 laps led 6. William Sawalich 7. Austin Green 8. Jeb Burton 9. Harrison Burton 10. Sammy Smith, five laps led, Stage 2 winner 11. Sheldon Creed 12. Dean Thompson 13. Daniel Dye 14. Ty Gibbs, 18 laps led 15. Alex Labbe 16. Matt DiBenedetto 17. Kris Wright 18. Jesse Love 19. Carson Kvapil, five laps led, Stage 1 winner 20. Josh Williams 21. Anthony Alfredo 22. Thomas Annunziata 23. Sam Mayer 24. Josh Bilicki 25. Brandon Jones 26. Brad Perez 27. Blaine Perkins 28. Kyle Sieg 29. Ryan Sieg 30. Andres Perez de Lara 31. Nick Sanchez, one lap down 32. Ryan Ellis, four laps down 33. Sage Karam – OUT, Accident 34. Justin Allgaier, 15 laps down 35. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident 36. Jeremy Clements, 22 laps down 37. Ruben Rovelo, 22 laps down 38. Brennan Poole – OUT, Suspension 39. Christopher Bell – OUT, Engine
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, for the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, June 21, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
MADISON, Ill. - JUNE 14: Will Power, driver of the #12 Team Penske Chevrolet, poses with the P1 pole award sticker after winning the pole for the NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 14, 2025, in Madison, Illinois. Photo: Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment
MADISON, Ill. —Will Power cracked a smile after Alex Palou ran a slower first lap and celebrated when the points leader ran a slower second lap to give the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet his first pole in two years.
“Yeah, it has been a while,” he said. “I mean, been on the front row a few times. Yeah, it’s nice to get a pole always. One point, and get to lead the field to green.”
Scott McLaughlin joins his teammate on the front row with a speed of 179.783 mph.
“Yeah, of course, I’d love to be up front,” he said. “Team Penske 1-2 is always good. Will, a while since he’s been on pole. He’s super quick around here. Anytime you go up one on one against Will Power in qualifying, it’s always tough.
“Felt really good. Car has been good basically since the drop. I think we’re in a really good spot for tomorrow regardless. We’ll see what we’ve got.”
Pato O’Ward clocked in third at 179.190 mph. David Malukas timed in fourth at 179.079 mph and Josef Newgarden, who topped the chart in first practice, rounded out the top five at 178.910 mph.
Marcus Armstrong, Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta, Palou and Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top-10.
The NTT INDYCAR Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 goes green, on Sunday, at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
DETROIT - JUNE 1: Will Power's #12 Team Penske crew services his car during the NTT IndyCar Series Detroit Grand Prix on June 1, 2025, in Detroit. Photo: Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment
MADISON, Ill. — Overcast skies with humid heat and drizzling rain covered World Wide Technology Raceway. The driver interview area inside the garage area, however, was dry as could be. Will Power strolled into the room with his clean pressed, red Team Penske shirt and black pants.
He and teammate Josef Newgarden showed no sign of reeling from Tim Cindric’s dismissal from the team.
“Obviously, people have had to step up, obviously not the best situation,” Power said.
Roger Penske fired Cindric, along with two other top officials of Team Penske’s IndyCar operations, on May 21, in the wake of a second cheating scandal in the span of a year.
At press time, Team Penske hasn’t tapped anyone to replace Cindric or Ron Ruzewski and Kyle Moyer to take over the INDYCAR operations, but it’s motivated others at the team to show they can move into those higher positions.
“So, you know, I think in the off season, obviously start to fill from the bottom, very deep talent there, so people are able to take up the slack,” Power said.
It’s probably too early to judge whether or not Cindric’s dismissal affected the performance of Team Penske, as two races is too small a sample size. In that time, however, Power finished 16th in the Indianapolis 500 and fourth in the Detroit Grand Prix (where he led his first lap of the season).
Power followed Friday’s interview by taking pole position for Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 with a two-lap average speed of 180.329 mph.
